How to Backup Your Most Important Data

In today's world, our computer data is one of our most important assets. Whether it is our business spreadsheets, school papers, or our media files, it is important to always make backup copies. There are many ways in which your data might be lost. Your computer might crash, or your hardware might simply stop working. If you don't take steps now to protect your data, you might regret it in the future.

Luckily, there are a few methods you can use to backup your data. Let's take a look at them.

1. Disk

Keeping your backup files on a computer disk has always been a popular choice, and that remains as true today as it was 20 years ago. Back then, we had to use a floppy disk, but today the most popular choices are either a CD or DVD. There are some limitations to this method, however. First of all, the capacity is rather limited. Although 4.7 GB used to be a relatively massive amount of storage space, today the average usb drive holds more than that. It also takes a long time to burn (write) to the disk. Finally, the disk can become scratched or otherwise deteriorate in quality. This is especially true if you plan on storing your data for many years or decades. Although DVD storage is a viable choice, it's not the best.

2. External Hard Drive

An external hard drive can be a pretty good option for storing your backup files. Recently, the prices have come down on these, and you can find a 1000 GB external hard drive for around $100. However, it is important to remember that an external hard drive suffers from many of the same problems that your internal hard drive may suffer from. Namely, it's components can also fail. Of course, that it why you have two sets of files at any one time. It is unlikely that both will fail at the same time.

3. The Cloud

Increasingly, it is becoming more popular to store your files in "the cloud". In this case, you can store your files with a data center that you connect with via the internet. You can typically have automatic backups occur at scheduled times, such as when you are sleeping. The cost for this is usually based on the amount of storage space and bandwidth that you use. It is metered in much the same way as you might pay for your electricity. One of the primary advantages to this storage method is the scalability. You might be able to store thousands of GB of data without the necessity of storing the hardware in your home or office.