4 Tips to Protect Your Data During Storm Season

Hey Everyone!

It's that special time of year when the threat of fire, flood, severe storms, water damage and even theft are very real. This is why ensuring your home and business technology is protected and critical data is backed up in the case of power loss, system damage or major technology failure. To help you protect your stuff, I'm providing a few simple tips to keep your tech safe and secure.

1. Off Site Storage. Backing up your data at an offsite location with cloud service is a must. While regularly backing up your data is crucial, many of you only backup your files and keep those backups in your home or office. If your technology fails or your computer, smartphone or tablets are stolen, you'll quickly find yourself helpless. The easiest solution for this is having a backup system in place that will store your information at another location. I highly recommend using Carbonite Off-Site Backup (www.carbonite.com) for as low as $60 a year, your information will be securely backed up on a regular basis.

2. Safe from the Surge. Quality surge protectors are a simple but often overlooked solution to protecting your computers and data during storm season. The main thing you need to pay attention to is that you purchase a "surge protector" and not a power strip. Look for the words surge protection, fused strip, or interrupter switch. If it says power strip on it, it does not offer surge protection, so pay attention. Remember quality cannot be skipped here. Try opting for a high-quality surge protector combined with a power supply battery backup. My choice, get the APC Battery Backup (www.APC). This device offers powerful surge protection and a battery for your devices to run on in the event of a power loss.

3. Head for Higher Ground. Flooding is a real threat when it comes to severe storm season. This is why it's very important to make sure if your technology is areas that are subject to flooding, make sure they are lifted off the floor.

4. Have a Plan. Make sure you have a plan in place in case disaster does strike. Verify your insurance policy will cover your devices in the event of loss. If you have insurance specific to certain tech devices, make sure they are covered by damage due to extreme weather. In the event of loss, make sure you know who to call and how to access critical files, data and software.