It is extremely important to prevent data loss for any business or persons. Without implementing ways of data loss prevention, losing sensitive and vital data becomes very common. MiniTool will guide you on how to secure the PC data with several strategies.
About Data Loss
In the digital age, data loss incidents have become a growing concern since computers are susceptible to various risks that lead to the loss of critical data. We outline some common causes of data loss below:
- Computer hardware failure
- Human errors
- Cyber attacks
- Computer theft
- Natural disasters
- Power outages
- Physical damage like liquid spillage
Considering the consequences, it is critical to take action to prevent data loss.
Your memories, documents, and hard work vanish suddenly, which is a nightmare. After you try to salvage them, you only accept the harsh reality that everything is gone. For companies, data loss will have a huge influence, for example, business functions are destroyed, the reputation of a business may suffer, productivity is affected, etc.
However, don’t fear since you can take proactive steps to strengthen your computer and protect it against harm. Below let’s focus on how to prevent data loss via some essential tips.
#1. Back up Your Files
One of the best ways to prevent data loss is to take PC backup into account. Having copies of critical data means you have a chance to directly restore files and folders once the original data goes wrong. In this way, it doesn’t matter if a hacker attacks the device or a computer breaks since your information is still stored safely.
The optimal backup practice should be 3-2-1 backup strategy, which means you have 3 copies, 2 local copies on 2 differential media (one can be on an external hard drive), and 1 offsite backup (cloud).
What’s more, set up regular backups/automatic backups so your data is safeguarded without fail. The latest backups will be your saving grace in case of data loss.
Speaking of making PC backups to prevent data loss, use excellent backup software such as MiniTool ShadowMaker. It supports three main backup types including full backup, incremental backup, and differential backup, offering the best protection for your disk data.
Apart from those, this all-around backup and solution makes it easy to backup files, folders, disks, partitions, and Windows, and restore data & the system in the event of data loss or system crashes. In terms of regular backups, MiniTool ShadowMaker plays an important role – it allows scheduling daily, weekly, or monthly backups or creating backups on an event.
Moreover, file sync and disk cloning are powerful features. In cloning HDD to SSD or moving Windows to another drive, this utility does wonders.
Get ready? Download and install MiniTool ShadowMaker Trial Edition on Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7 or Windows Server 2022/2019/2016 for a 30-day free trial with most features.
MiniTool ShadowMaker TrialClick to Download100%Clean & Safe
Steps on how to prevent data loss by PC backup:
Step 1: Plug your external hard drive into the computer and make sure it is recognized. Then, launch MiniTool ShadowMaker and hit Keep Trial to proceed.
Step 2: To create a system image, go to Backup and you see the software has selected system partitions. You only need to skip this step to step 3 to choose an external drive to begin the backup.
To create a backup for the critical documents, photos, videos, and other files, move to Backup > Folders and Files, tick all the items you would like to backup, and click OK.
Step 3: Head towards DESTINATION, choose an external drive, and click OK.
Step 4: To configure scheduled backups, go to Options > Schedule Settings, enable the toggle, and decide the frequency – Daily, Weekly, Monthly,or On Event. To create differential backups or incremental backups meanwhile, delete old backups, move to Options > Backup Scheme, turn it on, and set a backup scheme.
Step 5: At last, begin the PC backup by hitting Back Up Now to safeguard the machine to prevent data loss.
#2. Use Reliable Firewall and Antivirus Software
Antivirus software and a firewall are crucial to protect and prevent viruses, malicious software, and other threats from accessing computer data as the cyber environment is rife with dangers. A strong firewall can serve as a powerful barrier against unauthorized access to your computer while antivirus software that keeps up-to-date helps guard against the latest threats.
In Windows 11/10, keep Windows Security, the built-in antivirus program, always open. It scans your computer for various threats in real time and alerts you when it finds anything suspicious. Beyond it, you can run a third-party antivirus program such as Malwarebytes, Bitdefender, Norton, McAfee, etc. to protect the machine against any malicious programs and threats by regular scans.
By the way, exercise caution if you click on links or download files from unknown sources so as to avoid malware infections.
#3. Update Windows and Software
The battle to prevent data loss is ongoing and software patches & Windows updates can be the crucial weapons in this fight. Usually, these updates come with fixes for known security vulnerabilities which could be exploited by hackers to damage or steal your data.
By installing patches and updates for your Windows operating system, antivirus software, web browsers, and other software, the risk of falling prey to attacks that target outdated software will maximumly reduce.
In Windows, enable automatic updates by going to Settings. For software, regularly check for updates in the software itself.
