Hurricane season is almost here, so it is a good time to think about computer backups. Backups are usually out of mind until you need them and then it is too late. If you have set up a backup, verify that you can restore a file. It is quite common to go to the backup and find them completely blank.
One important question to ask yourself when trying to figure out what to back up is what do you need from your computer. If it is just your photos, there are several free options with limited space from the likes of google, apple, etc. If you have Amazon prime they offer free unlimited photo backup as a benefit.
If you are not sure of what you need from your computer or there are many different things that you want to backup, then you probably should backup the whole machine. There are several different types of backups, we will discuss the cloud backups and using an external usb drive.
Cloud backups store data on servers on the Internet. Several popular cloud backups are Carbonite, Mozy, and Backblaze. These are great for cases where your computer is destroyed or stolen. You purchase a new computer and restore your files.
Backing up to an external usb drive is also a good option. You can purchase a large usb drive for a very reasonable price. The drive can be used to backup one or several computers. Most computers contain software support for backing up to an external drive.
It is a good idea to have multiple copies of the backup of your computer’s files. This way you can restore a file that changed a while ago or a file that was deleted a few days ago.
If your computer did not come with dvds/usb drive to reinstall the operating system software, follow the instructions to create them. If something should happen and you need this software it can be expensive and it might take a while to arrive by mail.
With Hurricane season just around the corner take a minute and think about your computer backup. If you have a backup, restore a file and verify that it is what you expect. This will provide you peace of mind should anything happen.