Backups are the computer task that everyone hates until there is a disaster, and then they are so pleased that they have good backups. The challenge is that backing up is not very exciting. So they are easily forgotten or neglected. You may not be excited with September’s housekeeping, but it really is good to check your backups. So September housekeeping = backups
Have you created new folders that are not being included in the backups?
Often people create new folders without thinking about whether they will be backed up. Is your backup is very specific about what is being backed up? If so, then it may be that these new folders are not included. The converse can happen too – you might be backing up folders that are no longer used.
What can be archived?
Over the years the backup can get bigger and bigger, slower and slower as people constantly add new files and folders – unless you archive. At least once a year it is good practice to check whether there are files you can archive out of the main backup routine. This is especially true if you are using Cloud services as you pay for storage space.
Are employees storing important files on their computers or own storage devices?
Accounts software and use of laptops are the most common examples of this. Some people prefer to file everything locally on their computer or personal drives – either due to a lack of understanding about what folders are being backed up or due to worries about confidentiality. Whatever the reason, it is good to check whether data that is being stored in this way is important to the company and, if so, ensure it is being backed up.
How frequently do you back up?
In the past some small businesses only needed to back up every week. Now, with the proliferation of ransomware it is often advisable to back up far more frequently. So, how frequently do you need to back up now? If you lost a days worth of data would it seriously affect your business? Two days? Three?
How far do you need to be able to go back now? If you only found out about a deletion after a month, would it be fine or would you want to recover that data?
When did you last do a test restore of your backup?
Last year we had a customer who was hit by ransomware. Not a problem because they had a backup from the evening before, but we felt restoring from that back up took too long. It wasn’t easy. So we changed the way the customer backed up. Test restores don’t just confirm that the back up is working, they also enable you to check out that you are still backing up in the fastest/quickest/most efficient way.
What do you back up to?
If you back up locally, how many media devices do you back up to (for example 5 usb storage devices versus one). If just one, then we recommend getting more. Backup media fail and if a backup is connected at the time of a ransomware attack then there is a possibility the media could be encrypted too.
A long, long time ago a customer contacted us because they were not able to restore from a cd – this was because the cd had been written to so many times it had worn away. Ok, so backups have moved on a lot since then, but we still come across customers backing up to media that is so old it may fail. It is good to update it all every now and again. Is your offsite storage still safe?
The same principle applies to Cloud backups – are you still getting the best storage you can for your money? Is your Cloud provider still a prosperous business or one that could cease trading any day?
Is the person responsible for checking the backup doing a good job?
Over 22 years we have had lots of people walk into the office with computers with failed hard drives. Too often people have not taken backups and have lost valuable photos and files. With businesses, losing data can have more serious consequences.
The challenge is that checking backups your are working is a bit boring and so often gets delegated to the most junior person in the company. Your data is one of your most valuable assets. Just think what would happen if you lost it all due to a ransomware attack. We recommend that you ensure that someone who knows what they are doing regularly checks the backup process is working. We were contacted by one business who had not had a working backup for months – despite diligently ‘confirming the backup was working’ every day! It takes minutes to explain and put into place logging systems that help ensure this doesn’t happen.
Rebecca Mansbridge
Director
September 2017