The Best Way to Back up Your Data and Keep it Safe

When you think about all the things you have on your computer, you might think that it would be a huge loss if that data were corrupted or lost. Photos, important documents, vital emails, all of these can be on your PC, so you need to ensure that all of it is kept safe and secure. So when you are considering backing up your data, here are some of the options you have available.

Keeping it in the Cloud

Using the cloud to back up your data is becoming a lot more popular in recent times. There are now many different options available including some that offer a free amount of space with the option to upgrade it if you need to. There are a few benefits to keeping your data in the cloud, for example, you don’t need to worry about viruses as many cloud storage companies have their own security. You also don’t need to do any updates or replace any hardware. Another bonus is that most will update as the day goes along, so you don’t even need to remember to back it up.

Save to an External Hard Drive

Some people, like to attach an external hard drive to their computer that they use as a back-up. Although some of them are wireless, most are wired to the computer permanently. The improvement of USB technology has led to faster data transfer speeds; this means you don’t need to wait too long to back up your entire hard drive. Using an external drive makes it easy to simply drop files into the folders you need or set up an automatic transfer. There are a few downsides to using an external hard drive, for instance, as they get older, they can become prone to failure which needs to be monitored. You can use one of the newer solid-state drives or SSD’s, but these are still expensive to buy at the moment. If a problem develops in the drive and it cannot be recovered, then the best way to get your data back is with a data recovery company like Secure Data Recovery.

Burn to a DVD or Blu-ray Disc

These methods of backing up your data used to be the best option you could have, especially when hard drives weren’t as fast as they are today. Even though they have become a less popular alternative, it is still considered a reliable way of keeping your data safe. Because you are using discs, you have no issue with hardware failure or problems when the internet is down. However, they don’t hold a lot of data, so it can become expensive to keep buying discs. Another reason they aren’t used as much today is that laptops and PCs are using disc drives less, with some not having any disc drives at all.

Choosing the best options for backing up your data is often a personal choice. All you need to remember is that it needs to be something reliable and durable.