Buzz
User data stored on computers is susceptible to loss at any given moment. This is due to the possibility of hard drive failure at any time, unforeseeable software errors that can delete important files. Furthermore, with the rise of cyberattacks, ransomware can infiltrate and take control of user computers, hijacking critical files and data on the system, and demanding ransom.
These are your personal data
There are various methods to back up your data, such as utilizing an external drive or backing up files on a remote server via the Internet. Here are the strengths and weaknesses of each backup method:
- Backing up to an external drive
If you have an external USB drive, you can back up your data to that external drive using built-in backup features on your computer.
You can back up data using File History on Windows 10 or Windows 8. On Windows 7, use Windows Backup. On Mac, use Time Machine. Sometimes you can also connect an external drive to your computer and use backup tools or plug in an external drive whenever you're at home, and it will automatically back up.
Advantages: Quick backup and cost-effective.
Disadvantages: If your home is burglarized, your backups may be lost along with your computer.
- Backing up via the Internet
If you want to ensure the safety of your files, you can back them up to the Internet using services like CrashPlan.
CrashPlan is a well-known online backup service chosen by many users; however, this service also faces competition from rivals such as BackBlaze, Carbonite, and MozyHome. With low monthly fees (around $5 per month), these programs run in the background of your computer or Mac, automatically backing up your files to the service's web storage.
If you lose files and need to use them for something, you can restore them in various data recovery ways, where Recuva software will be your reliable assistant. Recuva data recovery software can retrieve popular data files like music, audio, and documents. Additionally, you can use CrashPlan to back up another computer for free, such as your friends' or relatives' computers, or another computer you're using.
Advantages: If you back up online, you no longer have to worry about losing data if the hard drive fails, ....
Disadvantages: To use these services, you will have to pay a fee, and the backup process may take longer than backing up to an external drive - this is especially true if you have many files.
What is the best computer data backup option?
- Using cloud storage services
Many would argue that technically this isn't a backup method, but for most users, these cloud storage services serve a similar purpose. Instead of storing files on your computer's hard drive, you can store them on cloud storage services like Dropbox, Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, or similar services, where Dropbox and Google Drive are the most popular choices for users to back up their data.
If you're using Windows 10, consider storing data on OneDrive to protect your data.
Then these files will automatically sync with your online account and other computers. If unfortunately the hard drive 'dies', you still have copies of the files stored online and on other computers.
Advantages: This method is very easy to implement, quick to operate, free, and in many cases, you don't have to worry about your data being lost.
Disadvantages: Most cloud storage services only offer a few gigabytes of free storage for users, so you can only back up a few files.
Although backup programs like CrashPlan and cloud storage services like Dropbox are both online backup programs, the way they work is fundamentally different. Dropbox is designed to sync your files between computers, while CrashPlan and similar services are designed to back up a large amount of files.
If you're using Windows 10, check out how to back up Dropbox data on Win 10 here
CrashPlan will store multiple different copies of files, so you can restore files precisely from various restore points in history. And services like Dropbox are free services, with only a small amount of storage space, CrashPlan's cost is quite low but it stores many backups. Depending on the amount of data you have, using CrashPlan may be cheaper than other services.
CrashPlan clients can also back up to an external drive, so it will provide you with backups on your hard drive and backups on CrashPlan's servers.
One backup method is not enough: Use multiple methods
Which backup method should you use? The ideal solution is to use at least 2 of these backup methods. Why? This is because you may want to use both onsite backup and offsite backup.
“Onsite” literally means backups stored in the same physical location as you. So, if you back up to an external hard drive and keep that backup at home with your personal computer, that's called onsite backup.
Onsite Backup is faster and easier to perform. If you lose files, you can quickly restore them from the external drive. But you shouldn't rely solely on onsite backup. Suppose your home is burglarized and your computer, hardware, ... and the files you backed up are all lost.
Offsite Backup isn't a server on the Internet, and you don't have to pay any monthly fees either. You can back up your files to a hard drive and keep it at your workplace, your office, or any secure location. This will cause a bit of inconvenience, but that's offsite backup technique.
Furthermore, you can also use CrashPlan to back up another computer (such as your friends' computers) for free. So, you may negotiate with your friend, who will back up the other person's computer via the Internet - you don't have to pay monthly fees, and both parties can have backup copies. (And because the backups are encrypted, your friend cannot access and view your data but can only store these backups for you).
Similarly, you can store your files on Dropbox, Google Drive, or OneDrive and regularly back up to an external drive. Or you can use CrashPlan to back up both an external drive and their online service, getting both onsite and offsite backups of the same program.
If using Google Drive as a backup tool, refer to how to upload files to Google Drive to transfer large and important data to Google Drive.
There are many ways to use these services, depending on you. Just make sure you have a safe backup strategy in hand, with both onsite and offsite backups, so you have a secure network, no longer worrying about losing your files and data.
Automatic Backup
Instead of manually copying files to an external drive, you can use automatic backup tools. Just set it up once, and the tool will automatically copy data for you.
That's one of the reasons why many users prefer using online services like CrashPlan. If files and data are backed up online, they can be automatically backed up every day. If backed up to an external drive, you have to do more manual work, which means if you don't do it regularly, you'll back up less data.
Ultimately, you just need to concern yourself with the location of file storage and ensure you have multiple backups in hand.
