March 31 – World Backup Day

Ever wondered if and how often you should backup your data? What are the risks associated with backing up and not backing up your data? Ahead of World Backup Day, two Concordians can comment on best practices to safely back up your data.

Mohammad Mannan, assistant professor in the Concordia Institute for Information Systems Engineering (CIISE), proposes these tips for ensuring your data remains safe:

• Use encrypted backup with a strong password (write down the password and store it in a safe place - e.g., a bank locker)
• Use local backup (you never know when Dropbox/online services may disappear with all your data)
• Do not connect your backup disk or login to an online backup service, if you notice any sign of malware or ransomware. Clean your machine/device first (e.g., clean OS installation), before restoring your backup.

Jeremy Clark, also an assistant professor with the CIISE, beleievs that backing up your data is important, but warns of risks associated with automatic backups:

"Anyone who has updated or replaced their smartphone was probably impressed with its ability to synchronize all your data over to your new device. This happens because of automated cloud backups. For laptops and computers, which hold much more data than a phone, automatic backups are still a work in progress for Apple and Windows. Loosing your laptop bag can end in calamity if you set up a backup system."

Jeremy Clark, assistant professor CIISE
J.Clark@concordia.ca 
514- 848-2424 ext 5381

Mohammad Mannan, assistant professor CIISE
m.mannan@concordia.ca
514-848-2424, ext. 8972