Backup Your Computer Files Yourself Or Pay Someone

Right now data stealing is running rampant. I told you last week about losing several of my websites and my friend Davids problems. This week another person that I buy services from was hacked into also. You need to backup your computer files like right now!

I told you about Mozy the service that most of the people I know online are using.

But there are several other things you can do if you don’t want to pay for an outside service although I recommend it.

If your computer runs Windows 7, then you already have a software solution available to you – the “backup and restore” feature. You can begin the process on Windows 7 by entering your “Control Panel,” clicking “System and Maintenance,” then selecting “Backup and Restore.” The “Backup and Restore” function lets you choose the folders of your computer that will be backed up, and schedule the process to occur automatically. Some earlier versions of the Windows operating system also have similar functions.

Some Windows users might not be satisfied with this solution, however, and want something with more options and features. There are other options available, including software packages that actually synchronize – in real time – all of the files and folders that you want to back up. This means that you always have backup copies of all of your important data in files. (If you use a backup solution that backs up only on a twice monthly basis, for example, you risk losing any new data since the date of the last backup.)

Even if your primary computer cost several thousand dollars, you probably place a much higher value on the data that’s actually stored on computer. Since we conduct significant transactions and other aspects of our lives through our computers, financial records, family photographs and other items are now stored solely on our desktop and laptop computers. A single catastrophic failure of your computer’s disk drive could result in an incredible loss.

You can also protect against this type of scenario by periodically backing up your data to an external hard drive. Some people prefer this over backing up their data and documents online and sending their data into the wild blue yonder. There’s something reassuring about knowing that your data is backed up to an external drive that only you have access to.

But while backing up our data is something that we know we should be doing regularly, chances are we’re not actually doing a good enough job at it. Fortunately, there are some ways to automatically back up your computer files to an external hard drive, reducing the chance that you’ll suffer any significant data loss.

Before you can set up your backup process, you’ll need an external hard drive. In recent years, the price of hard drives has dropped significantly, so you should be able to purchase a high capacity drive on practically any budget.

Because the backup process is not something you will be performing every day, don’t be overly concerned with data transfer speeds. For most people it’s simply not necessary to have the absolute fastest hard drive for backup purposes. You should, however, try to get the largest hard drive you can afford. The more space you have for backup storage, the better.

In order to have your backups occur automatically, you’ll want to get some software that manages the process for you. Just google data backup software and you will find review sites for software that can help you out if you prefer to do it yourself. Having to do manual backups of all your files on a weekly basis is a sure way to get frustrated and stop doing backups altogether.

You can always refine your backup process later, but the important thing is to get a schedule in place and get into the habit of backing up your computer files and data now!