The Blue Screen of Death. An endlessly spinning wheel. A wet cell phone that hasn’t been backed up for weeks – we’ve all experienced technology crashes or accidents that leave us scrambling to recover lost data.

Preparing for the worst can make a big difference

You may already know you’re taking a risk every time you save something important to your desktop. Downloads, documents, pictures and anything else saved only to your computer is not backed up and usually can’t be recovered if the system crashes.

The best way to avoid the need to recreate work and the interruptions that occur when your computer acts up is to store your documents and important data on network drives and online repositories like Box and Sharepoint. These tools can be customized for security so that sensitive or personal information can only be accessed with explicit permission. They’re also backed up regularly, protecting you from having weeks of effort erased in a second and allowing co-workers to access important work if you are unexpectedly out of the office.

Know where everything is stored

Work with your department and ITS to make sure there is a safe place for your electronic work, and that it is available to the right people to enhance collaboration and security. So while you may need to post on social media asking all your friends to email you after you drop your phone in the sink, at least your important job-related projects are protected.

You can learn more about where to store data here, or contact ITS for additional help.

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