The Golden "3-2-1 Rule"
Professional IT experts swear by this rule for data safety:
- 3 Copies of your data: (1 primary, 2 backups)
- 2 Different media types: (e.g., one on a hard drive, one on the cloud)
- 1 Off-site copy: (The cloud counts! If your house burns down, your USB drive burns with it. The cloud is safe.)
"Sync" vs "Backup" (Important!)
Google Drive/OneDrive are SYNC services, not true backups.
- If you delete a file on your laptop, it deletes from the cloud too.
- If you get a virus that encrypts your files, the encrypted files sync to the cloud.
True Backup (like Backblaze or Time Machine) keeps history. You can go back to "Last Tuesday at 3 PM" and restore a file you accidentally deleted.
Pro Tip: Test your backups! Once a year, try to actually restore a file from your backup drive. A backup that doesn't open is just a paperweight.