When did you last perform a backup and what did you backup? There is much to backup and so often we delay it, forget data and then one day…..
Automation and variety are your adorable friends. They will help you out and keep you on track. Put a few different solutions in place and soon you will hardly even notice it occurs. A worry, a chore, vanished unlike your data. Leaving you to monitor and the occasional update.
A backup doesn’t have to be every file, every piece of data. You can decide to just backup the changes, the new files and then every X times, make a full backup. This lowers your resource usage and saves time.
The tips below are for home users, the self employed and small businesses.
Bookmarks
Don’t forget the bookmarks. Not deemed important by most, missed by many when gone! Sign up and install Xmarks and backup those bookmarks. Plus other features link syncing across multiple machines and platforms.
The external hard drive
Installing another hard drive a pain? Perhaps a step beyond your current abilities? Connect a external hard drive via usb or network drive. Couple this with a nifty application like Cobian Backup, a dash of encryption if required and et voila. I’ve never brought an expensive external hard drive. A cheap usb caddy and a spare hard drive. Hard drives are incredibly cheap these days and putting your own external solution together could be cheaper.
The web
Backup your files to the web? Surely not! There is now a smorgasbord of solutions and range of features. Carbonite, Dropbox, Mozy and more. Why not dip your toe into the water with a solution like dropbox?
Offsite backup
I’ve just covered the web, which counts as offsite backup. However what about friends, family, home location? Software like the previous mentioned cobian have an encryption option. So don the mac, put on the sunglasses and look shady handing over an encypted dvd to someone you trust. Then if some unfortunate scenario occurs like a fire, your backup is just a stone throw away.
Email
Also you can consider forwarding a copy of your emails to a service like Google’s gmail for longterm storage. Another layer of backup.
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