If you are working on a laptop, macintosh, or a pc, chances are you have accumulated quite a bit of data that is important to you. It may be those precious photos from your digital camera, your videos, or accounting files for your home business. Whatever it is, you should have a plan to back up your data right way.  Data disaster recovery is not something to think about only when a catastrophe happens.  Your best option is to prepare for the worst but expect the best.

The data on your computer are digital files, which means it is really magnetic iron oxide forming patterns for digital interpretation.  That data can be wiped out by a lightning storm, an in-home accident, or a forgetful mishap.  It can happen anytime.  The worst one of course, is a technology failure, such as a hard drive gone bad at the worst possible time.  Having a data  backup plan will be very helpful.

Here are a few options that are available to you right now.:

1. You can get online backup for your data. The advertisements are everywhere on TV these days. You can just sign up and get space for your data at a data warehouse somewhere in cyberspace.  It sound easy and it is is.  The real question is not whether it works, but do you trust someone you do not know to keep your data safe from piracy, prying eyes, and theft?

Online archiving services have exploited the prevalence of fast Internet connections to offer inexpensive data backup and recovery services.  Mozy and Amerivault are two that readily come to mind.  If you like this option, then they have made it easy to sign up, with some free time thrown in for good measure.  Your data will be encrypted at the time you upload those files. If you are willing the try these services, then best wishes to you.

2. You can back up your data at home.  This option will allow you to backup your data yourself without entrusting this to a third, unknown party.  There are several options you can use here.  I have a post at my blog on data disaster recovery that will be helpful.  The do-it-yourself option is not very technical, so most computer users can actually choose this method of data recovery and protection, without feeling intimidated.

There are a few excellent software options online for PC optimization as well as Backup and recovery. This will allow you to do other things, such as cleaning your computer registry, optimizing your computer for Internet connections and so on.  If you notice that your computer is slow when it connects to the Internet or when it is just booted up, this could be a sign of trouble.  While you prepare yourself for any data loss, or hardware failure, it is just as important to optimize your computer for best performance. After all, prevention is always better than cure.