HotDealsClub.com: Today is World Backup Day, posted on 03-31-2021 05:36 PM

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Today is World Backup Day

While not a widely celebrated holiday, World Backup Day happens on the day before April Fools' Day to encourage everyone to backup their data regularly.This is a nice reminder, since most people never backup their data.

Backups means original copies of photos, videos, and important documents are kept in more than one place.

All your photos live on Facebook, so no need for backups, right?

If you do not have a copy somewhere else, your photos are at risk of being lost.Imagine waking up tomorrow, finding your Facebook history has been deleted, and losing every photo and video that you thought would be there forever.

Fortunately, Facebook provides way to download your data.

Where to start?

1. Make a list of what is important to you.
   • What would you be heartbroken if lost forever?Photos and videos taken?Documents, code, and your wrote?
2. Make a list of where your important things are kept.
   • How many photos are on your phone? Thousands?
   • Do you keep photos on Facebook or other social media?
   • Where do you keep your old résumé, last year's tax documents, school records, and other documents that you spent time working on?
   Choose one or two backup storage options.This means hooking up an external hard drive, uploading to a cloud provider, or downloading your entire Facebook history.

How much backup space do you need?

• Each 1 TB capacity can store about 200,000 photos taken from a phone, about 14,000 uncompressed photos taken from a SLR/Mirrorless camera, or about 14 hours of recorded video in HD quality.

As the years go by, you may need several TB of capacity to keep your important files.

Cloud storage providers:

• Amazon Prime Photosunlimited free photo storage for Prime members.Storing videos and other files does cost extra.Amazon Prime membership costs $119/year.
• pCloudgives 10 GB of storage for free.They also offerone-time payment plansof $175 for lifetime 500GB storage, and $350 for lifetime 2TB.
• Apple iCloud costs $3/month for 200GB, or $10/month for 2TB storage.Works great with Apple devices.
• Google Onecosts $20/year for 100GB, or $100/year for 2TB.Works well with Android phones.
• iDrivecosts $52.12 for 5TB for the first year, then $69.50/year.This is the best valued cloud storage option on this list.
• Microsoft OneDrivecosts $70/year for 1TB storage.Comes with Microsoft Office.
• Dropboxcosts $10/month for 2TB storage.Sync.comcosts $60/year for 200GB, or $96/year for 2TB.

Cloud providers offer reliable storage that can be organized online and accessed from anywhere.But, that comes at a recurring monthly or annual cost just like your Netflix or HBO subscription.Plus, your initial backup can take days if your Internet upload speed is slow.The security of your private files is only as strong as the strength of your password.

Hard drives are cheaper in the long-run because you pay for the drive once, and backups can be easier when using computer software.You control the security of your private files, by keeping the hard drive in a safe place and optionally using data encryption software.

Deals on some external drives that you can plug-in to your computer:

• Western Digital Easystore 1TB Portable Hard Drive for $45.Most people will find 1 TB to be plenty of backup capacity.
• Western Digital Black 1TB Portable Hard Drive for $56.
• Western Digital My Passport 2TB Portable Hard Drive for $63 with code M48HRMD232 from Newegg.Purchase cost of $31.50 per TB.
• Seagate 5TB Portable Hard Drive for $90 for Costco members only.At a purchase cost of $18 per TB, this is the best valued "portable" hard drive on this list.Normally$120.
• Western Digital Easystore 8TB External/Desktop Hard Drive for $128 from Best Buy.Purchase cost of $16 per TB.
• Western Digital Elements 10TB External/Desktop Hard Drive for $152 from Amazon and Newegg.At a purchase cost of $15 per TB, this is the lowest cost per TB on this list.
• G-Technology 5TB Portable Hard Drive for $130 from Amazon.Purchase cost of $26 per TB.
• Western Digital Easystore 14TB External/Desktop Hard Drive for $220 from Best Buy.Purchase cost of $15.71 per TB.
• SanDisk 2TB Extreme Portable SSD for $230 for Costco members only, or $240 at Amazon.Purchase cost of $115 to 120 per TB.Crucial X6 4TB Portable SSD for $350 from Amazon.Purchase cost of $87.50 per TB.

Deals on M.2 SSD storage, used for upgrading a computer's internal storage, or use in an enclosure:

• Western Digital Blue 1TB M.2 SSD for $95 with code 93XQS26 from Newegg.
  Western Digital Black 2TB M.2 SSD for $214.12 with code AFFETTH22 from Newegg.Normally about $250.

In our opinion, a good backup means storing your most important personal files in two separate places: inside your home (hard drive), and somewhere else (cloud storage provider).

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