About Computer Backups
Computer backups are a critical part of computer security, providing redundant copies in the event that important data becomes lost, deleted, corrupted or otherwise inaccessible. There are several methods of backing up information, from simple manual backups to online storage and automatic backup.
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Basics
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All important information stored on a computer should have a backup. This includes financial documents, work-related documents, emails, pictures, application data and any other information that you may want or need to access in the future. While computer hardware continually increases in reliability, storing information on a single drive will always leave it vulnerable to hardware failures, accidental overwriting or malicious tampering. Depending on the importance of the information in question and the method of storage, you may create more than one backup and store them in different places.
External Storage Backup
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One method of backup uses an external physical storage device such as a flash drive, USB hard disk or writable compact disk. You can make a simple manual backup just by dragging files to the external device. Windows and Mac OS X both have backup features that can automate the process by saving information to a connected drive on a custom schedule, and many programs have built-in features for similar backup sessions. Automatic backup is usually the best choice for backing up program data and similar information as the software can often automatically restore the information to the correct location as necessary.
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Local Network Backup
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Often used by businesses to back up information from multiple computer systems, network backups store information to a central server system or similar destination. Specialized network-attached storage devices fulfill both the hardware and software necessities of network backups and are available from manufacturers such as Cisco, NetGear and HP.
Online Backup
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Online backup services offer manual or automatic backups over the Internet for retrieval from any computer with network access. Several services offer online backup on a subscription basis, including Carbonite, Norton Online Backup, iDrive and Jungle Disk. The cost and amount of storage space available depends on the specific service.
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