One thing I have always appreciated about Shawn Blanc‘s writing is that when he decides to write on a topic, he goes extremely in-depth. This has been especially true since he went full-time writing for his site.
Recently he did a deep-dive into the topic of online backup. It is a great read, and he makes an excellent case for having an automated off-site backup.
If there ever were a situation where grabbing the external drive on the way out the door wasn’t an option, or if it were destroyed by a tornado, or if it were stolen, then we would lose years worth of photos and music as well as access to much of our livelihood, including the documents and passwords related to our business, finances, etc.
If what’s on your computer is important and irreplaceable, you should have an off-site backup.
This is so true:
My philosophy for backing up has always been this: keep it simple, keep it safe.
A backup system that requires very much personal attention will never make it in the long run. And a backup drive that isn’t safe is only slightly better than no backup at all.
Shawn looks at Backblaze, Arq, and my current favorite, CrashPlan.
If you’re looking into online backup solutions for Mac users, Shawn’s article is definitely worth a read.
