World Backup Day: What is your backup plan?

March 27, 2023

If you use a computer or mobile device for long enough, chances are that something will eventually go wrong, resulting in the loss of important files, documents, or photos. A backup plan is essential for recovering important information in the case of accidentally deleting the wrong file, losing a device, or experiencing a hardware failure.

Every year on March 31, we celebrate World Backup Day. To acknowledge this day, take some time this month to ensure that you have a backup plan for your important documents. Backups are copies of your information stored somewhere other than on your computer or mobile device. At UBC, faculty and staff have several options for backing up data, including Workspace along with other personal and shared network drives.

Which do you think is the most effective way of backing up your important documents?

Keep everything saved on your desktop in a folder named “important files”

You need a better backup plan! If your device goes missing or malfunctions, you could lose all the copies of your important documents. Learn more about effectively backing up your device

Use an unencrypted USB key

You need a better backup plan! A USB key can be a dangerous place to store important data if it is unencrypted. Not to mention, they are very small and easy to lose! If you do plan to use a USB key to backup data, make sure to encrypt it and store it in a secure location such as a locked safe. Learn more about encryption

Send the documents to an email account

You need a better backup plan! An email account can be a dangerous place to store important data. If your account is compromised or you forget/lose the password, you could lose access to the email account and your important files.

Get someone else to do it for you

You need a better backup plan! It is usually better to know exactly how your important files are being protected then relying on someone else to keep them safe. However, there’s no harm in asking someone to help you set up your backup plan!

Use a storage solution from UBC

You have a great backup plan! UBC offers several storage solutions that are automatically backed up each night. If you do access these storage solutions from different devices, make sure they are all encrypted so that your information is never susceptible to theft. Learn more about encryption

I am not sure

No problem! There is no better time to start than now. Learn more about how to create a backup plan

If you do not already have a backup plan in place, the best time to start is right now!

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