{"id":56860,"date":"2017-04-13T10:07:59","date_gmt":"2017-04-13T15:07:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pcmatic.com\/blog\/?p=56860"},"modified":"2017-04-13T10:07:59","modified_gmt":"2017-04-13T15:07:59","slug":"how-to-backup-your-files","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pcmatic.com\/blog\/how-to-backup-your-files\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Back Up Your Files"},"content":{"rendered":"

PC Matic recently conducted a survey <\/a>regarding backing up your data. \u00a0It was found that 11% of respondents did not back up their data, largely in part to not knowing how. \u00a0To address this, here are the various ways PC users can back up their data.<\/p>\n

3 Backup\u00a0Methods to Keep Your Data Secure<\/h4>\n
    \n
  1. Within your computer you have the ability to back up your files. \u00a0This method will save your files within your PC, and is not highly recommended. \u00a0The reason being, if your computer becomes infected with malware, or crashes, it is likely you will lose these your backup files as well. \u00a0However, if you would like to use this method, you need to:\n
      \n
    1. Access your Control Panel<\/li>\n
    2. Go to System and Security<\/li>\n
    3. Backup and Restore<\/li>\n
    4. Set up backup<\/li>\n
    5. Upon doing these things, you will likely get the following message:\u00a0\"\"<\/li>\n
    6. You can save your files to your computer, but it is recommended you use an external device.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
    7. Saving your data to an external device. \u00a0External devices include USB drives, Solid State Drives (SSDs), Compact Disks, etc. \u00a0This method is highly recommended because if your PC becomes infected with malware, or crashes, you will have an external device to regain access to all of your files. \u00a0This external device can be used to upload all of your data to another PC, or to your existing PC once it is fixed. \u00a0When purchasing an external device, please keep in mind how much storage you will need. \u00a0You are able to purchase external storage devices at any electronics or office supply store, such as Best Buy or Staples.<\/li>\n
    8. You can also back up your files using cloud storage. \u00a0This includes Box.com, Google Drive, and Drop Box to name a few. \u00a0These services are often free of charge. \u00a0The risk you run with using this form of storage is if hackers were able to breach any of these services. \u00a0Unlike external drives, when you upload your data to these services, you’re trusting a third-party to keep them safe. \u00a0By choosing an external device, you keep your data in your possession.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Beyond the Backup<\/h4>\n

      Ultimately the backup method you choose is yours. \u00a0Regardless of which option you pick, backing up your data is critical. \u00a0You never know when a malware infection may hit, or when your trusty hard drive is going to crash. \u00a0Once this happens, your data could be gone forever. \u00a0The only real hope of restoring it is having backup files available.<\/p>\n

      Once you start backing up your files, it is important you maintain them. \u00a0This means keeping them updated\u00a0and ensuring they are malware free.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      PC Matic recently conducted a survey regarding backing up your data. \u00a0It was found that 11% of respondents did not back up their data, largely in part to not knowing how. \u00a0To address this, here are the various ways PC users can back up their data. 3 Backup\u00a0Methods to Keep Your Data Secure Within your […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":54,"featured_media":55269,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[5090,183],"tags":[4863,5143],"class_list":["post-56860","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-slider","category-tips","tag-backups","tag-how-to"],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Back Up Your Files<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A recent study found 1 out of 10 PC users do not back up their files, in large part to not knowing how. 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