In today’s electronic world, sometimes the most devastating attacks are on information, intangible things stored in the cloud, or even on hard drives. Since the dawn of the Internet, there have always been security risks and measures in place to prevent damaging attacks. But what happens if your software misses it, a user makes an error and clicks on the wrong link, or downloads a virus disguised as an attachment? Are you protected? What can you do to mitigate the risks and prevent viruses from wreaking havoc on your systems?
There are preventative measures, like anti-virus software, and backup measures, such as hard-drives, cloud options and more. Determining the right options for your situation can be difficult. This short piece is going to discuss your options for backing up your email in the event that your system is damaged by a virus. Many industries require that emails are archived for years, and that these backups have very specific capabilities; losing this information can put your company in extreme risk of being penalized by the law, losing valuable clients or losing important information.
What’s happening today?
There is a very good chance that if you are reading this, you can recall at least one time where you either had a virus, or deleted, skipped or pushed away something that would’ve given you a virus. There are attempts every single day by people and programs to access, destroy or spread information.
One of the most recent and well known programs would be what is being called “Goner” due to the file name that is associated with the email virus as well as its effects on the infected system. This simple virus will delete security files and even uninstall anti-virus software, putting all of your files at risk. Thousands of programs like this are created every single day, and all it takes is one virus to slip through the cracks for serious damage to take place.
The Hard Drive
This is usually a pretty easy option for many individuals or small companies that need to simply back up all types of files. It is easy to update, access old files, and move files around (as long as everything is organized). Honestly, most individuals and small companies should do this just as a best practice; however, no one should rely on a simple hard drive to be in charge of their backups. Why? Files can be corrupted, hard drives can get viruses, and all it takes is a bit of water damage or a fire for everything to vanish. They are not fool-proof, and things happen sometimes.
The Endless Cloud Options
It is too much to list the hundreds of backup cloud options, and to explain how different situations call for different choices, but one thing is clear: the cloud is one of the most effective options in today’s age of technology. Access anywhere, backup anywhere, recover from anywhere, and do this all automatically. Of course, there are security concerns, but every option has this, and to be honest, most companies do incredible jobs of keeping information protected. Sometimes solutions can be expensive, but this is also just a necessary investment in today’s world. Information is king, and protecting it is a top priority.
A Little Bit of Both
This is self-explanatory, but your overall best option is doing a bit of both.
Finding an email archiving solution that fits your company’s needs is essential to ensuring that a virus doesn’t destroy your data. Quite simply, sometimes anti-virus software cannot stop everything, and you need to be prepared by having files in easily accessible locations that comply with the rules and regulations of your industry.
About the Author
Azam Qureshi is the co-founder, president, and CTO of Intradyn, a leader in eDiscovery and archiving markets. Intradyn produces email and social media archiving products and solutions for small and mid-sized businesses, organizations and government agencies.