Losing important data, including personal data, on your home desktop PC or notebook is annoying. And the dangers are becoming ever greater, as the increasing number of ransomware attacks shows. This makes regular backups all the more important. On the occasion of World Backup Day, Toshiba Electronics Europe shows what is important.

1. spring cleaning: Before every major backup operation, a major clean-up should always be on the agenda. This means that the computer must be freed from unnecessary data ballast. This includes applications that are no longer used, inactive or fragmented data and temporary files. The download history and cookies should also be deleted. In addition to increasing the available storage space, this also simplifies and speeds up backup processes.

2. backup strategy: It is important to define a backup strategy. Above all, a user must determine how and how often backups should be made. Other decisions concern the selection of storage locations and media, such as the use of external hard disks or a cloud backup. Setting up automatic backups with the definition of times and intervals for the backups can also be a sensible step.

3. full backup versus incremental backup: In any case, PC users should make a full backup from time to time. These should be supplemented by regular incremental backups, in which only the data that has changed since the last full backup is backed up.

4. the 3-2-1 principle: In general, it is advisable to back up data according to the 3-2-1 principle. This means that the user should create three copies, use two different storage media - such as an external hard disk and a tape drive - and store a backup version externally - for example in the cloud.

5. data recovery: Finally, the topic of "disaster recovery" should also be considered, i.e. clarifying the question of how the data stored via backup can be restored in the event of data loss on the computer. The recovery solution used should offer a high degree of flexibility and, for example, support the recovery of files, folders or an entire system. It should also be possible to restore the data to different hardware.

There are numerous backup and recovery solutions on the market that are designed for a wide range of requirements. When selecting a solution, it is important to ensure that the products offer proven quality and cover your own needs. For example, compatibility with your own computer and the available software features should be checked.

Toshiba offers several external hard disk series, including backup software and password protection to prevent unauthorized access to important data.