A friend of mine recently had her home broken into and her laptop and tv were stolen.

Tragically the laptop held about a year’s worth of family pictures including irreplaceable pictures of her newborn.

I just wanted to advise everyone to make sure you do regular backups of your computer. An external had drive is about $80 to $100 and can back up all your data, pictures and music.

If you run an online business, this will get you up and running again right away.   If you just use your computer for home use, backups will protect precious family photos and other information.

It is CRITICAL that you keep the backups off site. A backup on a spare hard drive does no good if they take that too or if you house burns down. Keep the hard drive in a safety deposit box or at a friend’s or relative’s home

Also a good idea to videotape or take pictures of your possessions and keep a list of your possessions and serial numbers. You can also put stickers in hidden areas or otherwise engrave or label your stuff.

This will help with your insurance and also help police trace stolen goods.

Garland Coulson. “The EBusiness Tutor”