Family PC back-ups a must

It has never been more important - with new viruses emerging all the time, kids downloading all sorts of stuff, and hackers constantly finding new flaws in Windows. Say you've just returned from a wonderful family trip, put all the photos on your PC, erased your digital camera's card, and suddenly the hard drive implodes. Or the IRS audit guy decided to take up residence at your dining room table, and all your tax records were in Quicken on the PC that just got infected with a killer worm. See what I mean?

Fortunately, backing up is easy, and can be completely mindless after the first set-up (which simply requires picking the folders on the hard drive that need the back-ups). I use an online back-up service, which automates the process (every night between about 1 and 6 am). "The most common approach today is to back up the critical data files to a [writable] CD," says PlumChoice CEO Ted Werth. "I recommend backing up every other week if you have a reasonable amount of data changes or additions," e.g., new photos or revised resumes. Backing up to a CD can be automated by software like BackUpMyPC or Norton Ghost). "If you have important data and cannot bring yourself to be disciplined about the CD back-ups, the next best approach is the online back-up solution." An example is Backup.com (see Google for more such services). Please check out my newsletter this week for more on this.