You Better Back It Up

There are few words that strike more fear in the hearts of men than, “You don't have a backup?”

Odds are that if you haven't heard them, you aren't backing up your data.  The sad reality is that most of us never learn or think about backing up data until the inevitable happens; a catastrophic computer crash, theft, fire or virus erases your files.

Then there are those of us who do backups on a regular basis, to an external device and still, lightning strikes (both abstractly and literally). 

If you don't know what a back up is, let me make it easy to understand.  You own a computer.  It comes with an operating system like Windows Vista.  What you probably didn't notice is that you probably didn't get a software disc for Windows Vista like the good old days because that would cost old Bill about 30 cents more per system and it all adds up. 

So, when you bought your computer, how many of you created a software system boot disk?  I know the answer; none of you.  But believe it or not, THAT'S OKAY.  You can always buy a Windows Vista software disc in a store or on-line (I just checked at RoyalDiscount.com and the 32 bit version is $189 and the 64 bit is $199) and reinstall it. 

You might even have all the original disks for all your other software programs or you might remember your serial number if you go to the software manufacturer's website too.  BUT SOMETHING MORE IMPORTANT IS MISSING. 

That's right, forget the price of all that manufactured software cluttering up your bookshelves and think about what all your personal photos, letters, memoirs, diary entries, recipes, mailing lists, e-mail addresses, customer information, sales information, accounting, tax prep and astrological readings are going to cost to replace!  Forget the money aspect and think about the time it will take to recreate all that history.  Let's face it, if your computer goes down for the big count, you won't even remember all the stuff that you've lost.

Backing up is FUNDAMENTAL to owning a computer.  Most good programs include some kind of backup function that organizes the data in a format that makes restoring (copying your old data into your new replacement computer or hard-drive) a matter of minutes instead of days or weeks.  BUT, performing a backup is just the beginning. 

In order to really protect your data (files containing pictures, documents and other information) you need at least two backups and ONE OF THEM MUST BE STORED OFF SITE.  That means if you backup to an external hard-drive, DVDs, CDs or memory sticks, you have to take one home (if your computer is at work) or to the office or safe deposit box (if your computer is at home). 

Even I couldn't promise myself to go so far as to store a set of backups offsite because I work from home and I don't have a safe deposit box (I probably ought to look into one now that I think of it).  I'm pretty proud of being prepared for just about anything including medical supplies and water in all of our cars and an earthquake supply shed in the back yard (My wife and I are from the Midwest and live in California where our children are professional actors, and we are the only family we know who went to the time and expense to heed all the warnings on the State of California website).  Don't worry about us, we also keep a backup house in Minnesota. 

So, just how do you make sure your data is being backed up regularly, redundantly and one copy is being kept off-site? 

Check out services like Carbonite.com, mozy.com or ibackup.com. 

With these services you can preselect the files you absolutely want backed up and how often you want them backed up.  I started using Carbonite.com after I realized my wife was not going to do regular backups of her computer without my assistance and she's a writer (novels, screenplays, newsletters, articles, etc.) and I am on the road 75-100 days a year. 

With Carbonite.com setup I don't have to worry about anything being lost.  She recently, accidentally, deleted a document and when I couldn't even find it in her trash bin, I remembered it was stored on Carbonite.com and was able to retrieve the file and download it in seconds. 

The most important thing to do once you sign on for a service like Carbonite.com is to make sure the data files for your programs are in a directory that you are having the service backup.  You can either talk to the support at Carbonite.com or call your software provider to locate the critical file(s). 

Best of all, you can get this piece of mind for under $50 a year.  If you want to learn more or see a demonstration on how to setup Carbonite.com, check out our three part video series at RealEstateTechnologyExperts.com!