What is a good way to convince a stubborn user that they need to backup their data? [Plus a story/rant]

So my dad has an sdcard that became corrupted because of a faulty cable and with recent events on WannaCry infecting 100s of 1000s of machines, I figure now is a good time to have my dad start taking backups seriously thus I tell my him "you know how you could've lost all those pictures, well imagine that happening to your entire PC because of that ransomware I told you about earlier" and he tells me "Well it wasn't in the news so it's probably fake" I ask for clarification since most of the internet is talking about it right now and he says "it wasn't on the radio or TV and that news on the internet isn't always real" at which point I'm internally facepalming so hard while arguing that what's shown on TV isn't always real either...

Thankfully he's on windows 10 so he shouldn't be affected, however that of course doesn't mean that a new malware/ransomware won't come out later and ruin his computer, so now my only thought is that if he wants to keep his data then I need to either give him the shocker of his life, by hiding his files or something along those lines, that way he realizes just how important it is or I need to sneak backups off his computer with an automated program such as Veeam, because he's only interested in arguing with me and as much as he annoys me with his arguments, I'd still hate for anyone to lose important data like pictures or tax info.
(also slight problem with the second option as I don't have enough storage for all his data at the moment)

Any suggestions?

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I think Windows 10 is affected, only version of Windows 10 not affected out of the box is the Creators Update. Otherwise you'll have to install the specific patch.

Maybe see if you can't hunt down some CNN story covering it, or whatever he watches, as I'm sure some of the major news outlets would have reported it.

Could try explaining it from a non ransomware point of view: that electronics die and so will his computer.

It sounds like you've gone above and beyond. So, unless you're willing to do it for him, I'd say that some people just have to learn the hard way.

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Maybe I should be more clear about how he will argue with nearly anything I tell him or suggest that he does, I'm doubtful no matter how I explain it that he will listen, he seems to think he knows best even though he keeps screwing himself over in the long run, like that sdcard for instance, I've repeatedly told him to replace the hub the reader is attached to as it has become faulty from hanging in the air and while he doesn't typically argue about that he still hasn't done so, leading to me now having to recover the pictures off it.

I typically agree, but even with how annoying he can be, it's still harder to just ignore when it comes to your parents.

That was my first thought too, but it's borderline criminally malicious and something could go wrong. So flip the script.

Backup your PC and then pretend that you got the ransomware. Just make a locked screen with the image of the ransomware warning. Cry and wail about "Oh fuck, they got me! The virus is in the house! It could be spreading through our network right now!" And then after a few minutes of acting, calmly restore from backup. Show him how easy it was to avert a disaster.

He should BEG you to setup a backup for him after that.

I like to make manual Windows system images for my C:\ drive and automated SyncBack daily backups for my other data.

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That's a fantasic idea, although somehow I'm not sure he'll be quite as impressed as you think he will, he appears as if he may have a learned helplessness disorder and seemingly tends to not care a lot about me or at least what I do anyway, I mean if I for example show him "look at this neat thing I did" his response is roughly "that's nice..." I can understand him not being interested in half the stuff I show him but geeze.

Basically, I don't think I could get him to come and watch me restore my system, even if I were to react overdramatically to my computer dying.

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He may not react or watch or be interested, but he will remember.

Good Luck!

Thanks and yeah I suppose it couldn't hurt to try, I'm just tired of trying to deal with him and his issues directly.

Actually, I'm probably going to start telling him that from now on, if he doesn't want to take my advice then he can pay me for tech support (or food, that's fine too).

It sounds like he just feels he has to refute anything you say and can't say you're right. I would just sneak in a backup on my own while a visit. Even if it's only a couple of times a year it's something. Use VEEAM Endpoint or clonezilla and image it.

If you're a bit of the evil kind with a tad psycho just sneek some pseudo-malware on there that makes the system and files "inaccessible" (like the classic screenshot-in-fullscreen-and-hide-cursor-thing), show him what it would be like to "loose" his files for a few days, then "recover" them.

I think a lot of "older" people just don't get the idea that this could be happening and just don't care or whatever. I guess them seeing it for themselves is just the most effective way of showing them what could happen.

Setting up the Backup is the easy part.

But then again, he already had that happen with the SD card thing. If you can't restore everything just show him that it could have all been lost.

Your dad sounds like a typical democrat. Have you told him that CNN is fake news?

tell him :
"what if this was the c:/ drive and not the sdcard? without backups, ALL your pictures, tax info, documents , and and other data of value will be gone. so unless you're willing to pay thousands of dollars to a recovery firm to get some to all of it back, you will be screwed."

then make the argument that "if its on tv it must be true" is exactly the same as "if it's on the internet it must be true" .
the news outlets main priority is to make money, not to present news in an unbiased fashion.
most of whats on tv is entertainment, including the "news" .

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Backup his stuff then wipe his PC HD. If he is fine with it then he is ok as is. Some people just dont care.

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Uhh, I basically said exactly that. "at which point I'm internally facepalming so hard while arguing that what's shown on TV isn't always real either..."

Personally I wouldn't, even if it's minimal there's always a risk that the backup fails for whatever reason and you can't restore it, but if you wanted to go that route, then that's a lot of extra work (mainly waiting) when you could have basically the same effect by simply swapping the drive for a blank one, then simply tell him I was sneaking backups off his computer and swap the drives back.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions, I'm still thinking this over.

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Didn't read the full post but if they don't want to back up their data properly then it's not your problem. I ran into this at a job once and they didn't want to spend the money on proper back ups. The day they got cryptolocker I still slept soundly because I told them of the risks and they didn't listen. At some point it's beyond your concern.

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His Dad sounds like he is depressed. I know because it takes one to know one. Sometimes I act defeatist and it takes a lot of patience to deal with that.

OP is doing a good job to care about his Dad when maybe he doesn't care about himself.

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I had a neighbor who would get drunk and go to sketchy sites to watch porn on his wife's laptop. Then he would bring it to me to clean when he fucked up her PC and wanted me to fix it before he got caught. I always told him "You need to stop doing this. Buy your own PC and buy 2 backup drives."

When he came to me with ransomware from the "FBI" saying he was watching child porn, I said "Call Geek Squad!" and slammed the door on him. They wiped it.

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Thanks, the thought is nice, but I wouldn't want to mislead you into thinking I'm some kind of saint for helping my depressed dad, I don't want to speak on his behalf but I'm doubtful that he's depressed, I could be wrong but think it's more likely that he wants to be correct, in control and/or simply just doesn't care, at least not about the sort of topics I usually bring to him.

Also, I know he's forgetful and I may have given him the impression that I'll always just fix anything he breaks, but I didn't even get a "thank you" for restoring his pictures from that sdcard. :slight_frown:
Oh well, I'll still twist his arm about it, to try have him take me somewhere nice though.

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Sometimes you just have to step back and watch the world burn.

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