Losing your data can be a total pain—here’s how to make sure your data lives on, even when your PC doesn’t. wired.trib.al/VmWa7mO 1/9
The first backup is the simplest—buy an external hard drive and regularly copy your data to it. 2/9
If that sounds like a lot of work, invest in a good backup system that runs without you needing to do a thing. These days there is software that can automate all of your backup tasks. 3/9
Mac users—you’re up first. Use Time Machine. It's a wonderfully simple piece of software and possibly the best reason to buy a Mac. Apple has good instructions on how to set up Time Machine so it will make daily backups to your external hard drive. 4/9
Windows 11 offers Windows backup, which will back up most of your personal data to your Microsoft account, but it isn't intended to fully restore your system should it fail. To get Time Machine-level simplicity in Windows, you'll need to turn to third-party software. 5/9
Another backup we suggest is off-site, or in "the cloud" which is another way of saying "on someone else's computer." This is a backup that covers that awful scenario of physical destruction. 6/9
You can also back up to the cloud by using an app that connects to multiple online storage services. This method makes it easy to back up your data at multiple online services from a single app—our top pick is Duplicati. 7/9
The best thing to do is experiment with several of the options until you find what works for you. With hard drives and online storage space so cheap these days, there's really no excuse for not having at least two backups of your data. wired.trib.al/VmWa7mO 8/9
Subscribe to WIRED and get your first year of print and digital access for just $10 wired.trib.al/9E2tJFL 9/9
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