If your mobile phone was lost or stolen today, would you have been ready? Unfortunately for most people, the answer is no.
In my many years of tech support, I have seen phones stolen in restaurants and even one run over by a tank (I have had some interesting jobs).
When the data on your phone is suddenly gone, either you had a backup or you did not. I have seen companies almost go out of business because of one lost smartphone. It often takes a person more than a year to rebuild all of the contact info and calendar appointments from a lost phone.
Luckily, backing up your smartphone has never been easier. Every major smartphone (Apple, Android, Blackberry) can be plugged into your computer for a complete backup. Many of them even back up your critical data to the ‘Cloud’ (Internet storage) automatically now. Look up instructions for your phone with Google and it should be easy to find.
However, much of your data (like photos) will only be backed up if you plug your phone into your computer and manually do a full backup. Who wants to do that every day? According to the data loss experts: almost nobody.
Some people don’t even have a computer to back up to. They just use their phone or tablet for everything.
One possible solution is to use software like IDrive (www.idrive.com). It will back up your phone (and all your other devices, such as tablets and computers) to the internet for you automatically. It is inexpensive (free for under 5GB), easy to download and install on your phone.
Just remember to do your backup while connected to WiFi if you don’t have a huge data plan for your phone.
Editor’s note— This is the first in an occasional series on how to make technology work for you. Columnist Stephen Forsyth lives in Walnut Grove and operates Langley Technical Solutions Incorporated.
He has worked in the computer field for over 15 years as well as serving in the Army as an officer and the Navy as a diver. He has provided IT services to all kinds of organizations everywhere from Ottawa and Toronto to New York and London, U.K.
He can be contacted by email at LangleyTS@outlook.com and his website is www.LangleyTS.com.
Feedback on this column is welcomed.