Computer Disaster Prevention
Trying To Recover From a Disaster Might Be Too Late
To sum up the importance of computer disaster prevention, here is a statement that is easy to remember; never trust a computer!
Do-It-Yourself Advice and/or Professional Assistance
Computer disaster prevention is not very commonly sought, but computer disaster recovery is. This is unfortunate because your success in computer disaster recovery is directly related to how well you have prepared for it. |
First of all, you deserve a sincere compliment for being here. That is because a very low percentage of people seek out computer disaster prevention. There are lots of people seeking computer disaster recovery, but most will find out it's too late. In fact, think of 4 small businesses besides your own. If all 5 of you were to have a computer disaster, only one business will survive. The other 4 will go out of business!
The only way to assure that you can recover from a computer disaster is to back up all of your data, both onsite and offsite. A good backup strategy can seem daunting, but we can provide backup services that will simplify and automate your computer backups. Learn how to get a 30 day free trial of our backup service which includes an onsite backup computer at your location.
Creative Business Services can provide computer troubleshooting and computer disaster recovery, but the idea here is to provide some help so the damage can be either reduced or avoided. This help comes in two forms. For the do-it-yourself types, you will discover free information on what you can do to avoid kicking yourself later. If you would rather skip the learning curve and have a professional do this for you, just contact Creative Business Services right away.
With
computer disaster recovery, you are seeking solutions after a problem has
occurred, and both the recovery and the downtime are costly. The old proverb about an ounce of prevention
certainly applies here. Prevention can help you avoid a most disasters, and speed
the recovery of anything that could not be avoided. Prevention is never convenient,
but the likelihood of being glad you took the time to do it anyway can be almost
guaranteed.
If your idea of computer disaster prevention is installing a virus detection program on your computer, it would serve you well to read this information. Virus protection and disaster prevention are two entirely different subjects, even though a virus can cause problems that qualify as a disaster.
If you're counting on any type of computer warranty, these can easily provide a false sense of security because they only cover equipment failure due to manufacturing defects. Even if a failure really is the fault of the computer, some damage cannot be undone, and it is not covered under a warranty. To graphically illustrate this point, imagine a defective toaster that burns your house down. Under the terms of the warranty, you get a new toaster, but it does not cover the house that burned down.
It is important to either have a professional check your computer or computers over for potential problems, or to do it yourself using the information presented here. These are some reasons why:
- There are common mistakes which make
computer systems more vulnerable to failure. These mistakes and the
downtime they can cause are avoidable.
Hopefully you will never know how much money my company can save you,
but you will notice some of your lost computer performance come back.
- It is also possible that computer problems could be deliberately caused;
if not from the inside, then maybe from the outside. If you are reading this,
you are on the Internet, and your computer security needs to be evaluated
regardless of how large or small your organization is. The internal security
of your computer network needs to be analyzed as well.
- Computer disaster events come in all sizes, but
the most common are the ones that cause a day or two of downtime, and
strike at the worst possible time. It is
obvious that you don't want a measurable drop in profit potential for
that long. Catching back up with a workload after the downtime of a computer
disaster is not desirable either.
- Computer disaster prevention is not very commonly sought, but computer
disaster recovery is. This is unfortunate because your success in computer
disaster recovery is directly related to how well you have prepared for
it.
- In the event of a catastrophic computer
disaster such as a flood, water damage, or fire, 80% of all businesses never
recover. Four out of five go out of business from catastrophic data loss!
- Computer disaster prevention measures can not only reduce your risks, and
minimize or prevent the impact of a computer disaster, the increased performance
of your computer systems will have a positive effect on both your efficiency
and your frustration level.
Why Worry About Computer Disaster Prevention?
How important is it to heed all the gloom and doom warnings about a computer disaster? Let's begin with some interesting facts about the computer hard drive.
When you are driving your car at 65 miles per hour down the highway, most engines are running at approximately 2000 rpm. The hard drive in most computers is constantly spinning at 7200 rpm. The heads that read and write to the hard drive are hovering back and forth across that rapidly spinning drive, suspended so close to the surface that a human hair will not fit in the gap.
This relationship between your computer hard drive and those read/write heads has been described as being like flying a 747 jetliner 5 feet above the ground at 600 miles per hour, and keeping that plane steady.
Now you know why they call it a crash when a computer hard drive fails. Do they crash? A lot more than you probably realize, and when they do, they also burn; nothing on that hard drive will be recoverable.
With this in mind, there are two important things you need to know. First, never move a computer without shutting it down beforehand, and second, back up the important information on your computer hard drive with religious fervor.
To help you with backup, our Computer Backup Services provide simplified solutions that will automate your computer backups, and keep you prepared for even the worst possible computer disaster. Our Computer Backup Archive outlines more conventional backup methods, but the information is still very useful for providing easy to understand explanations of file structure advice and computer backup terminology.
Secure Yourself From a Computer Disaster
Many computer users are now aware that the dire warnings about computer security are not merely scare tactics. There are some very real and serious threats out there.
If you think you are safe because there are millions of computers on the Internet and the odds are in your favor, then you are not familiar with scanners that literally scan the Internet for certain vulnerabilities. Your computer will be a target if those vulnerabilities exist on it. These programs can scan at a rate of tens of thousands of computers per minute and report all vulnerable computers found to those doing the scanning.
Perhaps you believe it is not important to secure your computer because there is nothing on your computer hard drive worth stealing. You still have at least one good reason to secure your computer anyway.
Not all intruders are looking for valuables. Some only want to use your computer to mask their own evil deeds. They can launch attacks pretending to be you, and you will have no knowledge of their activities until the FBI comes knocking on your door. If this happens, your computer will be confiscated, your assets can be frozen, and your business can be shut down pending an investigation.
Don't panic. Although I want to make you aware of some of the computer security threats by telling you how serious this is, the main purpose here is to show you what you can do to minimize the risk. This is more about solutions than problems.
How do you protect yourself? Knowing what you face is a significant step toward victory. It is as simple as the old saying, "Know thine enemy!" There is a ripe harvest field of easy targets out there for the scourge of the Internet to attack. Simply taking a few precautions will send all but the most determined looking for one of those easier targets.
Being an easy target will basically guarantee you to be hit sometime. The computer security information provided here will help prevent you from being too easy. Then you can reduce the chance of becoming the victim of a malicious computer disaster.
How To Get Professional Assistance
If you would like professional help with computer disaster prevention, contact us to discuss how Creative Business Services can help you. We are in Grand Rapids, Michigan, but your location does not matter since there are several solutions that can be offered over the Internet, or through service providers near you.
More resources will be available as we continue adding them. Be sure to check out the Related Information above for the resources available on those pages. Any suggestions are also very welcome and appreciated.
