Skip to Content

Tech Tip: Back up your data before it’s too late

Presented by IDrive 90

Presented by IDrive 90


In the early days of the internet, we had to worry about hackers infecting our computers and stealing critical data. It was hard enough staying protected back then, but things have gotten worse. Now, it’s not just that desktop PC to worry about anymore. Criminals can attack your smartphones, laptops and tablets, too. Every time you connect to the internet, you’re putting your files at risk.

That’s why it’s critical to have everything backed up. You don’t want to be at the mercy of a crook behind devious attacks like ransomware. Keep reading and we’ll explain different ways to back up your devices and tell you which is the easiest.

We recommend using our sponsor, IDrive. Back up all your PCs, Macs and mobile devices into ONE account at and use promo code Kim to get 50% off 2 terabytes of cloud backup! That’s less than $35 for the first year.

Saving files to another drive

A popular way to back up critical files is to save them to either an external hard drive or a USB flash drive.

External hard drives connect to one device at a time and are typically wired, but some actually do have wireless capabilities. Some external drives now come with USB 3.0 technology, which makes the transfer rate about 10 times faster than USB 2.0. But you need to make sure your computer is USB 3.0 compatible to take advantage of it.

Once you have connected the external drive to your device, follow the instructions that came with it to transfer all the files you want to back up.

You can also use a USB flash drive to back up files. But you need to make sure the flash drive is large enough to handle the number of files you’re looking to store.

One problem with these backup options is the location. What if there is a fire at your place and your device is destroyed along with the external hard drive or USB flash drive you used? What a disaster!

Also, if you choose a USB flash drive, it can be easy to misplace. They are so small, it’s just too easy to lose them. That’s why it’s not considered a long-term storage solution.

Store your files in the cloud

Keeping your files stored in the cloud eliminates the problems we talked about with external and USB flash drives. A fire isn’t going to destroy your files in the cloud and, obviously, you’re not going to lose them. So this is a good option.

Cloud backup creates copies of your files, so you have them on your computer or gadget and in the cloud. That way, if something happens to either one, you still have a copy.

This is why we often stress the importance of having a solid backup service that protects all your gadgets.

You need something that protects everything within a single account. That’s why we recommend our sponsor, IDrive.

The easiest way to back up all of your devices

There is a service you can use that makes the process super easy.

IDrive Express is a service personal customers can use free once per year, and business customers can use three times annually without being charged extra. This service is part of IDrive Express Backup and gives you an additional option for recovering your files.


Back up or retrieve several gigabytes of data within a week, using physical shipment of temporary storage devices sent by IDrive. All you need to do is use Local Backup from the IDrive application and securely back up or restore all your data from the hard drive, then simply return the drive to IDrive.

Here are some reasons to use IDrive Express:

  • Quickly transfer large amounts of data to your online account, in just a week or less
  • Data is kept safe throughout the process using military-grade 256-bit AES encryption with the option for a private key. For ensuring the utmost security, along with file data encryption, IDrive does file path encryption too.
  • Once the data is transferred to your online account, you can continue with incremental backups.
  • No bandwidth usage during data transfers


IDrive lets you backup all your PCs, Macs, iPhones, iPads and Android devices into a single account. Just go to and use promo code Kim to get 50% off 2 terabytes of cloud backup. That’s less than $35 for the first year.

Ask me your digital question!


Ask Me