{"id":93870,"date":"2019-12-31T07:16:34","date_gmt":"2019-12-31T15:16:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.backblaze.com\/blog\/?p=93870"},"modified":"2025-12-12T14:57:33","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T22:57:33","slug":"6-new-years-resolutions-to-protect-your-data","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.backblaze.com\/blog\/6-new-years-resolutions-to-protect-your-data\/","title":{"rendered":"6 New Year\u2019s Resolutions to Protect Your Data"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"New<\/p>\n

\u201cNew Year, New Me\u201d\u2014or so we like to think around this time. When the clock strikes midnight on January 1st, it feels like a fresh start to achieve something great in the next 366 days you’ve been given (Happy Leap Year!). Whether it\u2019s working out, eating healthy, or going on vacation more often, most everyone’s made a list and aimed to fulfill it at some point in their lives.<\/p>\n

This year, we propose keeping your data in mind when considering any new year\u2019s resolutions. Your data is filled with important memories from years past, treasured pictures, essential documents, and personal projects that you do not<\/em> want to lose. With ransomware affecting increasing numbers of people<\/a>, there are more reasons than ever before to write \u201cprotecting my data\u201d on the top of your list for 2020.<\/p>\n

With that in mind, we\u2019ve put together a selection of best practices to get you started. Whether you do one of these or all, you will be taking great steps to protect your data!<\/p>\n

Set Up Two Factor Authentication for Your Accounts<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Two Factor Authentication (2FA) provides an extra layer of protection against being hacked by adding a second step to verify users. 2FA notifies you whenever someone tries to log in to your account and will not give them access until you enter the second identification code. You can choose from many different delivery options to receive the code, like an SMS text, voicemail, or using an application like Google Authenticator<\/a> (we recommend the latter as it\u2019s the most secure).<\/p>\n

\"3-2-1<\/p>\n

Have a 3, 2, 1 Backup Plan<\/strong><\/h3>\n

A 3-2-1 backup strategy<\/a> means having at least three total copies of your data, two of which are located locally but on different types of media (like an external hard drive<\/a>), and at least one copy that is offsite. You can store your data offsite with Backblaze\u2019s personal backup<\/a> or B2 cloud storage<\/a> options. This will protect you from accidental data loss as a result of natural disasters, malware, or plain old personal error.<\/p>\n

Practice Restoring Your Data<\/strong><\/h3>\n

We all dread it: a catastrophic drive failure<\/a> or computer crash. At that moment, you are going to be stressed out and on edge. Preparing ahead of time for the disaster by practicing restores will keep you calm and confident during the crisis. Backblaze has two different options<\/a> for when you need to restore your data: downloading<\/a> a zip file or ordering a hard drive. You can also download individual files either at home, or on the go using Backblaze Mobile Apps. Knowing how the restore process works means that should disaster strike, you\u2019ll be cool, calm, and collected.<\/p>\n

\"How<\/p>\n

Protect Your Passwords<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Yes, we used the plural version of \u201cpassword.\u201d Reusing the same password for every account can cause all<\/em> of them to be vulnerable. Malicious actors will take previously leaked account credentials and try them on different sites, hoping that they have been reused. And they\u2019re often successful. You can use websites like Have I Been Pwned<\/a> to keep an eye on whether your email addresses and the passwords associated with them have been compromised in the past. Going forward, we recommend using password managers like 1Password or DashLane to aid your use of multiple, different, complex passwords.<\/p>\n

Anti-theft your device<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Backblaze has a way to track your computer if it is lost or stolen. Our Locate My Computer<\/a> feature has helped many of our customers out of sticky situations. By allowing users with this feature enabled to see a rough representation of where their computer was last located and the IP address associated with its last known transmission, we’ve helped them to find their beloved machines and recover them safely.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Report Any Suspicious (Phishing) Messages<\/strong><\/h3>\n

We\u2019ve all received too many spam calls, texts, and emails at this point. One of the ways we can stop them from happening is reporting unwanted and suspicious emails, texts, and voicemails to the correct sites. The Federal Trade Commission<\/a> is a great resource to find where to report these attempts and prevent future incidents from happening.<\/p>\n

These are some of the things we recommend you do this year to protect your accounts. Do you have a specific way that you protect your data? Let us know in the comments below!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For 2020, we propose keeping your data in mind when considering any new year\u2019s resolutions. Your data is filled with important memories from years past, treasured pictures, essential documents, and personal projects that you do not want to lose.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":143,"featured_media":93871,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[121],"tags":[469],"class_list":["post-93870","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-backing-up","tag-consumerbackup","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n6 Essential New Year\u2019s Resolutions to Protect Your Digital Data<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"For 2020, we propose keeping your data in mind when considering any new year\u2019s resolutions. 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