Do you have a backup plan for your computer files? No? Why don’t you? I have to admit that for a long time I didn’t have a backup plan. Mostly it was because I only had a CD burner and the large size of my hard drive had long since made that an unrealistic option for anything but the most critical of files.
That’s really not a good excuse. The cost of an external hard drive is cheap these days—you can buy a 200GB drive for about $200. Some of these drives come with backup software on them. I use the program Chronosync by Econ Technologies. It automatically syncs files and folders on my laptop with my fileserver. Every day at 1:00 am my laptop connects itself to my server, dutifully compares the documents folder with the one stored on the server, and copies anything that has been modified or added. Every Sunday it syncs the entire home directory.
Local backup is a important step, but it doesn’t protect you from a physical destruction like a fire. You might be able to grab your laptop as you run out the door, but that really isn’t something you can rely on if your files are critical. There are many companies that offer offsite backup for a monthly fee.
Don’t think it can happen to you? Think again. You might never delete a file that you shouldn’t have, but hard drives can go bad—often without a warning. Why take the risk? You have insurance to cover the cost of replacing your property in case of a disaster. Why wouldn’t you take steps to protect something that can’t be replaced if it’s lost? So, I ask again. Do you have a backup plan?
