How can You Keep Your Digital Memories Safe?

Just a few years back, important documents and data were filed, labelled and stored away as hard copies. With computers and the internet becoming a part of everyday life, hard copies are a thing of the past. When was the last time you saw a photo album? While digital storage is super easy to store and retrieve, it can also be easily lost. A little effort can keep digital files and photos safe. Our helpdesk expert from Perth will give you a few tips on how to keep your digital memories safe in this article.

How can Digital Memories be Lost?

• Malware and hardware crashes can cause entire system damage, which can cause your files to get corrupted or deleted.
• Data may be lost during transfer from the device of origin to digital storage. 
• Sometimes, a new file could replace an old one with the same name. At work, you may replace old files with updated ones. But accidentally replacing a photo or video with a new one can cause it to lose forever.
• A wrong click on a folder by mistake can delete the data.
• Device theft can cause your digital memories to be lost forever, especially if you don’t have backups. 

How to Keep Digital Memories Safe?

Prioritise and Choose What is more Important

The first step is to decide which data or images you want to save. Yes, this is a difficult task. But you should be able to categorise your data from most important to least important. If you have limited storage, the most important files and personal photos should get priority.

Backup on Multiple Devices

Saving on multiple devices is a good idea for important files as you will always have an alternative backup if you lose your primary backup.

Save on PC or Laptops

This is the most common storage method to back up files. Storing digital files on PCs is easy. Most of the modern generation computers have large memory storage. So this makes it convenient to safely backup our memories here.

Save on External Storage Devices

External storage devices are peripheral devices connected to a computer and store data outside a computer’s main memory. USB, CD Drives, DVD drives, external hard drives, memory cards etc., are commonly used external storage devices. These are readily available and relatively inexpensive. So, you can back up the files at a low cost. Plus, they are very easy to carry too.

Social Media

Every photo or video that you share on social platforms is stored on their servers. So whenever you want to look at these memories, you can always go back to your social media accounts and enjoy them. But it has some demerits. Most social media company do admit that they are mining your personal information. Even if you delete your account, these photos or videos remain on their storage. Also, these files are stored in low resolution on the servers. Another issue is that these digital files could also be lost. Social platforms give no guarantee to the digital files you save on their servers.

Use Cloud Storage

With cloud storage, you can free up space from your device and safely back up all your digital files. It is also easy to maintain and access your files. Most cloud storage providers offer only limited free storage. If you need to save a large amount of data, you may need to purchase more space. There can be security threats like breaches and data loss, so go for a good provider.

Take Physical Copies

Even though there are various digital storage mediums available to store data, keeping a printed copy of important documents is advisable. You can always count on these if your digital storage goes bust. Physical photo albums may take a lot of space, but there is always something personal and pleasurable in holding a photo in your hands and looking at it.

Keep an Eye on Your Storage Media

A regular check of your storage mediums is crucial because data could be lost or damaged as time passes. Devices can even be stolen. Digital technology evolves rapidly, so your storage medium could become obsolete in a few years (anybody remembers floppy disks?) Storing digital memories safely is not very difficult if you follow these steps. Just a bit of care and constant updates to newer digital mediums can ensure the safety of important files and precious photos or videos. Need help with the right digital storage medium? Our IT helpdesk experts are 24/7 available for your assistance. Contact us or email us at helpdesk@computingaustralia.group.

Jargon Buster

Malware – A combined name for malicious software intentionally designed to cause damage to computers, networks and users. E.g. ransomware, spyware, viruses etc.
Floppy disk – A type of storage device used for storing electronic data as a computer file.