Backup

Floris

I'm just me :) Hi.
Staff member
Joined
Jan 1, 2001
Messages
60,096
Do it today. Stop what you are doing and think to yourself:
Do I have two good quality external drives that I can use on USB that I can use for backing up my most important data? And what is my most important data?

Then get one drive, clean it up if needed. Turn on disk encryption. And store the data you care about the most on it. Do the same on the second drive. Put a label on them and call them:
1/2 offline, onsite backup
2/2 offline, offsite backup

Remove them from your usb ports, and store 1/2 in your home in a safe space that's a good spot for hard drives. And go to a trusted person 2/2 like your mom or dad or a bank safe, whatever. And store the offsite backup there

This sounds complicated, it really is not. You now have an offline backup at home in case your computer explodes. Or gets hacked.. And you have an offline backup not at home, in case your house explodes, or gets broken into.. Either way, you can buy a new computer, install what you want on it and connect the drives. Give it the password to decrypt it - and you have access to your data again.

Why encrypt it? So basically only you have access to them. Not the guy breaking into your place. Or if you find out your trusted family member is a bit too curious.

If your computer has an internal 1TB hard drive, buy an external usb3 (or usbc) drive that's 1TB or 2TB, and store your data on there.

Manual backups feel good. You know you picked up THAT important document or picture, and actually see it on the external drive. You made a copy, it's backed up there. GOOD. You know it's there.

Automated backups can be done automatically, and ON TOP of the manual backsup. You can 'trust' the system to complete the backups and that their integrity is good. Meaning you plug the drive in and it helps you restore your system with all the programs, files, backup data, etc. But that's it, you have to trust it works.

Why two hard drives? If one breaks, you can go pick up the other and try that one. Phew! Glad you got a copy of a copy huh. Hard drives have a finite life span. Moisture in the air, dry air, warmth, magnets, whatever. They degrade and it sucks. Dont' trust them. Trust yourself: have two backups.

I like the idea of having an offsite backup because it means if the place is on fire, you grab your passport, and your pets, kids, or whatever you can hold that's MOST important. And you don't have to worry about your data. No need to risk your life running back in to grab a big heavy computer or find that hard drive. You have an offsite copy, you're good.

I like the idea of an offline backup. Because it means you can keep important and sensitive data disconnected. I already have those on external drives, and only connect and decrypt those drives when I need access to that data. If my system gets compromised, the chances are a lot less.

Stop what you are doing. If you care about your tax data, your emails, your whatevers.. Back it up manually, and turn on automated backup (Apple has this great thing called Time Machine, use it!)
 
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