Up In The Clouds
It is more important than ever to ensure your important information is safe and secure. A part of keeping data secure is having a backup and maintaining it regularly. Cloud storage is a fantastic option to have easy access to your data while also ensure that if your device is lost or damaged, you can still retrieve your important documents. Camosun provides staff and faculty with Microsoft365 accounts that include Microsoft OneDrive, while students are able to sign up and opt in by logging into Microsoft365 using their C#. There are other options such as Google Drive and iCloud, however these two services are not directly supported by the ITS department, so make sure you choose the right platform to suit your needs. If you create and work on documents locally, consider installing the cloud providers client so that it can automatically upload documents and changes you make to the cloud. Otherwise, the online editors, such as Google Workspace or Microsoft Office 365, are very powerful and a great alternative to a local work flow so that you don't even need to think about getting things off of your computer and into the cloud.
Down To Earth
While cloud storage is becoming more accessible and cheaper, it is not necessarily the solution for all scenarios. There may be instances where you want to store sensitive documents that you wouldn't want compromised in the event of a cloud data leak. In these instances the best option is using an external hard drive to backup your data. There are many different brands to choose from but some bigger names in the space would be Seagate and Western Digital. If you are wanting to backup your whole Windows system, many hard drives come with built-in software that can assist you with backing up all of your data. For Apple computers, the built-in software Time Machine is a very easy way to backup everything. If you are only looking to store a handful of files, then a USB flash drive may be a better option. Make sure you store your backups in a safe place and away from potential dangers. You may even want to consider a fire-proof container if the data is very valuable.
