Back Up Your Files

I think of maintaining access to your data as a core component of security. Maybe you have important files for work or personal accounting or health info. Or perhaps you just have a large photo collection that you don't want to lose.

Backups can also make updating the OS and apps safer and less unnerving. When you have full-disk backups (such as with macOS Time Machine backups) you can usually roll back your whole computer if you happen to have a failed update.

And of course, if you have a well-protected offsite or offline copy of your data, it may help you in case of a ransomware attack.

I believe that a well-protected backup, that exists in multiple places, is that foundation to an effective backup strategy. Ideally, your backups are encrypted, are hard for a bad actor to access, and live both in the cloud and on-site (in your home or office).

A common approach to backups is called the “3-2-1 Backup Strategy.” In short, this means that you keep 3 total copies of your data:

• The main files themselves, on your computer or mobile device
• A backup of these files on a local device like a hard drive
• Another backup of these files in a secure cloud environment

The options differ between computers and mobile devices, so we'll cover each of those separately in the steps below.

They can be! If you use a solid provider that properly encrypts and protects your data, your backups in the cloud should be as or more safe as your on-site copy.

I'll walk through how to enable local and cloud backups for your laptop or desktop, then move on to your mobile devices.