One of the most often overlooked items when it comes to maintaining computer systems is the importance of backups. Whether you are a casual home user, an everyday power user, or a computer professional if you care about the data that you have stored on your computer then some form of BACKUP STRATEGY is necessary to ensure the safety and integrity of your important information.

All information Technology professionals agree that the biggest threat to business survival is loss of data.

There are many ways to lose your data. If you are not using some form of backup plan (such as an offsite data backup service), you are taking a risk every day your data is not backed up. Bedsides the obvious perils, such as a stolen or destroyed laptop, there are many other reasons why you should be considering some form of data backup storage. For example, have you ever installed a program on your computer that completely ruined your Windows installation? Perhaps you upgraded your Windows Service Pack level only to find out that your computer cannot boot anymore. Not to mention viruses, worms, human error and hardware failure.

Although you can possibly have this data recovered by professional hard drive recovery specialists it is VERY expensive to have the process done, and can involve being separated from your hard drive for weeks or even months while the unit is being repaired. Even if the specialists manage to get most of your data recovered there is no guarantee that they will be able to rescue all or any of it, nor is their any assurance that it will be in a completely usable state when you get it back.

For pennies on the dollar (compared to data recovery services) you could have planned ahead before disaster struck and used an online backup service to keep your data safe and sound.

Offsite data backup services work by backing up a subset of files that you choose. You can back up just certain particular files that are important to you, or your entire hard drive. You can set these backups to occur as often as you wish, and can even set your computer to back itself up overnight while you sleep. Many of these online backups are completely transparent, meaning once you set up the software and your account, you can simply forget about it and rest assured that your data is being backed up on a regular basis. Most importantly, it is safe and secure in an offsite location, impervious to all threats to your data.

If you value the files you create on your computer you should definitely look into an offsite data backup service to make sure you never have to endure the loss of critical data.

Your DATA is your LIFE. Protect it!