(FORTUNE Magazine) – Disaster strikes. That's the basis for one of the great financial inventions underpinning modern economies--insurance. Today, it's also the basis for a thriving sector of the computer industry. Any number of events can strike your computer at any time, causing problems ranging fromminor lockups to drive failure to unrecoverable data loss. But instead of worrying, you can arm yourself with a simple arsenal of tools to ward off a variety of hazards. Before we discuss the common external events that can spell disaster for your system, let's look at what you can do on your own desktop to prevent it from self-inflicted damage.

Start by ridding your PC system of unnecessary files and emptying the Recycle Bin. This sounds simple, but Windows actually scatters files across multiple directories on your hard drive, making a manual cleanup nearly impossible. Instead of letting your hard drive build up a surplus of scattered, unwanted applications or Internet files, you should get rid of them with a utility designed for the job. Quarterdeck's CleanSweep Deluxe 3.0, Symantec's Uninstall Deluxe, and CyberMedia's Uninstaller 4.5 will all do the job.

Next, create an emergency disk, which will help you boot your system in the event of disaster. You can create an emergency disk from within Windows 95, or you can use one of the many maintenance utilities on the market such as Symantec's Norton Utilities 3.0, CyberMedia's FirstAid 98, or Helix Software's Nuts & Bolts. Macs come with a bootable CD-ROM or floppy disk, or you can use Norton Utilities for the Mac.

CALL A DOCTOR

Before going any further, ensure that your drives are working correctly. Again, you can do this from within Windows 95 by running ScanDisk or, for a more thorough check, use a maintenance utility. Macs come with Disk First Aid, or you can use Norton Utilities Disk Doctor, which will check files, folders, and the surface of your hard drive, and repair many of the common ailments.

After you've let the software fix potential problems, it's time for defragmentation. Again, this can be done from Windows 95, but many of the maintenance programs on the market today do a superior job. How often you need to defrag your hard drive depends on how you use your system. The more you use it--install, delete, move, and change files--the more your hard drive becomes fragmented. Defragmentation utilities are included in the maintenance utilities listed above. Regular defragging links your files together again, increasing the performance of your hard drive and safeguarding against file losses.

The next step is to create a backup. If you're connected to a network, find out what files are backed up and how frequently. You may want to develop your own method of backing up your most critical files on your desktop system to ensure the safety of important data in case a virus or other hazard strikes the network.

First find a backup system that will work for you. Popular options are tape and removable hard drives, but you can also use recordable CD-ROMs, magneto-optical drives, as well as other devices. In considering each technology, look at ease-of-use, data transfer speed, and overall cost of both the hardware and the media, such as cartridge or tape, that you will need for storage.

Next, determine how the software will be used. For example, if you want one drive to share between your desktop and mobile system, opt for a parallel device, such as a Microsolutions Backpack tape drive, or the removable Zip or Jaz drives from Iomega. Or if you swap files between a Mac and a PC, you may want to get one Zip drive and install Zip Tools on each system, making the drive interchangeable.

USE DAILY FOR BEST RESULTS

Most backup devices come with software to establish regular backups. For best results, do a full backup initially and lock it away safely. Then perform incremental backups on a weekly, or even daily, basis. During an incremental backup, you store only new data or data that has been changed since your last backup. This routine will ensure that you always have an up-to-date copy of your data on hand in case of an accident that zaps your files.

In the category of crash prevention, the analogy of a toolkit is helpful--utilities give you a tool or two instead of the entire inventory offered by full-blown maintenance providers. Crash prevention utilities--such as Symantec's Crash Guard Deluxe, Quarterdeck's RealHelp, and Artisoft's ConfigSafe--know when the Windows application you're working in is about to freeze, and the software will make repairs and save your work. A system crash is bad enough without the added insult of losing whatever you have onscreen. If you're not into tweaking and optimizing your system to the hilt, a good crash-prevention utility may be the only tool you need.

A crash is not the only specter threatening your system. Downloading files from the network or the Internet, or borrowing software from friends, may seem fairly innocuous, but in reality these are the leading causes of virus attacks. Fortunately, there are ways to ensure the health of your system. Start by developing the simple habit of keeping floppy disks out of the floppy drive to prevent a boot-sector virus.

The next line of defense is a good anti-virus package. Loads of viruses are sent by E-mail, often in Microsoft Word files, so look for a program that scans files as they are being downloaded from the Web. New versions of all the popular anti-virus packages have E-mail scanning abilities.

Beyond installing and setting up a good anti-virus package, plan to update the software regularly. New viruses are detected daily, so you'll need the latest software to eradicate them. Most packages offer frequent and convenient updates via the Internet. When you choose an anti-virus software tool, be sure to look at how frequently you'll be updated, the cost, and the update method.

Protecting your files from viruses is not enough. You'll also need an encryption utility to keep your data from prying eyes. Features and functions of encryption utilities vary, but many of the products, such as McAfee's PC Crypto 2.1, PGP's Pretty Good Protection, and PC Dynamics' SafeHouse are very easy to use and offer several methods of encryption ranging from the most basic up to military standards.

IN THE VAULT

Most of these utilities work by setting up a "vault" area on your hard drive, removable drive, or wherever else you specify. You can then drag-and-drop the files you want encrypted to that area, and gain access to them by using a password. The incidences of lost and stolen mobile computers have recently skyrocketed, so if you travel with a mobile system, an encryption utility can bring you peace of mind from knowing that your data is safely tucked away even if your computer isn't.

All the utilites we've mentioned so far are very important in keeping your system up, running, and protected, but they all depend on one thing: power. Without it, the world of electronic communications and data processing comes to a halt. Your enterprise server is undoubtedly protected by a UPS--but what about your desktop? A simple power surge or brownout can destroy a modem, phone line, hard drive, or printer connected to your computer. And imagine what happens to your files in a complete blackout when Windows isn't properly shut down.

Recently many UPS vendors have developed products specifically for desktop use, and there are also surge suppressors for use on the road. Currently, American Power Conversion is the only company with a surge suppressor/UPS in one, but these useful and inexpensive units will soon be available from several other manufacturers. You have little control over the quality of the power that comes out of the wall outlet, but for as little as $100 you can control what powers your equipment.

Certainly, maintaining a clean and safe desktop or mobile system takes some doing. But if you implement none, or only some, of the preventive measures outlined here, you're leaving your desktop or mobile system open to all kinds of hardships--hardships made all the more painful by knowing that most of them are preventable. The minimal investment required to shore up your systems against disaster is instantly rewarded by your own peace of mind--and definitely returned over the long haul as you ward off system crashes, viruses, power-zapped peripherals, and more.