I recently had a chance to chat with my university professor whose laptop was stolen. That laptop was full of professor’s tractates and scientific researches he collected for the last 10 years of his life – all gone in an instance. I immediately thought how easy it would have been to restore all his files, if he backed them up with 4sync.

Our team urges you not to be victims of computer crashes or criminals.

Let’s look at 9 file storage mistakes all of you probably make:

1. No backup copies

It’s about time to understand that in our digital century, information is rather valuable and significant. Too lazy to save copies manually or to upload them on flash cards or disks? No problem. Store every file on 4Sync. Everything will automatically synchronize and you can be sure that your files are safe and secure.

2. You don’t synchronize files on different computers

A few years ago, you only had one computer and you were ok with just one. Today most of us use several computers both at home and at work. Let’s not forget about netbooks, iPhones, e-readers and other mobile devices. In order to organize your documents in the midst of this digital chaos, it is absolutely necessary to synchronize your files. Synchronization is also very convenient: once you update a document, those changes automatically take place throughout all of your devices; saving you time and energy.

3. “New Folder” syndrome

If you painted a picture and called it “Untitled”, it may be ok for modern art. But if there is a chain of folders named something like “New Folder 345″ and “Doc 14″ on your desktop; it can be rather hard to remember where you keep work correspondence and where is the recipe of a new meal for dinner. Make it a rule, to set keywords for documents and folders so you won’t be confused.

4. Abracadabra files

We are talking about all those files, which you download from the Internet, example: “563841_n.jpg”. Let’s admit that it’s not easy figure out that this is a photo of your beloved granduncle. Such names should be replaced with something more recognizable to prevent losing those files or uploading them repeatedly.

5. You use desktop as a storage place

I’m sure that this is a common case. Everything once saved on a computer, finds its home on a desktop: social network pictures, important letters, tables, labels etc. You have to treat your desktop as a real workplace – at the end of the day it should be cleaned. Otherwise you continuously clutter it up. Clutter may affect the quality of your work.

6. You don’t save your work in progress

This is another common mistake. For example, you are writing something in a text document and suddenly an electricity outage takes place or your laptop runs out of batteries. Those hours of hard work are gone – out the window. Therefore it is necessary to make it a habit to click Ctrl-S on a PC or Command-S on a Mac every so often.

7. You don’t create new folders

 

Don’t place all work related documents into the “Work” folder and remaining files in the “Stuff” folder. If you start a new project, make a separate folder for it. Mark documents with numbers, add a due date. Create a “Draft” for work, and then add ready projects to the “Final Version” folder.

8. Primitive backup solutions

How often do you send yourself an e-mail with an attachment to look at them once again at home? The main disadvantages of such method:

• It is almost impossible to arrange files
• You have to open your e-mail before looking at the file
• Searching within attachments is impossible

E-mails weren’t designed for backup. This is why cloud storage solutions are so valued and easy-to-use.

9. You store files on thumb drives

Thumb drives are old school; you might as well be using a floppy disk. Most thumb drives will be considered relics very soon. Virtual folders store, save, and track versions of important documents in the cloud. What makes thumb drives even worse? They are very easy to loose and are easily broken and/or damaged.

---

By taking necessary precautions you can get rid of a data mess in a few minutes. Computers and other digital devices are great assistants for modern people. Sync your data with 4sync; backup it and you will NEVER lose what’s important to you.

Read our blog. Stay with 4Sync. Bye!