This is a public service announcement. A reminder of something you already know.
You need to back up important files regularly. How often will depend on how you use your computer. For instance, I create tons of original code, graphics, and notes every few days. Because of this, I make a backup a couple of times a week, or risk losing days and days worth of stuff that I'd have to create all over again. You may not need to back up this often. Think about what's on your computer. Maybe there are things that could be downloaded again if something bad happened, but what do you have that is truly priceless? Pictures? Home movies? Graphic design? Email? School work? Business contacts? How often do you create or save new things on your computer? These questions can help you decide how often to back up.
Here's how to make backups fast and easy:
A) All you need is a thumb drive or a couple of rewritable CDs/DVDs.
B) Keep all your files organized in one main folder. Use your name or something simple, then make separate sub-folders inside it for pictures, videos, music, school work, or whatever. A backup requires nothing more than saving this one single folder, because all your files are somewhere inside. It couldn't be easier than that. Macs are generally set up like this by default, while Windows has a whole bunch of places it saves files. But there are programs on both operating systems that put files in strange places, so do what you can to override this and keep all your files somewhere within your top-level folder. Especially with Windows, pay attention every time you save anything, because your files may end up on the Desktop, Documents folder, Program Files, or a hundred other places, making backups a headache.
C) One more suggestion - For really important data, store backups off-site. If a fire destroys your computer, and the backups are sitting on a shelf in the same room, you've still lost everything. You could use an online storage system, or keep copies in another physical location.
