Hurricane Irene: Last-Minute Survival Tips for Small Businesses | PCWorld Business Center.

Mozilla Defends ‘Rapid Release’ of Firefox Versions | PCWorld.

There are two ways to make sure you are safe.

1. Online backups, is a very simple solution. You will need to leave your computer on and it will back up your data onto a secure off-site server. Depending on how much data, and your internet speed, this may be a slow process but well worth the set up time and costs.
2. Onsite backup; If your business is running a relatively new server (less than 3 years), the server may be best suited for onsite scheduled backups. In smaller offices a network drive and a backup application will be a better solution. The network drive will backup multiple computers to one device and assist you in organizing data as well as recovery. To effectively implement this solution, you will need to know how many computers will be backed up, which data, and how much data.

Some of our home clients and home-based businesses have installed a Network Backup Drive. In addition to backing up your data securely, most of these drives can be configured to allow access to the data from any internet hotspot (with secure passwords, of course!). While this is great for accessing your documents when you’re on vacation or on the road, it is even better for working efficiently from your local coffee shop or friend’s house. Your Nerd has the know-how to set this up for you too!

Try Dropbox Basic.

All your computers and smart devices keep you connected and productive–until the file you need is on your work computer, and you’re in an airport with a netbook. Enter Dropbox, which keeps your files accessible and synced from all your various devices.

Using Dropbox is simple. Once you’re signed up, the only decision to make is about how much online storage you want. A free account provides 2GB, while you pay $10/month for 50GB or $20/month for 100GB. Dropbox also works as a secure conduit for sharing files, photos and videos.

Several of the better brands that sell external hard drives now include free automated backup software bundled with the package. This is usually noted on the packaging and often the quickest and easiest way to have a dependable backup for your home pc.

2. Online backup with automated scheduled backups.

There are several online backup solutions that give up to 2 gigabytes of free online storage. Mozy is a good example of such a service. Additional storage is available for a reasonable monthly fee. This is not as simple as using an external hard drive, but gives you the security of having your data offsite. This protects from local hazards such as fires, floods and theft.

Using both forms of backup is not unheard of and in most cases a better choice than only using them individually. This creates 2 layers of protection for your system while only taking a marginal amount of system resources.