By Melanie Pinola, Lifehacker – November 16, 2012 at 02:00PM
Your data really isn’t safe unless you’re backing up properly and with lots of redundancy. The computer backup rule of three, also known as the Backup 3-2-1 rule, can help ensure that your data will last.
As Scott Hanselman points out on his blog, using just one kind of backup (e.g., an external hard drive or SD card backup) is really not a backup. You need both off-site backup storage (e.g., an automated cloud solution like CrashPlan), plus backups to different media types, and multiple copies of everything you want to protect. Here’s the old IT rule-of-thumb for backing up:
3 copies of anything you care about – Two isn’t enough if it’s important.
2 different formats – Example: Dropbox+DVDs or Hard Drive+Memory Stick or CD+Crash Plan, or more
1 off-site backup – If the house burns down, how will you get your memories back?
We’ve mentioned this before in our college prep guide, but the backup rule of three applies to everyone who wants to hold onto their data for as long as possible.
The Computer Backup Rule of Three | Scott Hanselman’s Computer Zen
Photo by Jaymis Loveday