My PC is my life. I have my email, my photos, my documents and everything that’s important to me on it. How do I make sure I don’t lose it?

Backups, the single most important thing in the PC Universe. Well, you’d think so if you ever lost your data, I assure you. The last thing you want it to slip up on this, like not having bath rugs when you step out of the shower. So, what’s the best way to back it up?

Well, there are a bunch of different ways, and I know I’ve tried a bunch of them over the years. First of all, there are CDs, DVD and other backup media. Most operating systems have Backup and Restore features built right into them. Check them out. The 2nd option it to backup to USB drive on a regular basis. I have Buffalo Linkstation NAS drive I can backup data to. The reason I chose this device is because it consists of a mirrored set of disks; if one disk fails, the other has a full copy of the data. It also connects to my home network, so any computer can be backed up easily.

Anyway, that set up was great, but it was still a drag running backups, especially as my laptop moves all over the place and it’s not always connected to the network the disk is connected to. So, I’ve recently started using Carbonite, a cloud-based backup solution that sits on your computer and backs up your data whenever you have an Internet connection. If you delete a file, Carbonite hangs on to it for another 30 days, giving you a chance to restore it if you ever need it. I’ve found it the best way to run backups as it all runs magically in the background without your needing to take any action. Would recommend you give it at try: Carbonite