Backing up all of the files on your computer is one of the most important things you should do when it comes to computer maintenance. Here are five backup options for Mac that you should take advantage of.

There are different kinds of backup methods that you can use. Perhaps one of the easiest options is setting up automatic backups to an external hard drive that you have plugged in, but you can also backup all of your files to an online server as a safe off-site solution in case there’s a fire or a theft. Whatever method you decide to use, here are some of the best Mac backup options available that you can pick and decide on.

Time Machine

If you want to have your Mac automatically back up your computer to an external hard drive, OS X’s built-in Time Machine utility is the way to go.

Setting up Time Machine is as easy as selecting the hard drive you want to back up to and flipping the On switch. There are a couple of advanced settings that you can take advantage of, such as selecting certain folders that you don’t want backed up and the option to back up while on your MacBook is one battery power.

Once it’s ready to go, Time Machine will begin automatically backing up your computer at various intervals throughout the day, and once your external hard drive starts getting full, Time Machine will automatically delete older backups to make room for newer backups.

Crashplan

Crashplan is perhaps one of the most popular online backup services around, and you can get a plan for as low as $4 per month, though you’ll need to lock in a 4-year subscription to get that price. Crashplan allows you to backup your files to unlimited online storage, as well as the ability to back up to other computers on your home network.

If you have too much data that needs backed up (in other words, 2TB would literally take days to upload to online servers), Crashplan can actually send you a hard drive to back up to, and then you can send it back to them to be safely stored. The same goes for restoring backups: Crashplan can send you the hard drive if your backup so that you can restore it to your computer, and then you just send the hard drive back to them.

Carbonite

Carbonite is another popular online backup option that has competitive prices. It allows you to backup files from your computer and even allows you to backup files that are stored on your external hard drives.

Just like Crashplan, Carbonite can also send you a hard drive to back up to or restore from, but Carbonite requires a Personal Prime subscription in order to do this, which is a whopping $150 per year, per computer.

Source: www.gottabemobile.com