TECH SPECIAL.... ALL THE BEST WAYS TO BACK UP YOUR DATA

ALL THE BEST WAYS TO BACK UP YOUR DATA



You have many choices when it comes to backing up your data. Sure it's a good idea to pick up some kind of external hard drive. But once you have selected the kind of storage device where you will be backing your files up, a critical part is choosing the back-up service.Take a look at how all these options fit into your workflow.

Windows built-in options: File History and OneDrive

Windows' integrated backing up options have not been consistent in recent years.But still, you can go for File History. It is a local backup option that needs an external drive to work. Once you have got a disk attached, you can choose the folders that get backed up, and set how often files are copied, and how long they are kept for.

Microsoft's cloud syncing service, OneDrive, is now baked into Windows for your convenience. Anything saved to the OneDrive folders gets synced to the cloud and other computers you have got the OneDrive desktop client installed on.

macOS built-in options: Time Machine and iCloud

Time Machine is Apple's local backup solution, requiring an external or networked drive connected to your Mac.Backups run automatically, as long as the drive is available. It is comprehensive, and easy to use. What Time Machine really needs is a cloud component, which is why Apple pushes iCloud too. With the introduction of backups for the desktop and documents folders in macOS Sierra, it has become more of a front-facing backup solution like OneDrive or DropBox.

Third-party options: file syncing and storage

Get an external hard drive and it will, most likely, come with an adequate backup program on it. Synology, Netgear, and Drobo all have backup programs built into the network attached storage (NAS).

Dropbox has been excelling at file syncing since 2007 and will take care of your files in the cloud. Not only does it have a good-looking interface, it's happy running on Windows, macOS, Android or iOS. It even works on some NAS devices.Google Drive isn't quite as polished as Dropbox, but it has the same platform flexibility, with a powerful office suite, and integrations with Google's services.

Another alternative is to install an app that backs up every file on your system to the cloud -like the Backblaze, Carbonite and CrashPlan. For a small price, you get unlimited storage in the cloud for your files, without any web access extras or versatility of the file syncing services.

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