Hello again,

I talk about backing up all the time. I talk about backing up your email frequently as well. If you use webmail you can't rely on the provider's own backups (they're not made for you anyway); you need to back it up yourself. Back Up Your Email Using Thunderbird shows one approach.

Last week I said that it's no secret that I'm a big fan of cloud storage, and Dropbox in particular. This week I go into detail as to why I'm using it more than ever. Perhaps my thought process will help you decide if, and which, cloud service might work for you.

The answer about when, or even if, to update your computer's BIOS/UEFI is changing, at least a little. Blame Spectre/Meltdown and related issues. I can't tell you how, but I can provide a little advice about that whole if and when thing.

I also mentioned last week that I was in Salt Lake City. (I'm back home.) It was a twice-yearly meeting of a mastermind group that I've been part of since 2001. Our first meeting was in 2003 and if that date sounds familiar it's the year Ask Leo! started. Blame the group! :-) It's been responsible for life-changing ideas and innovations and life-long friendships as well. The group has a few openings for those of you working in entrepreneurial online endeavors. It's simply awesome to have such smart people helping each other. If this sounds like something that applies to you, drop me a line and I'll provide you more info to see if you're a fit.

Enjoy this week's newletter...

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Back Up Your Email Using Thunderbird

Many years ago, shortly after Ask Leo! began, I received a panic-stricken email from an individual whose account had been hacked. He had lost all access to the account and everything in it. His panic stemmed from the fact that, for whatever reason, the only copy of his master's thesis had been in that account.

It was gone, and there was no hope of recovery.1

Hopefully, you're not keeping something as important as a master's thesis only in your online email account. That's wrong on several levels. But I'm guessing there are things in your account you never want to lose, such as photos, correspondence, or other things you've exchanged via email.

The problem is, of course, that if it's only in your email account, it's not backed up.

Let's fix that. Let's back up your email.

Continue Reading: Back Up Your Email Using Thunderbird
https://askleo.com/17883

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Five Reasons I Went All-in with Dropbox

I use Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive, and Amazon Web Service's Simple Storage Service (S3) for online or “cloud” storage and backup. Each has their pros and cons, and each has their role in my setup.

I was reviewing my costs recently. I noted that I have over a terabyte of photographs safely backed up to S3, and concluded that S3 is both inconvenient (it isn't really “simple” to access) and possibly my most expensive option.

Thanks to a recent change, I've settled on Dropbox as my most effective online storage solution.

Continue Reading: Five Reasons I Went All-in with Dropbox
https://askleo.com/64326

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Do I Need to Update My BIOS Regularly?

I just updated/upgraded my computer this past February. New motherboard, cpu, ram, etc. There are a couple items from my older computer also. I like to keep my software, utilities, anti-virus, and so on, up-to-date; generally when a new update/version is issued. My question is this. Since my computer is fairly new and appears to be operating normally, is it necessary to update the BIOS, motherboard chip-sets, and so forth? My BIOS is at or less than 6 months old. I mean, I know that “if it ain't broke, don't fix it”! But I just want to be alright with either keeping what I've got or update it.

It's an interesting question. Even more interesting is that the answer may be changing.

We stress how important it is to keep your system software up to date with the latest updates and patches and the like. Even applications frequently self-check and notify you automatically when updates are available.

But what about your BIOS?

Continue Reading: Do I Need to Update My BIOS Regularly?
https://askleo.com/3010

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