Is It Really That Important To Backup Your Data?

Our computers have become a necessary part of our lives. We use them for doing work, corresponding with friends and family and even for entertainment. Over time, most computer users create many file that are important documents which could cost both time and money if lost. Data backups are the best way to ensure you don't lose any of those files.

Many people think of backups as something large companies or computer geeks do. Or they might plan on doing it when the get the chance. Every one of those people has either already lost data due to some kind of problem with their system or they will one day. Every piece of computer equipment has a lifespan and is going to fail one day or another.

When that failure occurs, one of two things will happen. If you have a backup, you'll restore it back onto your repaired computer or a replacement. If you don't, you'll be pulling your hair out over the lost files, music, digital photos and all the other stuff you store on your machine.

There are, unfortunately, an infinite variety of ways to lose data. Besides hardware failure, computers can be destroyed in fires or floods. Hard drives can be damaged by power surges caused by lightning strikes or data lost by a child randomly hitting the keyboard. Viruses can infect systems and erase hard drives.

Having that data stored in a backup is often the only way to get it back. And even if it can be recovered by a data recovery service, it can cost thousands of dollars for them to do the work.

What Should You Be Backing Up?

For the average user, it's usually not necessary to backup every file on the computer, which would require large storage space. But at bare minimum home users should backup personal files and irreplaceable software. Spreadsheets with financial records not easily available from other sources, legal documents, work-in-progress... the list is large.

The list can go on and on, but the backup doesn't need to.

The easiest way to backup your files is to use the software that comes with most operating systems. Windows includes one, as does Mac OS X, Linux and others. These programs are usually pretty straightforward and it's just a matter of selecting the files and folders you want to save. Many of them can even be scheduled to run in the middle of the night or some other time you're not using your computer.

If you want something a little more powerful, there are a number of backup program you can purchase. These programs offer features such as only backing up files that have changed since the last backup, or those that have changed since a particular date.

Some files are a little tougher to backup, such as email. Some email software stores the messages on the server instead of on your computer. In those cases, you can usually save the messages into a file on your computer that can then be backed up.

Backups can be done to any kind of removable media - writeable CD's/DVD's, removable hard drives or even the newer 'keychain' devices that plug into a USB port. Even floppy disks can still be used in many cases. Documents often take a small amount of space. Just set aside 7 disks and rotate them from week to week.

Daily backups are one more thing to do in a busy schedule. But the day you lose that file you need and can't restore, you're going to be a whole lot busier.

About the Author

Data backups are just one component of an effective computer protection plan. Find out what else you need to know to protect your computer from other internet security threats at the Security Manor website. Visit http://www.securitymanor.com for more helpful tips and advice.

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