Four ways to backup your data

Back up your important files before it’s too late

Now that people are becoming increasingly reliant on technology, a lot of our important stuff is now in soft copy - and in constant danger of being wiped out. Viruses and butterfingers are common causes of data loss, and when it occurs, can cause normal people to do this. And this. And even this.

The only way to safeguard against data loss is to make multiple copies of your data, or in tech terms, backup. Simply copy the important files and paste them in a separate media (no point storing the data on the same disk, is there?), or use programs or websites that automate the whole process for you.

Here are the four top ways to back up and store your stuff:

1. CD/DVD disks

Prices for these plastic discs have been steadily falling and are now pretty cheap, plus most computers now come with in-built CD/DVD writers. If yours doesn’t, you can buy an external one instead.

Write your files onto the CDs and DVDs and store them in a safe place. CDs have a maximum capacity of 700MB, while DVDs are much higher at 8.5GB, and you can use multiple disks if you have to. And they have a shelf-life of up to 100 years (or so the manufacturers claim) so you can hand them down to your grandchildren instead of telling them stories verbally (wears out your dentures).

2. USB flash drives

USB drives a.k.a thumb drives a.k.a memory sticks are easy, portable, and very accessible ways of storing your data. However, they are much pricier than CDs and DVDs byte-for-byte, and currently the best of the lot can store a very respectable 16GB for a very respectable price.

3. External hard drives

The top choice of most people, external hard drives usually provide more disk space than what’s inside your computer. With capacities currently going up to 2TB (1TB = 1,000 GB = more bytes than you can ever fill if you’re not a video-whore), you can backup your entire hard drive, inclusive of the operating system, into the gizmo.

Take good care of them though, because they are just as fragile as the drive inside the computer, so heating them or dropping them is a big no-no.

4. Online storage

By far my favorite option. Online storage is free up to a certain amount of storage (up to 2GB for some services), and beyond that you’ll have to pay a reasonable sum to enjoy unlimited storage.

The great thing about online backups is you can access it on any computer with Internet access, though uploading and downloading such a large amount of data can take a while.