An Overview of Backing Up Your Data

A data backup is copy or archive of all the information stored on your device. This can include anything from contacts and photos, to important financial information and other sensitive data.

The data is backed up in a separate location from the original device. It should be in a secure location that other individuals either do not know about or cannot access.

When You Would Need a Data Backup

A data backup would be helpful in the following situations:

• Your device is compromised and you need to wipe it entirely
• Your device is stolen or lost and you need to transfer your information to a new device
• A device fails and you need to replace it
• You decide to upgrade to a new device

Methods to Backup Your Device

There are several different ways for you to backup your information

• Removable Media: USB drives and flash drives are examples of removable media. While they are convenient methods of backing up data, they do not hold as much information as other devices. Anexternal hard drive is a piece of removable media that can hold terabytes worth of information, while other forms of removable media can only hold hundreds of gigabytes worth of data.
• The Cloud: Data backups can be uploaded to the cloud, which can protect your information via encryption.
• Backup Services: If you have a large amount of sensitive information, you may consider bringing in a specialized backup service to create your backup. In most cases, the other two options would be sufficient.

The best option for you may depend on what you want to prioritize, whether it’s convenience, security, storage space or cost.

The 3-2-1 Method

One method you can try practicing is the 3-2-1 method. It starts by creating three copies of your data. That way, you know for a fact that every piece of data has two backups to protect against everything from theft to corrupted files. You also have a spare backup in case one of the others is lost. You would store these copies using two different storage methods.

Again, this is a failsafe to ensure that you are still protected in case one of the storage methods fails. Finally, one of those copies should be stored in a remote location to protect against local outages and other issues you may run into.

Different Types of Data Backups

There are three different types of data backups

• A full backup is when you are backing up every single file on your device. If you have never backed up your data before, this is the method you should go to first.
• A differential backup is when you are only backing up files that have been added or changed since your last full backup. Since this is going to be a smaller number of files, this type of backup is performed much faster.
• An incremental backup is similar to the differential backup. The difference is that an incremental backup will back up any changed data since the last backup, regardless of whether it’s a full, differential or incremental backup.

It’s highly recommended you backup your information on a semi frequent basis. The amount of data held on your device will never remain static. For example, if you only backup your data once a year, and something happens to your device, you could potentially lose several months worth of data. By consistently backing up your data, you minimize the amount of information you could potentially lose.