Monday 16 March 2015

How Good is Your Backup?

When was the last time you tested your backup? Do you actually have a backup?

I'm surprised (and a bit depressed) at the number of times I speak with barristers and the answer to that question is "Eh..what?". Being self-employed, most barristers are entirely in charge of backing up the documents them use - and most of the ones I speak with seem to have an aversion to using the file system provided by their chambers' hosted environment.

What that means is that the documents they use every day - private, confidential, secret documents very often - are (a) probably not secured (since the sort of person who doesn't know about their backup probably doesn't encrypt their hard disk; and (b) not backed up.

This is inexcusable.

It's just not alright for so many otherwise intelligent people to refuse to take charge of their technology. For Mac users (and there seem to be more and more), encryption is so easy. It comes pre-loaded on new MacBooks and it is a matter of moments to protect your hard disk. For PC users, it's not much more difficult. Options often come pre-loaded for you to try, and it is very easy to ask the person you buy the laptop from about encryption.

The same applies to backups. It's not alright not to know that/how your data is backed up. Whether it's as simple as copying things to Dropbox or using a system like CrashPlan (my own personal favourite). You should have layers of backup - multiple options. This is important stuff. The chances are that nowadays not only could you lose client documents (a disciplinary matter) but also all your music and photos. It is possible to go from scared to smug in about two hours.

As a self-employed barrister it is your responsibility - no-one else's. So take charge of it.

I would, of course, be delighted to help and a couple of hours of my time is a small price to pay for peace of mind! Get in touch today and move from scared to smug (only so far as your digital data is concerned...).

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