How Often Should You Run Your Backup Program and What Should You Back Up?
The value of a good Backup Program is how you use it. There are programs that come with your operating system, software you can purchase for more complicated backup procedures, and network specific Backup Programs for system wide support. These systems only have value if you use them, as no Backup Program is beneficial if it remains unopened.
How Often Should You Backup Your Data?
How often one backs up their data has a lot to do with the amount of data that you use, as well as the value of that data to you.
- Businesses and universities should back up their data nightly, and every computer system wide should be saved. On any given day, the data on an employee’s computer could be invaluable towards making a sale or doing research, and if it has not been backed up, the data can be lost. Ideally your Backup Program will work across the network and be scheduled to perform an incremental or full backup daily.
- Individuals that do work from home, or often save items of value should also consider using a Backup Program daily, but once a week will generally suffice unless you are often saving pieces of data that are extremely important.
- Individuals that rarely save important files and do not do any work from home should still use a Backup Program weekly if possible, but once a month will suffice. Also, any time you are going to make any major changes to your computer or download anything that may harm your computer, running your Backup Program may be a good idea.
What Types of Files Should Be Included?
When you run your Backup Program, you have the option of choosing what you would like included in the backup. The files that should always be included are documents, spreadsheets, photos, videos, music (if it is a home computer) and any other files you often work with on your computer. For those that are less computer literate, it may be a good idea to simply backup everything, including your operating system data files, as the time it will take to reinstall them all for a computer novice may be difficult.
Also, if you have a website, do not forget to use your Backup Program to save all of your website files as well. Even if they are all online, it is possible that your web service provider can lose them, and without a backup your website will be lost should your hosting provider lose your data.
