Home Online Backups

I just got back from my local bulk Super store and saw an 8GB USB thumb drive for less than the cost of a 4 foot sandwich at Subway's…WOW! The amount of data you can cram into one of these small devices is truly amazing and this led me to thinking about my computer backup strategy--or lack of a strategy.

I won't give you a song and dance about my computer crashing and losing all my data and my girlfriend left me and my car was repossessed and I lost my job and my house was being foreclosed on and all that was left was me and my dog--and only if I backed up my data.

Nope, I'll just say that IF my computer crashed or if my home caught on fire or if someone broke into my house and stole my computer, etc..I'd be crying myself to sleep, would probably quit my job, stop paying the bills, and be out in the street.

Now what? My computer just Blue Screened--unbelievable--probably the new 8GB USB thumb drive I just bought...(I'll have to add that to the list as one of the possible reasons to backup my stuff..!!!)

Anyway, I've always been proactive when it comes to computer backups before the insanity of it all finally hit me square in the face.

My backup strategy was to have several external USB drives connected to my home network backing up a couple of desktops and my laptop. Also, I used individual thumb drives attached to the computers so that whenever I did some "computing" and wanted a fast backup, I'd copy it to the thumb drive. Or, if I wanted to take the information with me--to work or to a friends house etc., I had a portable method of transporting my data.

The problem was my every increasing addiction to downloading music, creating and downloading videos; unloading my digital camera after a weekend of what seemed at the time as memorable pictures, plus all my really important stuff, i.e.., resume, budget, etc...

Here's my reality. The external Giga-byte drives were never big enough--I'd play "shuffle" with my data: moving data from smaller filled-up drives into newly bought "bigger, cheaper, faster" drives.

What was even more insidious was the 250MB USB thumb drive grew into 500MB drive which turned into a 1GB, then 2GB, 4GB drive, and today, an 8GB drive. Now, if that wasn't enough, I had different sized thumb drives laying around my house and I even stashed a couple at my girlfriends house (I'm not sure where they're hidden but just in case my house burns down...what if her house burns down the same time mine does...?)

The insanity of it all.

The cure was a lobotomy..That's right. I cut out all the external USB drives and cut off all of my thumb drives!

Think about it--with increased Internet connection speeds, i.e., the use of cable, FIOS, DSL, and wireless technologies etc.., the days of local computer backups to network drives, external USB drives, and thumb drives are numbered if not over.

For me, I really made it simple. Instead of ME doing the worrying and work, I've turned it over to an Online Backup Service.

One of the benefits was allowing me to backup my data without the hassles of network drives and external hard drives and without the ever increasing population of USB “thumb" drives scattered everywhere but where they're supposed to be.

Why should I spend my money on a fist full of thumb drives and every increasing larger external drives when there's a better way?

The online backup software that came with my online backup service, available for Windows, Mac, and Linux by the way, is super easy to use and allowed me to quickly create a fully automatic data backup solution.

Want to try before you buy?

Heck, the free online storage amounts are more than enough to "test" drive the online backup service and probably meet the storage needs of most casual home users!

And fear not! Online Backup Services offer secured and encrypted online backups that will give you piece of mind knowing that your data is protected from pirates and thieves.

Before you go insane with your home backup strategy, see my article on the 5 Key Elements to Look For in an Online Backup Service that will save you time and money.