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Security
Basics ... Backups, Backups, Backups
Backups,
Backups, Backups
We
cannot stress enough how important it is to do backups every day, and to
get these backups out of your office. It's so easy to have a hardware failure, flood, theft or fire that
could wipe out all your computers overnight.
We
aren't trying to scare you, but your data is your business, and here's a
frightening statistic: as many as 50% of companies that
have this level of catastrophe - complete data loss - are out of business within a few
months.
Here's
what you need to do:
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Install
a solid, reliable and automated backup system. For most companies, that means tape
backup - portable drives are good, but experience tells us they rarely get
taken off-site, so in the event of a catastrophe, they're almost certainly
useless. Backups that aren't automatic are also unlikely to happen
routinely
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Set
it up properly, use good software, and test restoring the data
regularly (at least quarterly)
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Purchase
at least 5 tapes (Monday - Friday) and rotate them daily. It's
no good to use 1 tape, because when you really need it, it will be the
one that failed. Good tapes may or may not be cheap, but losing data
permanently is FAR more costly
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GET
THE TAPES OFF-SITE. We can't stress this enough either. If
you have a fire, flood or theft and the tapes are sitting on top of
your server, they WILL be gone also. Never, ever rely on 1
specific tape to be available for a restore. If getting your
tapes off-site seems too onerous, buy a fire-proof safe (not just fire-resistant!), and permanently install it somewhere else in the
building. Don't just sit it on the floor, because if you have a
break-in, thieves WILL steal a portable safe
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Expect
your tapes to wear out after 1 year or so, and replace them before
they fail
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If
installing your own tape backup solution is not possible, consider an
off-site backup service that will download and store your data each
night automatically. Charges for this start around $40-50 a
month, depending on the amount of data. Another choice may be
off-site replication of data to a server elsewhere - at home, for example
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An
average client of ours can have a completely solid and reliable backup
system in place for $2-3000. While that may sound like a lot, think of it like fire insurance -
when you need it, you'll be really glad you had it, but ideally, it'll
never be used
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Note
that this page is not intended to be a comprehensive tutorial on network / data
security, but rather a general outline. Kirby, Pezzack And Associates Inc.
can not be held liable for any outcome from the use or misuse of this information. For a full security review or to
request security products or services, please call us as soon as possible.
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