DEV Community

Cover image for Data Loss Prevention: Effective Ways You Should Follow
Lili Griffin
Lili Griffin

Posted on

Data Loss Prevention: Effective Ways You Should Follow

Backup and recovery are the procedure of coming up and storing copies of data, which can be helpful in protecting organizations should data loss occur. To some, this is usually coined as operational recovery ‒ the recovery from a backup which involves restoring the data that’s lost to its original location.

Typically, a proper backup copy is kept in an alternate medium or system. It's to ensure that the primary data is protected from data loss in the main hardware or software failure.

Why Having Backups and Restore Points Important?

At one point or another, everyone stores essential data on a specific device, whether its company files, consumer databases, critical medical records, and family photos from a recent vacation. Important files and data should be backed up in one form or another.

It’s especially true for companies and organizations where data loss can have profound consequences when it comes to production and services.

A company's data can be one of its most valuable assets, and it's crucial to think about practical ways on how to protect it. Just like when business owners get insurance to protect their assets, having a back-up can also serve as one's "insurance" should data loss accident occur.

Storing a copy of a data in a separate medium will protect it from corruption and data loss. It might be as simple as saving it in a USB stick or an external drive, to as something more substantial such as tape drive, cloud storage, or disk storage system.

Cloud Backup

Over the last couple of years, storing data on the cloud has become more and more common, and increasingly affordable. One big advantage of having a cloud backup is that it can recover even the past versions of a file. For instance, is a file is accidentally deleted, or overwritten it with the wrong data, all one has to do is browse through the file history, and recover the earlier version.

Moreover, it's easier to access, anytime anywhere. A lot of people are guilty of forgetting their presentation or data at home. However, with cloud technology, as long as there is a stable internet connection, these files are readily available.

Copies of these files can also be kept, off-site. Meaning, these files are backed up on a server. In the case of fires, floods, hurricanes, and other natural disasters and emergencies, it can secure an organization's most important data. With a simple click, all the files are immediately restored. These files are backed up automatically as long as there is an internet connection.

External Hard Drive Back Up

Individuals and companies who download, upload, and store vast amounts of data know that a built-in drive is insufficient, and an external hard drive is needed as support. It provides that much-needed storage space, an extra room to transfer other files, to unload data on the computer and boost its performance. It serves as storage for older records, as well as a backup to all the data.

Aside from that, external hard drives are handy. They're easily detached, and carried around, without requiring too much space. If one has a large number of files and wants to copy it from one computer to another, then an external hard drive is a secure way to copy and store them to another computer.

Use Restore Points

Windows 10 includes a System Restore wherein it's easier to revert to system changes without the risk of losing files. It usually works by detecting changes in the system (registry, applications, drivers, settings.) If the device experiences some of these issues, such as a result of misconfiguration, a restore point is used to undo some changes, and potentially fix some problems.

Consult an Expert In Case of Data Loss

There are some cases though, that an organization's vital data is lost, and cannot be recovered. A recovery software might help, but at this point, it's crucial to seek out the help of an expert.
Complicated data recovery needs a lot of expertise, and it's best to leave it with the professionals who will safely recover all the crucial information and data that was lost. While it’s true, that may cost more, with some downtime on the organization's hard drive, but if the data that was lost is valuable enough, then seeking the help of a professional in PC recovery is one of the most viable options out there.

In Summary

Data serves as one of the most powerful tools in an organization. It gives the company key insights about its products, customers, services, employees, and competitors. Since it's collected from different sources, it has the power to make or break a business.

That's why at the event of data loss, a company must know how to mitigate these risks by having a reliable data recovery policy in place.

Top comments (0)