World Backup Day: what if you lost all your data tomorrow?

We already quoted this impressive figure last year: 21% of users worldwide have never backed up  their data. And yet, one in ten computers is affected by a virus every month and 113phones are lost or stolen every minute.

Back up your data

It is necessary to protect yourself against data loss by making backups! It is possible to do this via an external hard drive. The process is quite simple and explained here. You can also make a backup to the cloud.

Keep in mind that even if you keep your external hard drives in a safe place so they don't get stolen, they don't last forever and can fail when you least expect it. If you keep data on these drives that you care about (for example, photos or family videos), don't forget to make a copy of them on a second external hard drive as well. 

Backup is also a means of protection against hackers. "Don't pay (ransom), backup" is the take-home message. 

If you choose an external storage system, don't store it in the same place as the source. In the event of a fire or flood, your two supports would then be lost... "In the event of an unpleasant surprise, the second backup can sometimes be very useful. I also advise testing a data restoration from time to time to check that the backups are functional," adds Commissioner Christophe Axen, deputy head of service at the Regional Computer Crime Unit (RCCU) in Liège.

Automatic backup?

We often think of backing up data on our computer, but what about your smartphone photos and videos, your contacts and messages or your application data?

If you 're the distracted type, there are some automatic backup solutions available:

• iPhone : iCloud 
• Smartphone Android : Google Photos, Google One 
• Windows: File History 
• Mac : Time Machine 

Once set up, the backup is done without thinking about it. Ideally, schedule a weekly backup. If you have already set up your backups, think about your loved ones as well by helping them set up an automatic backup!