How to Back Up your Data

Introduction 

Just last week, we celebrated World Backup Day. Over time, more and more information is stored on our devices rather than in our homes. Your important client information, your work documentation, and your precious photos are often stored digitally on a computer, which can be convenient and makes them easy to access. Still, it also means there are more ways to lose them. Whether you choose to back up your whole hard drive or just the things that matter to you, it’s a great idea to ensure they’re safe. 

Do I Really Need a Backup? 

You need a backup in the same way you need a fireproof safe to protect your documents, or an emergency contact for routine medical visits. The odds of you losing access to your important data instantly aren’t high, but they aren’t zero.  

• 10% - 20% of consumer PCs encounter malware each year, which could include ransomware or scripts that corrupt your data 

• 29% of data loss cases are caused by an accident  

• 4-6% of consumer PCs suffer from hard drive failure, whether due to the age of the hard drive, overheating, or power outages.  

The question really becomes, are you okay with the data in your PC being lost forever when it was always preventable? Especially when it often only takes a few minutes to perform partial backups.  

Physical vs Digital 

When choosing to back up your PC, there are a few choices you must make. The first is, do you want a digital or physical backup? Do you want both?  

Physical	Digital
More secure  Won’t need an internet connection to access  Faster	Easier accessibility   Easy to automate  Better security in relation to natural disasters

Physical Backup 

Performing a physical backup can seem intimidating, but there are many helpful tutorials online. If you plan on backing up your entire PC, then you’ll need a hard drive that can fit all the data you’re currently using on your C: Drive. This can be a bit pricey, but luckily, the software you need to perform the transfer, Clonezilla, is free! It’s also possible to just back up important documents using a flash drive. Rather than doing a backup of your entire hard drive, you can just take a backup of what is important to you. This can be more affordable and is a great option when there isn’t a lot you want to save.  

Digital Backup 

There are a lot of options for performing digital backups, like Carbonite, which manages everything for you and can hold a copy of your hard drive. There are also free options like Google Drive, which offer 15 GB of free storage for your important documents. OneDrive offers 5 GB of free storage if you prefer Microsoft. Both offer plans starting at nearly $3 month for 100 GB of storage.  

Now get started! 

Now that you know how easy it is to back up your important documents and photos, get started! Below, we’ve included a link to a tutorial. Don’t wait until something happens!  That’s like getting insurance after getting in a car accident. If you own a business and are overwhelmed by the number of devices or users that need this process done, then feel free to contact the Silverlight Technology Group for assistance. 

Let us know down below how you decided to back up your data! Stay supported! 

Tutorial here!