“I am an avid computer user but have never seen the point in backing up any of my hard drives until recently. Unfortunately, my husband had his laptop stolen and lost a good chunk of important files he needed for his job; which has caused us both a lot of excess stress. Now that my eyes have been opened, what are the best ways to start backing up data on our home computers?”

--Angela D.

We entrust computers with some of most sensitive and important data, which makes it horrible when they break or, even worse, are taken from us. If you have a computer, you should be backing up that computer or understand that you are risking losing all of your data in the blink of an eye. There are several ways to successfully backup your data for personal record or in case of an emergency. Some of these methods will even allow you to set up a reoccurring restore times that will back up your computer automatically.

The most basic way to backup your files is to burn them onto a CD-R or DVD-R disk, which most computers are able to read and write to. Simply copy over important files when you feel necessary and burn them onto the disk for storage. If you want to avoid purchasing, and storing, an excessive amount of disks, consider buying CD-RW or DVD-RW instead. These disks can be read from and overwritten multiple times.

Another, easier, way to backup your system is through the use of an external hard drive. Simply purchase and connect an external hard drive for your computer and copy files over as necessary. Most of these drives are accompanied with programs that will allow you to setup specified times to back up your data. This is the best passive way to keep your data safe and even adds the benefit of portability, as most external hard drives are small enough to be carried around.

Most computers also come with simple backup devices that can be useful in the event of spyware or a virus. Windows has a “System Restore” feature that allows you to set up scheduled backup times, which will then allow you to revert your system back to the saved state if necessary at any future time. Apple computers have a similar feature called the “Time Machine”, which allows you to set restore points and set up scheduled back up times to external hard drives. These programs can really save the day in many different situations and will come pre-installed on your operating system of choice.

As a final way to back up your computer, there are third party programs available that can back up your files remotely to an online server. These programs are usually offered on a yearly subscription basis and, since they work remotely, are the best space savers. These can also be set up on a similar pre-programmed schedules, making it another type of passive backup process. There are plenty of ways to backup your files but what is more important is that you are, in fact, backing up your files and taking this extra, necessary step towards protecting your personal data.