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So you’ve got a bunch of important files that you need to have backups of? You could burn the files to CDs or DVDs, but you can only fit so much on a disk and the disks could become damaged either by accident or naturally over time due to environmental factors such as temperature or humidity. You could copy your data to an external hard drive, but what happens when all of the sudden the drive is fried and all your data is lost? There are many backup options available but each has it’s flaws. Sure, you could make a copy of your data in every format you could think of, but that would take time and become tiresome after the first few months of repeating the process each week.

So how do you reliably backup your important data? You can definitely start with one of the methods listed above but there’s another option; online backup! Before you jump off into online backup it’s important to understand exactly why this type of backup is superior to other methods. Quality online backup is not free. Why? With online backup you are paying a company whose job is to protect and secure your data — and the company doesn’t just put your files on a breakable CD and leave it on a shelf, they know the most reliable and most secure methods of data backup. They also have access to expensive equipment that you’ll never be able to afford. Here are a few more reasons:

It’s a lot like putting your money in a bank — it’s protected and secured. You wouldn’t store your life savings in cash in your own home, so why trust your home computer to protect your crucial data? Computers crash all the time, even if they’ve been working fine before.

It’s convenient. Online data backup can be scheduled to automatically copy and bakcup all of your important files while you work! You wont waste time burning CDs every time you make changes AND you won’t lose a file because you put off making the backup just a little bit too long.

It’s cheaper in the long run. External hard drives can cost over a hundred dollars and they die every few years. Blank CDs can only be used once and over time the cost of keeping your supply full can get expensive. Lastly, you don’t have to pay the experts big bucks to recover your data when your hard drives or CDs fail.

“But I’ll feel more comfortable if I can see and hold my data backups” you say? That may be true, but again think of your important data like money — if you’re solely in charge of keeping it safe you’re also taking a risk. Online backup is hiring and trusting trained experts that know what they’re doing to protect your data — and trust me, when it come to computers you probably know a lot less than these guys.

So which service is right for you? There are a number of online backup services available all with varying plans for different consumers. One service I recommend is called ElephantDrive — they offer data backup for home users for 10 dollars a month (business plans start at 35 dollars/month). They do have a free plan but it restricts the amount of data you can store to just a little more than you can fit on one CD, so if you have a lot of photos, music, or other files then I would recommend going straight for the 10 dollar plan.

Here’s a banner link to ElephantDrive’s website:

On a side note, if you find an online backup site that offers even better deals or more secure backups (and I doubt there is) then please post it in a comment on this page for everyone to use!