We’ve developed a home office security checklist, as well as tips and best practices to help you integrate some of the most critical tools to stay safe and secure while you work from home during the crisis. This is the last in our series, covering cloud backup to help prevent data loss.
HOME OFFICE SECURITY CHECKLIST
- Secure Your Wi-Fi (Covered in Part One)
- Protect Internet Browsing with a DNS Provider (Covered in Part One)
- Update Your Operating System to the Latest Version (Covered in Part Two)
- Install and Use the Latest Antivirus/Malware Protection and Other Critical Updates (Covered in Part Two)
- Develop Strong Passwords and use a Password Management Tool (Covered in Part Three)
- Move Administrator Rights to a Separate Account (Covered in Part Three)
- Use Cloud Backup
- Use Cloud Server Backups
Online – or cloud server – file backup is the process of storing the contents of your computer’s hard drive, such as your important documents and media files, through the Internet using a third-party online backup service. If your hard drive crashes, your PC or laptop is stolen or damaged, you accidentally erase important information from your computer, or you otherwise lose access to important files, online backup services give you the ability to quickly restore any lost information.
There are differences between backup solutions. For example, a file-level backup backs up only the files and folders. An image-level backup takes “snapshots” of an entire server or other computer where important files are stored and creates backups called images. Backup images can be used to restore files and folders, and can also restore a copy of the entire server or computer, including software and settings, onto the same hardware or new hardware.
Another important feature of any backup solution is where the backups are stored. Local backups are stored somewhere in your home office, like on an external harddrive, and can be quicker to access but are vulnerable to theft and natural disasters. Online backups are stored in the cloud. Cloud backups are not affected by problems or disasters local to your home office, but can be slower to access since they occur over the Internet.
HyeTech IT provides regular backups for its customers’ office PCs and laptops, however, personal computers may not be included. If that is the case, consider subscribing to one of the following services to automate your backup and protect your data:
- iDrive
- OneDrive
- DropBox Cloud Storage
While HyeTech IT's preferred solution is image-based cloud server backups, at this time, it might be more practical for you to use an external hard drive to back up your data in your home office. Several options are available from a wide variety of manufacturers including Western Digital, SanDisk and Seagate.
Regardless of the backup solution you select for your home office, the important thing is to back up your data regularly.
