Backup Hard Drives: Lessons Learned

Back up your data.

Repeat: Back up your data.

We can never say this enough to our clients, friends and family, but please back up your data. I am often baffled when I speak with clients and other business owners who have never taken the time to backup their important databases, email or confidential information. More often than not the reasoning tends to be 'laziness' or not 'having enough time' in the day.

No matter if you are a business owner or simply have a personal computer or laptop, the fact of the matter is that at some point your hard drive will crash. Often times this means the loss of family photos, video of birthday parties, etc. Your data and priceless and spending a few moments of your time and a few dollars on a backup hard drive or flash drive is well worth it.

You never realize how priceless your data is until you have lost it forever.

If you would like to learn more about external hard drives visit our website at http://www.hddfiresafe.com

Compare GunVault Bio and MiniVault; Review the Pros and Cons

The Gun Vault lines of safes from Cannon has been a great solution to several challenges of gun ownership - Safety and Security.

For gun owners that want to ensure the safety of their families from burglary or intruders the GunVault comes in two flavors, a hand operated touchpad or keypad lock or the biometric fingerprint lock. Each of these locks has its pros and cons and we'll take a look at each one below.

GunVault Bio

The biometric lock on the BIO gun vault safe offers convenience and safety for children. Programmable up to 30 fingerprints, you can limit access to the safe very easily. If you buy the gunvault bio you can rest assured that children or teenagers will be deterred from getting into the safe.

Pros: Limits Access (access control), Improved Safety for Families with Children.

Easy to install the 9V volt battery.

Cons: One downside to the Biometric lock is that it does not open as quickly as the keypad or touchpad version. If you require lighting fast entry to this gun safe it is suggested that you demo each model to determine which works best for you.


MiniDeluxe

The MiniDeluxe features an interior courtesy light just like the biometric safe and utilizes a four button touchpad lock for entry.

Pros: Easy programming of combination lock. Fast entry. With just a little practice you can open the GunVault mini or mini deluxe in mere seconds.


Cons: Difficult to install batteries. This gun safe requires eight (8) AA batteries for operation without the power supply and they are difficult to install if you have large hands.


Overall both of these gun safes from Cannon are great for safety and security. Ultimately it is up to you to decide which is best for your situation.

For those of you with children, the biometric fingerprint lock offers great safety from loaded handguns. For those looking for security and to keep a loaded firearm in the home, the Mini Deluxe might be the best choice.

For more information call Toll Free 1-866-867-0306.

IPS Containers Revisited

Detailed Look at at Class 5 Containers for SIPRNet and Compusec

Our full line of GSA Approved IPS Containers and Safes are fully approved for the storage of computer equipment, encryption devices, servers and PC's that process classified and top secret materials and data. When comparing IPS safes it is important to take a look at the full features available.

Our Hamilton Safe brand include the following:

• 2 fans, 10 inches diameter circulate up to 550 CFM free air each

• 12" X 12" X 1" air filter slot for proper air filtration

• Cable-entry box with six (6) half inch diameter openings for power and signal input cables

• Optional Hoffman box for cables inside of conduit

• 19" EIA rackmounts or 24" EIA vertical rackmount

• X-09 Digital Lock

• Class 5 protection

Some GSA safes for IPS concerns in extreme environments are required. For specialized containers with air conditioning, climate control and shielded environments we refer clients to Trusted Systems @ www.trustedsys.com

Transactiion Drawers & Bank Drive Up Deal Drawers

Emphasizing Bank Teller Comfort

Transaction drawers for banks and retail restaurant drive up and drive thru business are primarily designed with safety and security in mind. This includes UL Rated Level 3 bullet resistance rugged construction to handle a variety of sizes and weights during the transaction process. Today, Hamilton Safe manufacturers in the USA a variety of deal drawers that also place importance on customer relationship management (CRM) and comfort of the employee.

The microphone and speaker (audio system) communication is built to provide years of reliable performance is serviceable from outside your bank branch or restaurant drive thru. This allows for improved security and mitigates risk of having non-employees in secure areas of the bank safe.

From a comfort perspective the deal drawer is sealed to outside air; outside and inside doors are never open at the same time to keep employees comfortable during winter weather months. Optional heaters will warm any cold air inside the deal drawer during the process.

Most clients choose the 400DD or DCD-18 for the best in value and price.

For more information call 1-866-867-0306

ioSafe

Hard drives and storage represent a very large market in the United States. Research indicated that by 2014 there will be approx. 12TB of data in the home and storage is compounding by 60-100% per yr.

When you factor in the thousands of digital family photos and videos of precious memories you are talking about some very important data. From a business standpoint this mean customer databases, lists, documents, literature as well as confidential digital files that cannot be stored off site or in the 'cloud.'

ioSafe, the leading manufacturer of hard drives now offers home and businesses users a better value per gigabyte when comparing backup hard drives. The ioSafe drives are fireproof and waterproof and meant to be used a backup of your primary computer hard drive, Mac, laptop or server. When choosing storage options, ioSafe delivers tremendous value, support and included data recovery service (think of it as an insurance policy on your data) for all of your important data.

For a Free consultation call Toll Free 1-866-867-0306

TRTL Rated Safes Made In America

Hamilton Safe recently announced that their line of TRTL 30x6 safes are the only dual rated high security safes Made in America. As the premier manufacturer of safes in the United States, Hamilton continues to serve the banking and financial markets as well as pharmaceutical, government and retail environments with the best in physical and electronic security equipment.

In 2009, the TL rated safes from Hamilton also passed the UL 1-Hour fire rating and carry a dual label. This engineering feat allows businesses to achieve business goals for physical security and business continuity or disaster recovery (DR) with a single solution.

For more information call Toll Free 1-866-867-0306

Computer Media Fire Safes

Storing computer media over the long term, often called archiving or archival storage is a very important part of business continuity planning for many businesses.

Data retention policies, or the need to retrieve data from a certain number of years prior is very common in today's climate of information security. Many companies choose to archive data on media tapes such as DLT or LTO tapes. These magnetic media backup copies are much like the "cassettes" you used to play in your tape deck. Albeit these forms of backup computer media can store a large volume of Gigabytes (GB).

Proper storage of removable backup tapes includes limiting moisture or humidity levels as well as protecting from dust, fire and water. In order to properly store magnetic media it is suggested that the humidity levels stay below 80% (especially during a fire) and that the storage temperature never exceed 125 degrees F.

Imagine if you put your computer hard drive or SD card in the oven and baked them at 350 degrees for 1 hour? What would you get? Melted plastic!

Media or Data fire safes are engineered to specifically protect precious backup media tapes from fire, water and other natural disasters. Just as important they offer physical security to prevent theft of priceless or regulated data.

While media safes come in a variety of sizes, UL fire ratings and security ratings it's best to consult with experienced professionals before you purchase.

HELPFUL TIPS

- Make sure you store computer media in a UL 125 Rated Safe
- DO NOT store removable computer tapes or external hard drives in a UL 350 fire rated safe or cabinet, this fire rating will not keep your devices from melting!
- A 3 hour fire safe is not always necessary! Understand your location relative to the fire department and make an educated decision from there.

Speak with a consultant by calling Toll Free 1-866-867-0306