Back up files to avoid data loss

Forgetful Brits are losing priceless data every year because they fail to back up their phones and computers, according to new research. One in five never backs up their home computers and more than a third never bothers to do so on their mobile phones.

A quarter of the 1,000 UK adults who took part in the survey by data storage device manufacturer Verbatim to coincide with World Backup Day, which took place on 31 March, admitted they didn’t take the precaution because they were simply too lazy.

“Having the hard drive on your PC crash can be a traumatic experience. It’s not difficult to do regular backups. There’s a plethora of hardware and software solutions available for backing up, and innumerable tutorials and advice on the internet. Back up and restore is even built into the latest version of Microsoft Windows and requires just three clicks of the mouse. Apple offers similar functionality with Time Machine,” explains the company’s Rüdiger Theobald.

Brits are most worried about losing pictures, followed by personal documents, videos and music. One person in five has lost personal data on their home computer or smart phone within the last year. Owners experienced data loss because of hardware failure (25 per cent), accidental damage (17 per cent), a computer virus (13 per cent) and software corruption (13 per cent).

Men are more likely than women to back up their home computers and phones every month, according to the research. More than 60 per cent admit they never save the contents of their mobile or laptop, leaving them without purchased software and music, priceless photos, emails and important work documents.

Some of the more maddening losses included:
• A budding author who lost 50,000 words of his debut novel when his laptop crashed
• A college student who lost his dissertation after saving it straight to a USB stick that became corrupted
• A self-employed businessman who finally completed his self-assessment tax return only to lose it all when a power cut wiped his computer memory.

Find out more about Verbatim’s services at verbatim.com