World Backup Day

March 31 is World Backup Day and a great time to take a moment and ensure you back up your important files.

It is easy to be lulled into a false sense of security, but your computer is a ticking time bomb. Eventually your hard drive will fail and when it does your documents, photos, music will go with it unless you have a good backup strategy in place.

Go Local

You can back up your data to an external drive, DVD, thumb drive, or other home server with reasonable security that you will be able to get it back if disaster strikes.

However, in the case of a fire or flood, you might lose both the computer and the backup if all are stored in the same place. Follow the 3-2-1 rule and keep three copies, in two formats, with one copy off-site.

Get in the Cloud

There are now many services offering nearly seamless cloud backup services like Carbonite, Mozy and Backblaze.

Each service has its own quirks, but set up and installation is usually very simple. Your data is quietly backed up on the schedule you decide to a server somewhere in the world and can be retrieved instantly when you need it.

There is usually an ongoing cost and continual internet connectivity is needed.

Backup Strategy

Either route you choose, you need to:

• Decide what folders or data you want to backup.

• Create a schedule for how often you want the backup to take place.

• Verify that you can access the data and restore it back onto a computer.

• Keep your system working or subscription paid up.