Having at least two Internet providers is just common sense when you are moving large amounts of money. Either subscribe to two providers or get a dialup connection. The dialup backup can be used on a variety of computers and all telephone lines. Providers like Budget Dialup and many others will let you pay ten or twenty dollars up front and you are only charged for the time you use. No monthly or yearly fees. http://budgetdialup.com/index.htm There are others out there but I am only familiar with Budget. They have been a special gift dozens of times for me. I have everything on my laptop and main desktop set up and ready to go in case things mess up.( I live in the country so its not like I can just go down the street to use someone else's machine or connection. Leaving my cache of passwords and login urls on someone else's machine isn't going to happen.)
Write down the full contact details of your broker and have them listed clearly in a small book you keep near you when ever you trade. A little book with all your login and contacts details could be the second coming when disaster strikes. You should write down all your logins and passwords. You never know what could happen. If your hard drive was to go down, what would you do? What do you need in order to set everything up on another computer. Every computer user, not just traders should have complete backups. I will not go into detail on that subject since its covered in a lot of other places. A small page book with a little lock and key like a diary would use is fine. You can also keep it in a safe or loacked drawer. Just make sure to have it. in times of need you can quickly access the important numbers and logins.
Make sure you have a UPS for your computer. A uninterruptable power supply (UPS) will keep your machine going if the electricity goes out. You can get various sizes and capacity at prices ranging from fifty dollars to several hundred depending on what special bells and whistles you want. My UPS has a 1200 watt capacity and I plug everything I need to keep going when the power goes out. There are 16 outlets on the back so I can run your telephone, monitors, computer and ISP box through it. I have a desktop light and a variety of things hooked up to mine and I still have half an hour of operation when the power messes up. Most UPS units will have a telephone line protector as well. UPS Software is easy to install and read. It estimates the amount of time you have remaining on the batteries until it will go through a standard shutdown. This is a good feature if I happen to be asleep and the power goes out which happens quite a bit here. The software goes through a normal shutdown and waits for you to reactivate or the power to come back on. Seriously, this is a vital backup piece of equipment for every trader.