Backups

[Music starts]

[A hand turns a key in a safe lock as pictures, passports, and documents appear around it]

Narrator: You probably store your most meaningful possessions somewhere safe, so you don’t lose them.

[A person standing in an animated living room smiles]

Narrator: And you should treat your important digital files and documents the same way.

[A computer is surrounded by notifications showing a photo of people smiling, a credit card, and a certificate]

Narrator: Your phone, computer and tablet are full of memories, important documents, and personal files that you want to keep safe.

[A person wearing an apron stands in the middle of a coffee shop. A cloud of scribbled doodles, exclamation points, and question marks surround their head as they lean their chin in their hand]

Narrator: If you own a small business, data loss can have even more severe consequences, including financial loss and damage to your reputation.

[Laptops, tablets, and phones float on the screen]

[Text on screen: Back up your devices]

Narrator: So, what’s the best way to protect yourself and your valuable digital assets?

Narrator: Back them up!

[A photo of a group of smiling people duplicates several times. A person stares at their laptop in disbelief. A different person gestures at their phone in confusion, as a trash can icon is shown on a phone screen beside them]

Narrator: Backing up your devices means creating a copy and securely storing your files, so you don’t lose them unexpectedly – like accidentally losing your device, deleting your files or downloading malicious software.

[A person smiles at their phone and points at it enthusiastically]

Narrator: Backing up is easy to do.

[On screen text is shown with corresponding images including Cloud storage, External hard drive, Network attached storage, USB flash drive]

Narrator: First, choose a back-up solution that’s right for you. Here are some options:

[Text on screen: Cloud storage]

[A cloud hovers above different devices including a laptop and phone. File folders float between the devices and the cloud]

Narrator: Cloud services store your files to an online server so you can access them from any device as long as you’re connected to the internet.

[Text on screen: External hard drive]

[A hard drive connects to a computer through a winding USB cable as file folders bounce around them]

Narrator: External hard drives can back up your files automatically with software, or you can back them up manually. Just connect your external hard drive to your device and copy or sync your files to it.

[Text on screen: Network attached storage]

[Lines branch out from a NAS device to four computers that surround it. File folders bounce around the devices]

Narrator: Network Attached Storage, commonly known as N.A.S. devices, provide a centralized storage solution for multiple devices on a network. This is a good option for small businesses that have many devices being used in one place.

[Text on screen: USB flash drive]

[A USB flash drive appears beside a computer. A red dotted line connects the device to the computer, as file folders bounce around them]

Narrator: USB flash drives can also be used for file backups due to their portability and ease of use. Connect your USB drive to your computer, copy the files you want to back up onto the drive and safely eject it once the transfer is complete.

[An external hard drive appears beside a USB flash drive, with a plus sign between them]

[Text on screen: External hard drive and USB flash drive]

Narrator: Consider combining two storage options to minimize the chances of one of your backup options getting deleted, lost, or stolen.

[A phone displays the time and a calendar with a highlighted date. The phone is surrounded by hard drives, USB devices, and NAS devices]

Narrator: Next, set a back-up schedule! Some external hard drives and some cloud storage software will perform backups automatically, but this isn’t always the case.

[An alarm clock rings on a phone]

[Text on screen: Time to back up your devices!]

Narrator: Set a reminder for yourself to verify and perform your backups regularly.

[Text on screen: Protect your backups with a strong password]

[On a computer screen, a password field is populated with asterisks. Cloud storage options appear beneath the password field. The password is replaced with a locked padlock beside the words "Multi-factor authentication or MFA"]

Narrator: Remember to always use strong passwords and enable multi-factor authentication whenever possible to make sure all your important information is kept secure and is only accessible by you.

[A cloud and a computer fly onto the screen. A person grins broadly as they shimmy and gives two thumbs up. Behind them, file folders flow from the computer to the cloud]

Narrator: By taking proactive steps to make backups of your devices and files, you can safeguard your information and easily restore your data to get back to your digital life in no time!

Narrator: To learn more about storage and backups, visit GetCyberSafe.ca/Storage

[The logo of the Communications Security Establishment appears on the screen.]

[The Government of Canada logo appears on the screen]