![[9 Ways] How to Disable/Enable Automatic Windows 11 Updates?](https://images.minitool.com/minitool.com/images/uploads/2021/10/disable-windows-11-automatic-updates-thumbnail.png)
#4. Strengthen Your Passwords
When it comes to “how to prevent data loss on computer”, data leak prevention should be considered and one essential tip is using strong passwords. This protects your data well from unauthorized access.
Use complicated passwords for your accounts to avoid being guessed, for example, the password should contain a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters. You had better not use your birthdate as the password.
What’s more, do not use the same password in each account. A password manager is useful to generate complex passwords to eliminate the risk of weak passwords compromising data security. If possible, enable two-factor authentication for an extra layer of security.
#5. Encrypt Your Data
Data encryption will offer additional security protection, blocking unauthorized persons from reading it without a decryption key. Although hackers gain the data, they cannot do anything with it.
Talking about “how to prevent data loss in company”, it is essential to set access levels to make sure only employees who need access can access it.
In Windows 11/10, the built-in encryption tool like BitLocker, facilitates encrypting your drive to prevent unauthorized access.
Step 1: Open Control Panel (view by Category), and move to System and Security > BitLocker Drive Encryption.
Step 2: Choose the drive you want to encrypt and hit Turn on BitLocker.
Step 3: Tick Use a password to unlock the drive and enter & reenter a strong password.
Step 4: Save your recovery key, decide how much your drive to encrypt & which encryption mode to use, and start encrypting. To learn more information, refer to our previous post – Hard Drive Encryption | How to Encrypt a Hard Drive.
#6. Keep PC from Power Surges
Sudden power outages or power surges pose a threat to your computer hardware and damage it. As a result, data potentially gets lost and some components are burned out.
Since such incidents are inevitable, the easiest and most effective way would be to use a surge protector to protect the hardware, which in turn safeguards the data stored within the PC. Moreover, this helps extend the lifespan of your device to a certain degree.
Also, you can choose to purchase an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) to prevent the PC from shutting down in the event of a sudden power outage. You can continue using the computer for a few minutes with the UPS, leaving enough time for you to save your work and power it off properly.
#7. Keep Your Device Properly
Another way to prevent data loss involves the safekeeping of your machine.
A computer doesn’t go well with liquid. Water or drink can easily spill and lead to a short circuit, which will be a disaster for your data. You had better not bring beverages near the machine. In a company, there should be a designated area for employees to eat and drink on a break, reducing the likelihood of bringing anything near the PC.
Furthermore, keep your machine in a safe and dust-free place. Accumulated dust will cause overheating and potentially harm the data. The PC could rust if you place it in a very humid room, eventually damaging your data.
Besides, regularly clean your computer using a can of compressed air and dry microfiber cloth. How to Clean up Laptop to Run Windows 11/10 Faster? 4 Tips introduces how to clean up the internal and external of a laptop.
These are common ways to prevent data loss on a computer. Do them one by one if needed. To let more people know, you can hit the following button to share these tips with others on X (originally Twitter).
Recover Lost Data with MiniTool Power Data Recovery
Prevention is better than all else. However, if you are not lucky enough to suffer from data loss but don’t have backups, how to do it? Thanks to MiniTool Power Data Recovery, an excellent data recovery software for Windows 11/10/8/7, plays a vital role.
It enables you to retrieve data under several cases, such as partitions being formatted/deleted/RAW, mistaken deletion, dead hard drives, virus attacks, and system crashes. Get its Free Edition for a trial via the button below.
MiniTool Power Data Recovery FreeClick to Download100%Clean & Safe
Step 1: Launch MiniTool Power Data Recovery to its main interface.
Step 2: Scan your target partition or disk for deleted or lost data.
Step 3: Tick the needed files to recover.
Also read: [Case Study] How to Recover Lost Files in Multiple Cases
Wrapping Things Up
Data loss prevention is a hot topic that many users pay attention to as data is easy to lose due to many factors. In this comprehensive guide, you have a grasp of how to prevent data loss on a computer. Among them, setting regular backups should be your top priority using MiniTool ShadowMaker. You have a chance to get lost data back in the event of computer accidents.
MiniTool ShadowMaker TrialClick to Download100%Clean & Safe
Don’t forget to contact [email protected] if you have any suggestions or questions about MiniTool software.
Prevent Data Loss FAQ
2. Use antivirus software
3. Use a strong password
4. Encrypt sensitive data
5. Protect PC from surges
6. Keep PC properly
7. Update Windows and software
About The Author
Position: Columnist
Vera is an editor of the MiniTool Team since 2016 who has more than 7 years’ writing experiences in the field of technical articles. Her articles mainly focus on disk & partition management, PC data recovery, video conversion, as well as PC backup & restore, helping users to solve some errors and issues when using their computers. In her spare times, she likes shopping, playing games and reading some articles.