Want to know what I want for Christmas? Don’t worry—that question is not as self-serving as it seems!

What I would really like is quite simple: I want computer backups for all.

So often I hear from folks who have lost critically important data. Sometimes recovery or partial recovery is possible; sadly, sometimes it is not. Computer catastrophes such as accidents, theft, component failure, viruses, etc., would all be non-events if… (Drum roll, please) the computer has recently been backed up.

Once victims lose data, they are filled with regret and then become first-rate advocates of computer backups. Were you to experience such a calamity, you would feel similarly. Don’t wait until you’ve lost valuable important documents, family pictures, financial information, work, etc., before you implement this cost-effective procedure! Begin now!

A Few Suggestions:

1. Local / Offsite storage – An ideal backup solution keeps backup data both close by and far off.
2. Frequency – The more frequently you backup, the less data you will lose in a disaster.
3. Verification – At least once in a while, test the backup to make sure it is working properly.

Caution: You risk losing what you don’t backup!