Do you have a 'recovery plan'?

Recently there was a fire in the flat next door to me, which therefore required us to evacuate our flats whilst the fire brigade dealt with it, and lead to the flat occupants being rehoused by social services as the flat was uninhabitable due to smoke damage. But it reminded me of something that I had been thinking of some months previously, which was "My recovery plan"!

I had previously worked out what to do if my mobile phone was lost, or stolen. But, what if my computer died irrevocably and I was totally unable to resuscitate it? Or if my flat was flooded or in a fire? This needs more thought, but to help you get started here are my recovery plans as they are today.

Loss of mobile phone.

If the phone is lost or stolen, then -

Change

• amazon password
• evernote password
• gmail password
• dropbox password

Do them in that order.

Also go to http://protect.foobar.co.uk to track the phone, lock and potentially delete all its contents.

Also ring the foobar helpdesk - 0870 0 700700

Inform the police.

Loss of computer.

If the computer is dead -

• [ ] Are the fans turning?

• yes = power to the box

• no = possible fuse blown in cable? Possible blown power-supply?

• [ ] Does the monitor power-light work?

• yes = power still to the whole system

• no = possible fuse blown in the power socket

Therefore replace fuses as required.

If still no working computer, then consider taking out the hard drive and placing it in an old computer to get it back online again.

If modem/router has died, then go online using my mobile phone and order a replacement from ebuyer or amazon.

If monitor has died, then replace temporarily with old monitor and order replacement.

Loss of home

If due to some physical cause, i.e. fire, flooding?

• Contact family and fix up emergency accommodation.
• Rescue possessions & clothing as possible.

Hopefully it will give you food for thought in you establishing your own disaster plans. Obviously you need to keep copies of your disaster plan in various places just for safety and ease of access in an emergency.