Monday, September 08, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

THE ONLINE GUY: Al Gibes

Stolen computer means loss of data

A friend of mine recently faced a computer nightmare when his computer was stolen. Besides losing his monitor, keyboard, mouse and hard drive, he lost something even more valuable: his data.

Gone were client databases, business files and records, and everything else he had stored digitally.

A trip to the store can replace the hardware. Data recovery can take a much greater effort.

He began with mass e-mailings to friends and associates asking for help rebuilding the databases and transaction records. Little by little, he pieced things together and recreated many of his files. He suggested I offer advice to prep others who would face this 21st century equivalent of having your wallet lifted or purse stolen.

The most important thing you can do is back up the files that would be the hardest to replace. You know which ones they are, so take a little time to either burn them to a compact disc or save them on a second (or third or fourth) hard drive. The more duplicates the better.

The Web is loaded with options for file storage. I did a Google.com search for "online file storage" and got 2.28 million results! I haven't tested all of these personally, but I do use free storage space with various free e-mail providers. I occasionally e-mail myself important files as attachments to my Web-based accounts, just in case something happens to my computer.

One of the best things about storing files with Web-based services is they are easily accessible from any Internet-connected computer. Some services specialize in file sharing for business, letting users "check out" files and return them, tracking versions and revisions.

Privacy and security are important, so be sure to read the details about secure log-ins, sizes and types of files you can park on their servers. You should use a variety of user names and passwords to make it harder for hackers to get to your data.

The free online storage services usually provide a relatively small amount of storage, which is fine for text files, but you'll need a larger digital shoebox for those image and sound files you treasure. Yahoo! Briefcase (briefcase.yahoo.com) offers 30 megabytes of storage for free, with options to purchase more starting at $2.95 per month for 50 MB to $34.95 per year for 100 MB.

Most of the paid services offer free trial periods, so you can test the features and reliability before pulling out your credit card.

If you don't trust the online services and don't mind a little (OK, a lot of) typing, use your printer to make hard-copy backups of your most important files. You'll probably need to invest in a fireproof vault, but it beats losing the information completely.

Share your Internet story with me at: agibes@reviewjournal.com and be sure to visit The Online Guy Web site at: (www.reviewjournal.com/columnists/onlineguy)