Forget the notion that you're just an average computer user who doesn't need to backup your computer files. Not only companies or individuals who have top-secret or financial information such as government agencies, banks, or criminal investigation units need to backup computer files, all of us do. After all, isn't our own work, a year's collection of family photos, or a compilation of our favorite songs gathered and painstakingly categorized, important as well? True, the loss of these files may not affect other people, but the effect of such loss on you would be devastating. In this digital age, your computer files are part of your life.

Some people have been keeping copies of their computer's files for decades. And it was always done the same way. You had to buy an expensive stack of floppy disks or CDs and organize your files so that everything in a category would fit onto one disk. Then, you had to label everything and store it away, taking up hours of time and lots of space. And you had to be very careful since something as simple as a little water, some scratches or even a magnet could erase all your information and hard work. Of course, you could buy a protective safe for all those storage disks, but even then you may not have enough space and you're just spending more money you don't want to spend.

Today, technology has come a long way in providing storage space. Now, a wide range of external hard drives are already available in the market. These hard drives can be plugged in to almost all types of computers so you can find your files and work on them right away. Another good thing about external hard drives is that it allows you to organize data into folders, just like how you do it with your home computer's built-in hard drive. Now, you no longer need to sort through stacks of diskettes or CDs. The drives come in various sizes - others can hold multiple terabytes of information. For instance, a terabyte drive can store over 200,000 photos at 5 megabytes each.

The thing is though, external hard drives don't come cheap and while it gives you a convenient way to keep your files safe, not everyone is sold out on using it. Some people think that external drives are good only for those with technical background.

Fortunately, there are plenty of companies which offer very user-friendly ways to store your data online. If you choose to use their services, you will be able to backup your computer using their storage devices. And you can rest easy because most of these companies house their servers in highly protected areas where they are nearly immune to damage or corruption. Your files are much safer with them than they are sitting in your office.