If you work with computers on a regular basis, you have undoubtedly experienced that moment of overwhelming frustration that comes when your computer freezes before you have a chance to save your work. Its almost as if your hard drive has a personality in which its devilish side comes through when it realizes that you have neglected to push save as often as you should.
It doesn't take very long before these evil glitches have you pledging your life-long dedication to the save button.
On the other hand, you may have experienced even more devastating issues the save button just cannot help you with. Like when one finds that their hard drive has followed its devilish side to a family reunion in the fiery depths of the technological , and you have lost all the files successfully created during your glorious union with the save button.
No matter which of these experiences you relate to, you have most likely found that backing up your files to an external drive or memory card is the only way to avoid unnecessary outrage.
The thing is, although we have come to realize that loss of our personal files results in devastation that shifts our loyalty from our hard drive to our external memory device, we often don't think of routinely backing up files that we don't edit very often.
For this reason, whole websites become vulnerable to the whims of the evil electronic psyche.
Whether housed on your own server or on one owned by a hosting organization, backing up website files regularly safeguards from a type of devastation that makes other file losses look like a summer mist that ends in a beautiful rainbow.
Involving the destruction of weeks of work, rather than days, the loss of website files are more like a category 5 hurricane rather than a flower-feeding drizzle. The problem is, website files are not only more devastating to lose but also are more vulnerable to loss. Contained on a server made accessible to public internet pathways, website files encounter numerous threats everyday.
On top of possible computer glitches that may make a server falter, website files can also be lost during common functions such as a software enhancement.
Since websites contain numerous features like plug-ins, virus defense, and external links that need to apply the latest coding to function properly, weekly updates need to be conducted.
However, updating your site takes time; and during that time, numerous things can happen. Your internet connection may cut out mid-way through, your server or hard drive may freeze, or the site providing the software update may experience troubles before completion. Because of this, your website files may crash for lengths of time ranging from hours to eternity. Although this is the most frequent risk, it is not the only added risk plaguing your site.
Becoming more common by the day, malware and viruses can attack at any time. Whether contracted through intentional injection by malicious internet users, third-party sites, security failures, or even through the software updates themselves, malware and viruses can alter site coding in ways that can make the files completely useless. Speaking of rendering website files useless, a simple click of a button can do just as much damage.
No matter who you are and how much experience you have, user error is always a possibility. Whether the cause of hurried action, mistaken file naming, or an unintended keystroke, website designers and other employees have the potential to alter your website files in irreversible ways.
Creating extreme frustration increased by guilt, internal error is devastating in more ways than one; but external threats can bring about issues that go way beyond file corruption.
Resulting from one persons need to demonstrate their skill or want to acquire information for personal gain, all websites, no matter how protected they seem, are vulnerable to hackers. Affecting even the most prestigious sites on the web today, hacker alteration is becoming more predominant each year.
At the very least, hackers can rewrite coding to alter function and redirects that impede visitor use; however, the damage can be much more extreme.
As you can see, backing up important computer files is valuable; but because of increased risk, baking up websites are an absolute necessity. This is because no matter how many precautions you take to protect your website files from loss, vulnerability to file alteration is inescapable.
Don't make the mistake of counting on diligence and firewalls to ensure the safety of all your hard work and effort. Regularly saving your files to an external device, devoid of internet connection, is the only way to avoid feeling as if you are embarking on a voyage down the River Styx, from which there is no return.
