The Disaster WILL happen. . . .be ready for it!

I am noticing a trend lately. . .many computers are on the brink of disaster. . and their owners are not prepared to deal with it. I want you all to sit down and think about the following: 1. Think about everything you have on your computer – include programs and data. 2. Think about your data and how long it took you to get that data on the system. 3. Think about what you would do if you you sat down in front of your computer tomorrow morning and nothing was there. What would you do? Sure, you could pick up the phone and call Dell and get a new computer shipped to you. You could go to Best Buy or Costco and purchase a new computer and have it right away. So now you have your hardware. . . . . what would you do with it? How long will it take you to recreate the data you had on the crashed computer? Be prepared for this disaster before it strikes. . . . . . . .I will guarantee each one of you that it WILL happen to you. Here is what you need to do in or to be prepared: 1. Be proactive. . . .use a firewall and use virus software. I apologize for being blunt, but having a computer without a firewall and virus software is like having unprotected sex. Your computer will end up infected with something nasty and damaging. 2. Know your computer. Make a list of all software you use that is important to you. Not only make the list, have all software programs and CD’s stored in a safe, accessible place. Make sure you remember where you put them. When the disaster strikes, you don’t want to be spending time searching for your software. You simply want to walk to the closet (filing cabinet, safe, empty coffee can . . . . .whatever you use for a safe storage spot). 3. Have a list of all important logins and passwords. Do NOT use your computer as the primary storage spot for this list. Sure, keep the list on your computer, password protect it, but also print it out and keep it in a safe place where you will remember where you put it. Do not leave it lying around for anyone to see. This list should include the particulars of your email account. . . . .login, password, provider, incoming mail server, smtp server, etc.

4. Make sure you have complete documentation of any online services you use, such as backup software, etc. When you sign up for such services, you always get an email confirmation that contains account information. Print it out and keep it with the list in item #3. Make sure you document the logins and passwords for the online service.

5. Make sure you have a full and complete backup of your data. See my posting from 8-19-2008 – Is your data protected? If you are not the type of person to perform regular backups, sign up for Carbonite at www.carbonite.com. Take losing your data out of the equation.

6. Have a current Boot Disk for your computer. Most people do not know how to make these, and therefore don’t have one. That is totally understandable. If you know how to make one, do so. If not, let me know. Additionally, most of the major vendors do ship boot or recovery CD’s with new computers. Make sure you have yours with all of your saved software CD’s.

I know this is all a real pain to do, however, if you have gone through a crashed computer scenario you know how painful it is to recover if you do not have any of the above.