A crucial task with computers is backing up your important data. It’s possible that your computer will last forever, or will crash and burn within a few years.
Whatever the case, you should consider that a backup is like an insurance policy. People buy insurance not because they expect to be in a car accident, but just in case something happens, they are protected. Also, having a safety net of sorts is a good peace of mind.
You can either chose to backup over the internet (to a remote location), or backup to an external device like an external hard drive, a CD/DVD or even a flashdrive.
BACKING UP DATA REMOTELY
There are two different remote backup programs that I would recommend:
- Mozy – Mozy charges $5.00/month of unlimited backups, which is $60.00 per year. They make a full backup of your entire hard drive, then you can schedule future modified backups.
- Carbonite – Carbonite charges $50.00 per year, which is around $4.17/month.
The problem with backing up over the internet is the speed and with pictures, videos, and songs, one backup may take 3 days.
BACKING UP AT YOUR OWN LOCATION
Personally I use External Hard Drives which hold 250 GB of data space (and there are external hard drives which hold even more – 500 GB, 1 Terabyte, etc.) with a Backup Program that can be scheduled to back up automatically.
I can recommend a third party backup program called NTI backup. Especially now when you could be dealing with two different operating systems (Windows XP and Windows Vista) which each have different built-in backup programs. In addition, I also recommend Genie-Soft Backup Solutions.
NOTE: There are many different software programs on the market that will allow you to backup your data. Most offer a trial period at no cost so you can download and try different backup programs to see what is right for you. What’s good for one person may not be good for the other. Please contact my office (508-370-8080) so we can discuss which options might be good for your particular situation.
Backing up your data (which can include pictures, songs, and financial information) is vital because if you lost it you would have to spend untold hours recreating the missing data. Certainly, you couldn’t ask your sister to give birth again to her [now] 4-year old twins!
However, restoring a backup (and knowing how to) is also just as vital. There is nothing like thinking you’re backing up only to realize you haven’t done this properly and cannot restore your information after you’ve had a catastrophe.
We will teach you how to backup and restore your data. Call us today (508-370-8080) for a no obligation discussion of the best way to protect and back up your important data!