You have several options for securing your data.

External hard drives are a popular method. Attach the external hard drive to your computer via the USB port. You may then manually copy your computer’s files to the external hard drive, or you may automate the backup with the necessary software.  It’s fast, easy and painless.  External hard drives have varying capacities, some up to 1000GB (1 terabyte).

If your computer has the ability to burn CDs or DVDs, you can easily burn your information onto a disc. Most CDs can hold up to 750MB, and most single-layer DVDs can hold up to 4.5GB.

For a smaller amount of data, you might want to consider a portable flash drive. The flash drive is a small device that attaches to your computer via the USB port.  You then drag and drop your files onto the flash drive.

Some businesses even backup their data every night when they’re done working.  An optimal method to do this is via tape drives. This is one of the oldest methods of backup but slowly becoming obsolete, as newer and cheaper options are becoming available. Tapes hold vast amounts of data and backups are scheduled to run on a regular basis.  Multiple tapes or drives are used and rotated to minimize the loss of data.

Online Backup Solutions are becoming more popular.  Online backup, also known as remote backup, is a method of offsite data storage in which files, folders, or the entire contents of a hard drive are regularly backed up on a remote server or computer with an internet connection.   In this instance, you data is stored on a remote server and in the event that your system crashes, you can restore your data.  The rationale behind online backup is simple. By frequently (or continuously) backing up data on a remote hard drive, the risk of catastrophic data loss as a result of fire, theft, file corruption, or other disaster is practically eliminated. With a high-speed Internet connection and a Web browser interface, the remote files and folders appear as if they are stored on an external local hard drive. Encryption and password protection help to ensure privacy and security.

With so many options available, there’s no reason NOT to create the backups you need.  Simply choose a method, schedule one or two days out of every week to perform the backup and stick to the schedule. The point is that regular backups are important. You will never have to worry about losing your valuable information.

It’s quite the handy service, you can connect up to 250 user at a time. (Let me know if you ever have a meeting with 250 users, I’d like to see how it works.) The host and client software works on both Windows and Mac. You can allow other users to take control of your computer. At this point, you can’t switch the presenter in a meeting. But hey, it’s free. Have them start their own meeting and join them.

It’s a phenomenal service and it is very handy. I’m curious to see how the business model develops. For those of you who were around at the beginning of LogMeIn, they offered a lot of functionality for free and then once they got you addicted to the service, they started breaking off and charging for odd groups of features. I’d be curious if Join.me will be following in the same footsteps.

In the meantime, it’s a phenomenal tool and now you have no excuse to ever have to spend 2 extra minutes trying to figure out what somebody else is talking about, they can show you in less than a minute for free!

But wait. If you’re like half of America, you have a credit card. And paying on line is a whole lot easier than mailing that envelope or paying in person. If the average person has four credit cards, that’s four more passwords. And if you’re using the internet to pay your bills, chances are you have an online banking account. And exactly how many utility bills do you have? Let’s assume electric, water, and cable. All of them paid online.

If you total it up, that’s a lot of passwords! Not even including work related passwords. And heaven help you if you keep multiple E-Mail addresses. All those passwords are just way too much to remember, right? So, we look for short cuts. “Ha! They’ll never guess my password is really just ‘password.’”

Well, sorry to break it to you, but passwords like that just aren’t going to cut it in today’s world. Every day, more and more people set silly user name and password combination as we become more and more pressed to remember things at work and at home. It’s going to be tough. But please, start using real passwords. Things aren’t like what they used to be back before the spread of the internet where cyber-criminals actually had to try to get into someone’s account. Nowadays, all they have to do is try a select few of the most common passwords and try them until the key fits, so to speak. It doesn’t have to be complicated. Add some numbers at the end your user names and passwords. Even adding two numbers will greatly increases your protection.

And while we’re on the subject, let’s not forget about password recovery. Don’t set your password recovery question to something anyone can look up in a matter of seconds. No one knows this better than Vice-Presidential hopeful Sarah Palin, who famously set her yahoo E-mail account recovery question to “Where did you meet your spouse.” Go look up what happened to her, and you’ll never be tempted to take a short cut with passwords ever again.

Routine computer maintenance should be performed on both the operating system and the external hardware. A good maintenance schedule will include the following tasks.

1. Check Your Hard Drive’s Performance
Temporary internet files and cookies collect on your hard drive when you visit websites to make it easier for you to access the sites later. They can also slow your computer down if not cleaned out regularly. Along with deleting these files, it’s also important to run Microsoft updates, uninstall unnecessary toolbars, and remove any files or programs that you no longer use. Necessary files should be backed up in case the computer suddenly stops working or gets infected by a virus. You should also regularly monitor the amount of memory in your system and the free space left on your hard drive. By regularly inspecting these items, your computer can last for a long time without requiring costly repairs.

