Backup, Wipe, Reinstall...

and bang your head against the wall when you notice what you forgot to backup important data.

Backup, Wipe, Reinstall is a procedure that I have come accustomed to at every new project I start with. Also I'm slowly learning what to backup and what not. But however careful I am, I usually forget to back up something.

Normally a full backup is the best solution, but in a work environment the point of the reinstall is to destroy sensitive customer data. The important thing is to separate the customer data from your personal/company data. The checklist below should be helpful, or at least it should give some kind of direction to what kind of data is worth to save. The size of the data listed below is very small and can easily be stored on e.g. a USB memory. But please remember to store the backup safely and preferably encrypt it. For easy and safe encryption I personally use TrueCrypt.

Backup checklist:

• Web browser bookmarks. Remember, you might using more then one browser.
  
• Mail address book.
• Mailbox settings.
  
• PGP keys, both your private and the keys you have collected.
• VPN keys.
• All non project related documents.