Download from: www.ComputerSecurityNW.com
Version 2.0, September 2009, Page 1
Simple Backup Strategy for Home Computers
From Corey Keating (www.ComputerSecurityNW.com)
This document contains the most essential elements of a backup strategy for your computer. If
you don't feel comfortable with these issues and want a detailed discussion of each of these topics,
please see the other document: "Detailed Backup Strategy for Home Computers".
Backing up the information on your computer is critical! (Just ask anyone who has lost years
worth of irreplaceable photos or important documents just because they thought their hard drive
would never fail.) Your backup plan can range from something very simple to very elaborate, but you
need to have a plan to backup regularly and the confidence that you can restore your data if your
computer crashes or gets stolen. Create a plan that works for you. Don't get caught in the "it-won't-
happen-to-me" syndrome; just start backing up today!
Although there are other methods to backing up than what is described in this document, many of
the other methods are more complicated and take more effort. (For example, if you are a technically
savvy computer user, you might be aware of the location of all the different types of data you need to
protect and may be able to manually copy your data to a flash drive or write it to CDs.) However,
most of us will not interrupt our busy schedules for a complicated or difficult process. Please work to
make your backup process as simple and as automated as possible.
In Nothing Else, Read This
I strongly urge you to follow the directions in this document to form a backup plan with
appropriate hardware and software; you must prepare to recover your critical files (pictures, contacts,
emails, budgets, correspondence, etc.) when your computer crashes or needs to be rebuilt. However,
if you choose not to do so, then at least do the minimum and copy your files to a flash drive or burn
them to a CD; in this way you will not permanently lose all copies of any irre