Backup saves the day after crime writer loses laptop computer in blizzard • Graham Cluley

Celebrated crime writer Ann Cleeves turned to Twitter this week, determined for assist.

The rationale? The writer, whose novels had been the inspiration for TV sequence like “Vera”, had misplaced her HP laptop computer throughout a blizzard in Shetland.

A laptop computer which contained the half-completed draft of award-winning Cleeves’s subsequent e-book.

Gulp!

Cleeves provided a reward, instructed BBC Radio Scotland that the laptop computer was in all probability buried “underneath a foot of snow” in Lerwick.

My first thought was – that’s unlucky, I hope she had a backup. And I additionally hoped that Anne Cleeves had secured her laptop computer with a password and full-disk encryption to make sure that something delicate wouldn’t fall into the improper arms.

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Too many individuals appear to search out making backups of their laptops a chore.

I perceive that it is perhaps a ache to recollect to plug in an exterior drive to repeat your essential paperwork and pictures onto, however there are companies like Backblaze and Carbonite which might robotically backup your knowledge to the web.

And should you didn’t for some cause wish to go to the expense of a backup-specific resolution, you can all the time contemplate saving your worthwhile knowledge right into a folder that robotically will get synced with one other gadget by way of the cloud – utilizing a service like Dropbox or Google Drive.

Ann Cleeves, thankfully, did have a backup technique of types – though one which depends upon the person remembering to take the precaution of constructing a duplicate of their knowledge. She had emailed the book to herself as an attachment, just a few days earlier than the laptop computer was misplaced.

Whether or not you’re frightened about your pc croaking, malware deleting your knowledge, or just by accident deleting one thing you actually ought to have stored, please ensure you have some type of backup technique in place.

It may prevent a variety of time, tears, and heartache.

Oh, and Anne’s laptop computer? Somebody found it a few days later… albeit barely the more severe for put on.

Right here it’s! Discovered within the snow not removed from the place I used to be staying by sharp-eyed Rachel as she bought off the college bus. It’s been run over so not a lot use, however glad to understand it’s secure. pic.twitter.com/OnFULNmfsG

— Ann Cleeves (@AnnCleeves) December 15, 2022

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