How Often Do You Want to Backup Your Data?

This article is the 3rd and final one in a series designed to provide an overview of data backups. (Read Part One: How to Choose Which Files to Back up Read Part Two: Where To Store Your Back up Data)

Daily, weekly and monthly are all common durations for backing up data. The frequency depends upon how important the data is to you. A person with data related to his business may choose daily backups while a casual computer user who only does word processing may backup once a month.

While this is a simple question to answer, it still deserves some serious thought.

In particular, take into consideration these factors:

HOW MUCH RISK DO YOU WANT TO ASSUME?

The more frequently you back up your data, the lower the risk of significant data loss.

Keep the procedure simple and automated so the data backup is run at the same time each day.

Don't rely on manual daily or weekly data backups. It is just too easy to forget to do it one day.

Keep in mind that backing up data to an external USB hard drive or onto a disc carries the risk of loss, theft or damage.

Keep your completed back up data in a physical location that is AWAY from your computer.

Put it in a secure location in where it is less likely to be stolen, misplaced or damaged by fire, water, pets or children.

One great advantage to online back ups is that the data is stored on a secure server outside your home or office, reducing the risk of theft, loss or damage.

However, there are still risks with online data storage. If your Internet connection is down, you cannot access your data. Or, if the company providing the service has a power outage or hardware failure, the data could be inaccessible for a period time.

Read about what just happened to one company due to a power outage caused by Hurricane Ike.

AUTOMATED OR MANUAL BACK UP PROCEDURE?

If you choose to back up daily or weekly, do yourself a favor and implement an automated back up procedure. Keep it simple.

Manual data back ups are simply more prone to human error (forgetfulness) and less likely to be completed on a regular basis.

Even if your goal is to only back up once a month, don't make this critical task more difficult than it needs to be.

Consider an automated data back up solution for monthly schedules as well.

Here are some articles with additional information on data backups:

Free-Backup Info: How Often to Backup

Technology.inc.com: Basic Backup

How Do I Backup Files on my PC?

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