This is a topic that I revisit at least once a year - partly because the technology is changing rapidly and partly because I continue to run into very sad stories with customers who have lost the only copy they have of someone's life story or the only pictures of grandma or someone else who has passed on or the manuscript they have slaved over for months or years.
Any reader of this column knows that I always end it with advice to backup anything important, but what are the best ways to backup? How often? How many backups should I have? Where should they be stored?
For my business clients, I recommend they have a continuous backup or "mirror" hard drive that is always making a duplicate copy of everything they do and everything they save. I also recommend an "off-site" backup that is either continuous (such as Carbonite, Mozy or Crashplan) or a physical backup they take with them at the end of each day. For most individuals, the cost is a concern, but there are many things you can do that cost very little and can give you a high level of security.
I do recommend an online backup service like those mentioned above. If your backup needs are not extensive, any of them will do and all cost around $5 per month or less (Crashplan is available for as little as $3 per month). Whether or not you take advantage of these systems, you should also make regular backups that are in your possession. These can be done on a flash drive (also called a "thumb" drive) or by writing to CDs or DVDs. If you have larger backup needs you can save your duplicates to an external hard drive. All of these options are available at any of the electronics/computer shops and big box stores in the area.
All of these have one basic weakness - the backup can be lost or destroyed easily. CDs and DVDs can get scratched or over-written, flash drives are fairly easily corrupted and external hard drives will all eventually crash - it is the nature of systems with electronics and/or moving parts. The way to be confident you are protected is to have multiple backups. I recommend at least two of anything important with one of them being off-site (either on-line or in another location such as your home or office or another computer). For things that are ultra critical, I recommend no less than three copies of all important files.
It may cost you a little bit extra, but you will be happy you did it if your hard drive or computer ever crashes or is destroyed or stolen so, as always, remember to make sure you have a backup of anything important.
