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Set up backups: keeping photos and files safe
A backup is your insurance against loss, hardware failure and ransomware. Set it up once and you barely have to think about it again.
Drives fail, phones get lost, ransomware encrypts files. The only thing that helps at that point is a current backup. The good news: set up properly once, it runs on its own.
The 3-2-1 rule
What actually belongs in a home backup
You do not have to save everything – but anything irreplaceable, definitely. These belong in every personal backup:
- Photos and videos – usually what hurts most when it is gone.
- Personal documents – tax, bank and insurance paperwork, contracts, certificates.
- Important emails and attachments you cannot get again.
- The recovery codes for your two-factor authentication – without them you lock yourself out after losing a device.
- A password manager export only if you truly need one – and then encrypted and stored separately.
Think of phone and computer separately: they hold different data and each needs its own backup. How to secure the devices themselves is in secure your phone , secure your Windows PC and secure your Mac .
Protecting the backup itself
A backup is only as safe as the way into it. Protect your cloud backup with a strong, unique password and two-factor authentication , and do not share backup folders. If the worst does happen, only a clean copy that was disconnected from the device helps – the first-aid steps are in ransomware: your PC is encrypted .
Step by step
Setting up your backups
- Phone: turn on automatic backup to iCloud (iPhone) or Google One / Google Photos (Android).
- Windows: set up File History to an external drive, or use backup software.
- Mac: set up Time Machine with an external drive.
- Cloud as well: back up your important folders (documents, photos) to a reputable cloud service.
- Versioning: choose a solution that keeps version history where you can – that is your ransomware protection.
- Test it: restore one file from the backup. A backup only counts if it comes back.
Backing up your phone
Turn on your phone’s automatic backup: iCloud on iPhone, Google One or Google Photos on Android. That way photos, contacts and settings come back quickly after a loss or a switch.
Backing up your computer
On Windows, File History to an external drive works well; on Mac, Time Machine. Add a cloud backup of your most important folders so that one copy sits off-site.
Protecting against ransomware
A drive that stays permanently connected can be encrypted along with everything else. So either use versioning, or disconnect the backup drive after each run. That way you always have a clean copy to restore from.
Common mistakes
- Never setting up a backup – until it is too late.
- Never testing the backup and finding out at the worst moment that it does not work.
- Using only one permanently connected drive (the ransomware risk).
- Restoring an already infected copy without checking.
Frequently asked questions
What is the 3-2-1 backup rule?
Three copies of your data, on two different types of media, with one of them kept off-site (for example in the cloud). That way your backup survives a hardware failure, a theft or a fire.
Cloud backup or external drive?
Ideally both. The cloud is convenient and off-site; an external drive is fast and works without internet. Together they satisfy the 3-2-1 rule.
Does a backup protect against ransomware?
Yes – if it is disconnected from the device or keeps versions. A drive that stays plugged in can be encrypted along with everything else. Use versioning, or unplug the backup drive after each run.