Hard drive, cloud or USB stick? The best ways to back up your files

Saving key files to a cloud server is a reliable way to ensure your backups are safe. But you may want to check the data is encrypted. — dpa

BERLIN: Holiday photos, work documents, smartphone backups: all kinds of important data is stored on notebooks and PCs. If the data is important to you you should back it up. Because once it’s gone, it’s gone.

"Files can disappear faster than you think. On the one hand, the hard drive can be damaged, but the danger from malware is far greater," says IT specialist Lutz Labs. Of course, there’s also the risk of your computer being lost or stolen, especially if it’s a notebook.