As a typical college student, my hard-earned money has bought me some of the high-tech gadgets that make life truly possible during the grueling higher-education years. My gorgeous, brand-new digital camera happens to be one of my favorites (right up there along with my blackberry phone and iPod touch). I take the camera nearly everywhere I go, capturing anyone and anything I find even remotely hilarious, poignant, or picture-worthy. My laptop is brimming with these touching moments, friendly gatherings, and scenic landscapes.
Now, we all know that computers are vulnerable to failure, for any number of reasons, whether technologically-induced or human error. All of my priceless photos, along with music I have collected for years and important personal and school documents, could be a gone in a flash if my hard drive were to fail, or otherwise "malfunction." Such loss of electronic documents may not be predictable, but you can certainly take precautionary measures just in case.
I have found that tangible backup solutions are not very practical, at least in my case. Compact discs are not an option (just look at my music CDs) since they easily scratch and can even begin to deteriorate after just a few years. External hard drives are not a bad idea, but they tend to be a little pricy for this college student on a rather tight budget. Plus, neither of these solutions are completely safe, especially if they are stored in the same area or near vicinity to the original hard drive; fire, theft, flood, or other catastrophe could easily take out the second copies just as quickly as the original.
After doing my homework, I found that the most economical and sensible option is remote online backup: web-based services that will automatically backup applications on your PC. All you really need is a broadband connection. You simply select the applications you want backed up, and the program will regularly update everything you have chosen, all in the background without interfering with your use, while the computer is in sleep or standby mode. It also is extremely affordable. Many online backup services offer low monthly fees, often for unlimited backup. It truly is the most practical, affordable, secure, and cheap way to safely backup, at least for this college student.
