This blog will be a little fragmented and I apologise but it’ll will be legible all the same. This blog as you can tell is about backing up. I backup everything to about 12 different places and I try my hardest to keep everything in sync. I am going to list the main reason for backing up and what the best services or ways of doing so are.

Okay, so backing up… Backing up in my opinion is one of the most important parts of owning digital media; I back up all the time mainly because if I lost all my data I would probably fall to the floor in the fetal position and cry for weeks on end. I’m sure this is the case with everyone who takes pride in work or schoolwork and people that love music and couldn’t bare to loose it but what are the best and safest ways to back up? The answer to this question is different for everyone but for me it’s everything!

The best one for Mac users is Time Machine, this requires an external hard drive but it’s very powerful, there are no real customisable settings but it is simple and it works. It backs up every hour but only the changes as to prevent you from running out of space quickly. If Time Machine is too basic for you try Carbon Copy Cloner (CCC.)

For Windows users it would have to be burning data to disks, or copying it to USB drives or external hard drives. I don’t know what its called exactly in Windows 7 but there is a system backup tool in Control Panel, which works like time machine but its more manual. Windows 8 will come with a tool called ‘File Vault’ This tool works exactly like Time Machine except it can also burn data off onto DVDs for you.

For Linux users its different on every distribution and every release but my favourite can only be De Ja Dub built into Ubuntu, this tool is really handy for people who want a simple user interface and a quick backup solution this is the one! If only it were available on OS X.

Now that you know some local programs and ways to back up data, lets talk off site backups. Offsite backups are pretty self-explanatory; they are backups that are done offsite, Cloud storage, FTP servers or a friend’s computer. Here are a few services I use and are all free.

Dropbox – Dropbox is a service I use every day! The 2GB service is free and every time you get a friend to join it gains you an extra 250Mb! This service stores files and folders locally, online and on any other computers you use.

ADrive – ADrive is an online service that offers users 50Gb of free online storage for anything with no file size limit! This service is amazing for people with big music libraries as you can simply use the drag and drop upload tool.

Skydrive – Skydrive is an online tool by Microsoft for people who work on different computers, you can access all your files anywhere and edit them with Office 360 in your browser! This service offers 25Gb free but has a 100Mb file size limit and a limit of 200 files at a time. 3/5

Last but not least, Glide Digital (formally Glide Online) – Glide Digital is 30Gb of online storage you access on your browser but also has a desktop sync tool, but I find it quite hard to use and not very user-friendly. The Glide Digital experience is done in your browser as it’s an online Operating system! It’s easy to use and has many useful tools like an office suite and picture viewer. It does have a few limitations and isn’t the easiest thing to use but its free!

If any of these things don’t appeal to you in any way then get a USB! Back up your information and don’t come crying to me when it’s lost forever.