Backing up your data is one of the most important steps you can perform in practicing safe computing. Unfortunately, this step is often overlooked by too many people. If your computer hard drive malfunctions, or if your computer gets compromised by a virus or hacker, the potential of losing all your data is highly likely. All your email, your work or school documents, pictures, anything of importance to you is gone in an instant.
To avoid this type of disaster you need to back up your files!
There are a lot of ways to back up your data. For small amounts of data, use a USB Flash drive or a Zip disk. For large amounts of data, use Recordable CDs or DVDs.
Once you determine which way suits you best, begin to make regular backups. A good practice is to do it once a week. You, though, are the best judge in determining how often you need to back up your data. If you are updating files regularly during the week, it would be good to perform a weekly backup. If there are only occasional changes, then maybe once every two weeks, or once a month would be more appropriate. The most important thing to keep in mind is that you need to get in the practice of backing up your data.
