Why you should regularly backup your computer data

I still find it surprising how many customers I get that don't backup their data regularly. Quite often the first thing that fails in a laptop/pc is the hard drive. Being a mechanical part the chances of it failing at some point is likely. Another reason you should backup regularly is the new ransom malware that is spreading fast. This type of malware will encrypt all your data that you would hate to lose, ie Docs, photos, MP3's, Spreadsheets, Cad drawings, PDF's etc. For a company this could be a disaster. The first time I seen this type of malware (Cryptolocker) was on a local company desktop PC. It had never been backed up and the company lost databases of customer details etc. The criminals will ask for payment to decrypt the data but once paid the chances of them sending the decryption key and the data being decrypted is low. This type of malware can also spread onto any networked map drive. Ideally backup regularly onto external hard drives or optical disks. I fear there will be more and more of this type of malware in the future so make sure you backup regularly and have a good anti-virus package. If you are in the Aberdeen area in Scotland and need advice/help, please contact us. www.laptop-repairs-aberdeen.com