2. Run A Virus Scan
Most computers come with an anti-virus scanning program, but you can easily download another scanning program if yours has expired. You should always check the version and expiration date of your anti-virus software to see if new versions are available to ensure your computer is being protected. Anti-virus programs scan your system to identify and destroy any malware, including viruses, worms, trojans, unauthorized users, and harmful adware. If you usually visit several different websites or download many things, it’s best to run a virus scan frequently.

3. Defragment Your Computer
Whenever you add or remove files, your system becomes fragmented. This can slow down the performance and operating speed. Defragmenting your computer is a good way to reorganize the space on your computer so that it will run faster and more efficiently. If you haven’t defragmented your computer in a while, the process could take a long time to run. Your computer should be defragmented once a month for optimal performance.

4. Clean Your Hardware
Dirt and grime can easily build up on your keyboard or computer and prevent them from working properly. The physical location of the computer should be checked to make sure there is proper air flow, and the PC itself should be opened and cleaned. If left unclean, dust and dirt can affect your computer’s performance and wreak havoc on your operating system.

Phishing emails will look as if it originated from the company it claims to represent. This is the first line of deceit used in order to extract the pertinent information from the recipient. Consumers need to be aware that companies will never legitimately contact a customer in order to gather such private information.

Here are some other ways to spot an email phishing scam:

• The sender’s address ends in an extension typically associated with private emails
  (e.g, yahoo, AOL, gmail, hotmail).
• The email’s recipients lists other mail addresses or “undisclosed others.”
• The email is from a “company” that the consumer does not have accounts with.
• The email contains spelling or grammar mistakes.
• When the mouse is hovered over the link contained in the email, the destination displayed is not the same as described.

Some phishing emails look suspicious right away. Some emails have been masterfully created to look legitimate. The most important information to remember is that a company will not contact customers to gather private and personal information. Secondly, do not click on any links contained in the body of the email.

Keep private information private. Do not respond to unsolicited emails.

Of course, there’s a catch. Ever remember moving to a new house with a brand new address? Wasn’t it wonderful when, for those first few blissful weeks, no junk mail came through your mail slot? That is, until someone learned that your particular address went from “vacant” to “occupied.” Then the floodgates opened and everyone wanted to get a piece of the action.

This too, is extremely similar to how E-mail spammers work. Save that they don’t get the benefit of looking inside of a house to see if people are living there. Thousands of E-mail addresses get created every day and some of them go unused for very long periods of time. Maybe even forgotten.

This is what happens when you unsubscribe from some silly spam E-mail news letter. All that unsubscribing accomplishes is hanging a big, bright neon light above your E-mail address saying “Yep, somebody’s home.”

Deleting the spam E-mail is a better way of dealing with the spammers. In fact, don’t even open the spam E-mail as a lot of them come with what is known as “read receipts” that basically do the exact thing unsubscribing to E-mail spam does.

So, in conclusion, don’t bother unsubscribing from E-mail spam. Keep the lights off so no one thinks you’re home.

Now you can surf the web faster than ever. You can upload your pictures of your last family outing to Facebook at blazingly fast speeds. And you can download files, music, pictures, and viruses in less time than it takes you to decide where on your hard drive to save the file.

Yes, I said viruses. High Speed Internet access has brought with it bigger, more powerful, and more malicious viruses than ever before. Along with viruses, it has also given hackers quicker access to your computer, including your pictures, passwords, and personal and financial information.

Having an anti-virus software on your computer is just one step in ensuring your safety. The single most important step you can take (and incidentally the most powerful) is to make certain that your computer is connected to your internet through a router. Whether you are on a desktop and have it plugged directly into the router, or are on a laptop using a wireless router to connect to the internet, that router sitting on the shelf gives you the best security blanket you can have.

I know what you are thinking, “Aren’t routers used for connecting multiple computers to one network?”. Yes they are. But, what you need to know is that they also protect your computer. Even if you have only one computer on your “network”, having it hooked up to a router means that any hackers that attempt to get into your computer will have to go through two different security gates before they have access to your computer. Routers have their own IP and MAC addresses, much the same as your computer. When a hacker attempts to break into your network they first have to go through your router, and if you have your router password protected as well, they will generally give up before they get through.

All routers come with easy instructions on how to connect them to your network and computer. And they are very easy to set a password on.

Additionally, some people have been known to steal software and create false key codes, which are illegal and known as pirating. If you follow these recommendations, to keep your software and key codes in a safe place, then you will not have anything to fear from a piracy audit.

Make sure you keep these items in a safe space that is not exposed to moisture or high heat. You should either attach the code to the disc container, or place both code and disc into a separate envelope for each program, this way you won’t ever be confused about which code goes with which software. Maintaining these materials in a safe and logical order will save you having to purchase the software again!