Nobody thinks about backups until they need one. Then it's too late.
Backblaze publishes annual hard drive reliability stats. Even the most reliable drives have a 1-2% annual failure rate. That sounds low until you realize it means roughly 1 in 50 drives dies every year. Over five years, the odds catch up with everyone. Add in ransomware, theft, accidental deletion, and coffee spills—data loss isn't rare. It's inevitable.
Here's how to protect yourself without overthinking it.
The 3-2-1 Rule
Professional IT uses the 3-2-1 backup strategy:
- 3 copies of your data
- 2 different storage types (internal drive + external drive, or local + cloud)
- 1 copy off-site (cloud or at another physical location)
This protects against single points of failure. Fire destroys your computer and external hard drive? Cloud backup survives. Ransomware encrypts your local drives? Off-site backup is unaffected. Your NAS fails? You still have cloud copies.
The Reality of Data Loss
30% of people have never backed up their devices. 113 phones are lost or stolen every minute. One in 10 computers are infected with viruses each month. — World Backup Day Survey
What Actually Needs Backing Up
Not everything needs backup. Your operating system? Reinstallable. Downloaded applications? Reinstallable. What matters:
- Documents and work files
- Photos and videos (especially irreplaceable ones)
- Financial records and tax documents
- Project files and creative work
- Contacts, calendars, and notes if not already synced
Ask yourself: if this disappeared right now, could I recreate it in under an hour? If no, back it up.
Practical Backup Solutions
Local Backups: Time Machine and Windows Backup
Mac: Time Machine to an external drive. Plug it in once, enable Time Machine, done. It backs up hourly when connected.
Windows: File History to an external drive. Settings → Update & Security → Backup → Add a drive. Choose your external drive. Backs up every hour.
Buy a drive with at least 2x your computer's storage. A 2TB external drive costs $50-80. Leave it plugged in at your desk.
Cloud Backups: Backblaze and Similar
Backblaze backs up your entire computer continuously for $9/month. Install it, point it at what to back up, forget about it. Unlimited storage. Works on Mac and Windows.
Alternatives: Carbonite, iDrive, CrashPlan. All work similarly. Pick one, pay for it, set it up. The important part is having an off-site copy that survives if your house burns down.
Cloud Sync vs Cloud Backup
Dropbox, Google Drive, and iCloud sync files across devices. They're not backups. Here's why: delete a file on your computer and it deletes from the cloud. Ransomware encrypts your local folder and it syncs the encrypted versions. Sync is convenient, not protection.
Use sync for accessibility. Use actual backup services for protection.
Phone Backups
iPhone: Settings → [Your Name] → iCloud → iCloud Backup → Enable. Backs up nightly when plugged in and on Wi-Fi. First 5GB free, $0.99/month for 50GB.
Android: Settings → Google → Backup → Enable. Backs up to Google Drive automatically. 15GB free.
Photos specifically: Google Photos (15GB free, unlimited at compressed quality) or iCloud Photos. Enable automatic upload. Lose your phone, your photos survive.
Test Your Backups
Backups you haven't tested are backups that might not work. Once a year, actually restore something. Download a file from cloud backup. Restore a folder from Time Machine. Make sure the process works.
Finding out your backups are corrupted after disaster strikes is worse than not having backups at all.
The Minimum Viable Backup
If you do nothing else:
- Subscribe to Backblaze ($9/month) or equivalent
- Enable phone backups (iCloud or Google)
- Set a yearly reminder to test restoring a file
That's it. Three steps. An hour of setup. $108 a year. Cheaper than losing everything.
*Stay sharp.*