There are moments in life when we would like to go back in time and one of those instances is when an important document is accidentally deleted from our computer. Fortunately for Apple users, they have Time Machine’s built-in backup feature for added protection.
This software automatically backs up documents, photos, emails and apps. You can backup to a variety of devices including:
- external storage devices;
- another Mac set up as a backup destination;
- network-attached storage (NAS).
It is also very simple to use. Just connect your Mac to an external drive, open Time Machine and select your backup destination. You can select options such as when backups happen, what data gets backed up and if you want to encrypt the backup.
Time Machine keeps hourly backups for 24 hours, daily backups for a month and weekly backups for previous months until the backup device is full (the oldest backups get deleted when space is needed).
All you need to do to restore your original files is to connect the Time Machine backup disk and open up the timeline on the Time Machine screen to find the items you would like to restore.
We highly recommend that all Mac users set up Time Machine to backup to at least an external drive. With the local device, you’ll have a first line of defence close at hand if you ever need to recover or restore data on your computer.
However, this basic backup does limit your options. To amplify your protection, consider a third party alternatives.
Other Backup Options
Third-party software can offer additional layers of protection such as:
- detailed control of what is backed up.
- detailed control of when to backup.
- you can also control what happens before or after a backup (such as ejecting the external device or shutting the computer down).
- backup the operating systems and settings too.
Another alternative location for backups is the cloud. Time Machine and many third-party software solutions require a local device to hold the backup. This may be fine for recovering files you accidentally deleted, but if your computer is stolen – the thief is likely to have taken your backup too, or if your laptop is damaged in a flood or fire – the backup is probably also destroyed.
You are also at risk of ransomware also deleting or infecting your backups with Time Machine and third-party software. If a malicious software attack compromises your computer (and yes, Macs are vulnerable too!), it is going to spread to connected or networked devices. Thus the USB backup drive or NAS is as susceptible to encryption as the main Mac device.
Cloud backup provides a solution that helps avoid all these issues. Your backup data is stored in a data center that the fire, theft, flood, or ransomware can’t touch.
Backing up important data to one device leaves you at risk of a single point of failure as like most things hard drives will fail at some point in time. Cloud backup removes the fear that the one backup drive is no going to be working when you need it.
Need help setting up a backup on a Mac? Whether it be Time Machine, a third-party backup or configuring your cloud backup, let our computer experts help! Contact us today!