What should I store my backups on?

Currently I backup my computer to a USB stick however I have had USB sticks die in the past. What should I be backing my computer up to?

Lachlan, Elermore Vale

Hi Lachlan,

It is great you are backing up your data as many people aren’t, however you do need a little tweaking of your strategy to minimise the risks of losing your data.

When dealing with data backups you want to use the 3-2-1 backup rule. The rule states, 3 copies of data on 2 different mediums and at least one offsite. This is the minimum you should be aiming for.

With the three copies of data generally you would have a primary copy usually on your computer as well as two secondary copies or backups.

Of the two secondary copies one of them should be kept offsite.

As an example we generally recommend that customers store a copy of their data on their computer and backup to two separate USB hard drives or USB drives depending on how much data they have. We also recommend that they keep one of the drives at a family or friend’s house and swap the drives around at suitable intervals.

For most home users this will appear over the top however we get too many calls from customers who have had hard drives crash and they haven’t backed up their data.