How to Prevent Accidental Data Loss on Your PC

Data loss is disastrous and may seem unavoidable. With little precautions and safety measures in place, accidental data loss can be prevented. Below are some tips to help you prevent data loss due to accidental or unavoidable situations.

#1 Golden Rule – Backup

This is the golden rule to prevent data loss and you cannot replace this with anything else – Backup. Data backup – in simple terms means having a copy (at least one) of the original files in a different storage drive. Backup is usually misinterpreted as; data backed up on an external hard drive and deleted the original files; another one as; creating a copy to another partition on the same hard drive.

If you have some important data, try storing your back-ups at an off-site location so that in the case of any fire or disaster, your data will be safe. Apart from that, it also helps in restoring files lost due to accidental deletion. You don’t have to break your head on how to recover Shift deleted files, you can just restore it from your backups.

#2 Use Anti-Virus

Anti-Virus programs are designed to safeguard your computer from malicious viruses, Trojan, and other malware. So make sure you update your anti-virus with latest security patches regularly. Antivirus programs without latest updates are vulnerable to virus attack which can delete or modify your data secretly. Use antivirus software and keep them up-to-date always. If your antivirus application itself has erased some important files considering those as a threat, then you can recover files erased by antivirus.

#3 Protection from Power Surges

Have a battery backup or generator system to protect your computer from power failures. An extra battery in the UPS gives you enough time to save your data and to shut down your computer properly so that there is no damage to the hardware components and your files.

#4 Keep It Dust-Free

Do not ever keep your computer exposed to direct sun, rain or humidity. Doing so may cause damage or rust to the computer’s hardware components. And also make sure it is not gathering dust in the gaps of the hardware components.

#5 Use Undo or Restore Feature

Many diagnostic and installation programs come with ‘Undo’ function which can restore the system to its previous configuration if something goes wrong. It is a good habit to make use of this feature.

Conclusion:

Physical components will wear and tear over the time, but practicing to keep backups and taking care of the of the above-mentioned points will surely help you in preventing accidental data loss.