The Importance of Backing Up Data

They say it happens when you least expect it. I am talking about your computer or laptop hard drive failing, just like that. And then that dreaded feeling taking hold of you. All that data and information that has been saved by you on your computer/laptop over all those years being lost! Important documents, spreadsheets, emails, financial information, music purchased, videos and photos lost, gulp, forever.

Backing up is one way to prevent such a digital catastrophe from happening. The more frequent you are about backing up, the less data you risk at losing. Chances are if you purchased a computer recently, it may have a backup program installed already. If not, here are some backup programs you can use that can be downloaded from the web.

Cnet.com is a website I frequent when looking for software to try. And if I am lucky, I sometimes find some great free programs there. Here are some links to some backup software that are highly rated from the editors of Cnet:

Acronis True Image Home 2009 Create an exact image of your hard disk for easy restoration in the event of a system crash.

SyncBack Freeware 3.2.19.0 Back up, restore, or sync files to drives, servers, or removable media.

SugarSync Manager 1.1.8 Backup, access, and sync your files across your computers and a mobile phone.

And for the Mac users out there, Cnet has FoldersSynchronizer X 3.6.4 where it helps you synchronize and back up your files, folders, and entire disks on a Mac. Apple also has a nice automatic backup solution for Macs through Time Capsule. According to the Apple site, "Time Capsule is a revolutionary backup device that works wirelessly with Time Machine in Mac OS X Leopard. It automatically backs up everything, so you never have to worry about losing your important files." I will warn you though, it is pricey at a $300 price tag.

There is also another great option for both PC and Mac users in backing up data. Mozy.com provides you an online backup service for all your computer files. Mozy is the first and only full-featured, remote backup system in the world for free. Mozy also offers unlimited backup for just $4.95 a month or $54.50 a year. Think about it, no CDs or DVDs that you have to keep track of. No external hard drives or USB Thumb Drives to hook-up. In the Golden Age of Web 2.0, why not backup online with Mozy? The free account gets you 2 GBs of online storage and for $4.95 you get unlimited storage. Free. Automatic. Secure.
Mozy Online Backup

The Importance of Backing Up Data