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"DID YOU BACK IT UP?"
These are words we hate to hear...after it's too late. Well meaning, but slightly mocking tones of "You should have known better"...Monday morning quarterbacks who always seem to know better!

There are many ways to back up your precious files, photos, music, documents, financial data, and this article is going to talk about and recommend a few of them.

FLASH DRIVE
A flash drive is a just a small portable device that plugs into your USB port and can hold up to 64 GB worth of data. Long gone are the days of backing up to DVD's and CD's, which take too long to save to and are not reusable. Flash drives use a drag n drop interface and can be used over and over again. Plus, being about the size of your thumb, they don't take up too much space.

Would I use flash drives as my primary source of backup? Probably not. There is always the chance of damage or loss and there are other additional ways of backing up. Let's discuss.

EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE
External hard drives can now hold up to 2TB (that's terabytes - 1TB = 1,000 GB), which is an almost inconceiveable amount of data. You can also get them in smaller sizes from 250GB and upwards. They have shrunk down in physical size so they don't take up a lot of room and if you have automatic backup system, it can be plugged in all the time.

If you don't have the automatic backup system, backing up can be a hassle since you will have to do it manually every time. And some of these backup systems (I am looking at you Time Machine - Carbon Copy Cloner is another good alternative) can be faulty.

So what other options are out there?

ONLINE BACKUP
Cloud backup is the most efficient and believe it or not safest way to back up your stuff. It happens quickly and securely within minutes of you creating your document. And since your documents will be stored online (or in the Cloud),  you can access your files ANYWHERE. Even your phone or tablet! Here are two I recommend.

CARBONITE
The one I use is called Carbonite and I love it. This tool has saved me several times (as well as my clients) and it is so convenient that I can access my files from anywhere (including photos and music). If you lose your files, accidentally delete, Carbonite makes it easy to "restore" your files easily and quickly. And they have very good customer service.

They charge $59/year. Totally worth it for the peace of mind.
How do you get it? Good news is that they are currently having a promotion that you get a $20 gift certificate to Amazon (just in time for the holidays!) if you sign up today.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP for a free trial.

IDRIVE
If you don't have too many files (5GB or less), another viable alternative is iDrive.com. It works similar to Carbonite, but it only allows for 5GB or less of backup and it's FREE!

Technology can be unpredictable; don't get caught without a safety net! BACKUP!!!