5 ways in which you can lose data from your computer

You might think that since you have your data saved on your computer’s hard drive, it is already safe. However, many companies are not aware of the risks they are running, as they are basically unaware of the various situations that could cause them to lose computer data unexpectedly.

When we talk about data, we are referring both to your business databases, such as inventory, invoices, customer lists, etc, and also to the files of all your work, whether they are documents, reports or any services you have provided to your customers.

All this information has a measurable value, and if you were to lose it without the possibility of recovering it, it would be like losing thousands of dollars, since information today has a very high strategic value. Perhaps you are not aware of the value of your company’s data history, accumulated in your computer for years.

In this post we want to show you 5 ways in which you could lose the data on your computer and that would be a serious setback for your business.

Ways in which you can lose your computer data and files.

There are several ways in which what you store on your computer’s hard drive could be lost. Let’s see what they are.

1. Failure of the hard drive itself.

Hard drives are hardware components, and as such, over the years they can deteriorate for multiple reasons. A failure that causes your hard drive to crash could affect the files stored on it, and you would then have to look at the possibility of whether or not a part can be salvaged, but it will depend on the state your hard drive is in.

Solution: in this case it is recommended that you never let your computers reach this degree of deterioration. Perform regular maintenance and pay attention to the signs that your computer is not working properly. And above all, make a backup of your files, since it is impossible to predict with 100% certainty whether a computer will fail.

2. Malware

Malware, as we all know, is one of the main factors that can influence the deletion or removal of documents and files. These files are not necessarily going to disappear, but they can be rendered unusable. Think of malware on your computer as opening the door of your safe to a person with bad intentions. The consequences can be disastrous.

Malware is one of the first causes why important documents and files can be lost. Companies are not aware that sometimes, by downloading an innocent file in an e-mail from a system where they have all the company’s information stored, their data can be seriously compromised.

Solution? You need to have an antivirus installed on your system. But not only that, it is also important that you apply common sense and some computer security protocols when surfing the Internet.

3. Employees

It seems like an unlikely motive, but bad news always is. An employee who is unhappy with the company for whatever reason, or who wants to harm you in some way, may very well connect to your computer, completely format it and delete all your files simply to do you a disservice.

Strange as it may seem, there are people who when they get angry can act in unforeseen ways. Then come the legal issues and the need to go to a computer expert to assess the damage of the lost information, and if there is a possibility of recovering it or not. But in the meantime the problem will have been created for you.

Solution? Your employees should never have access to all, any and all of your company’s data. And if they do, you must have control mechanisms in place. If you have all your information stored on a server, you must control the users and permissions to access certain parts of that server, through a server maintenance service. And above all, remember in any case to make backup copies.

4. Operating system error

One day you wake up in the morning, turn on your computer and discover that it does not let you access your operating system. Then, without taking any precautions or knowing if you will be able to access the information later, you format the computer and leave it as it was when it left the factory. With one drawback: now your computer works, but all your data is gone.

You never know when computer problems of this type may occur. Usually a lack of maintenance and failure to install updates can lead to this type of circumstance. Also, if you are working with older operating systems such as Windows Vista or Windows XP, you probably have many vulnerabilities and they tend to perform worse over time.

5. Human error

And finally, maybe you don’t delete all the files by mistake, but you delete some of them. To err is human and there can be any employee who clicks on the wrong button and ends up deleting files that were useful, and of which you do not keep a backup copy because you were not doing it.

In this case, our recommendation is that you be proactive and make an automated backup of your files. In this way you will no longer lose data from your computer unexpectedly.