Besides testing and writing reviews of what we consider to be the best online backup services (See our Carbonite review, Mozy review, SugarSync review, or any of our online computer backup service reviews.) we also take every opportunity to make the case for backing up online.

There is no single backup method that is 100% reliable.  But you can increase the likelihood that you will keep your data safe by using a quality online backup service like Carbonite, Mozy, SugarSync, Dropbox, iDrive, or iBackup, in combination with your local backups.

You should always plan your backups with the assumption that your hardware will fail.  Most people do the opposite, they backup assuming that everything is working just fine, the data won't be corrupted at the time of the backup, and their backup is recent enough to recover completely--a life lived dangerously.

Why so serious?  As a Computer Consultant for over ten years, I have seen far too many people suffer as a result of not properly backing up their data.  Whether it's the anxiety they endure while waiting for the data recovery engineers to determine if their data is even recoverable, or the aftermath of explaining to newlyweds that their wedding videos are gone forever, or the disappointment of an executive after being informed that months' worth of his work is toast--it's a part of my work that I do not enjoy.  And it wouldn't happen at all if computer users would take the time to properly implement a backup plan that included an online backup service.

After working with thousands of computer users in their homes and businesses we at RescuTechs/OnlineBackupTopTen.com have a pretty good idea of what works best for the average computer user.  If you are diligent and thorough in the number, type and locations of your backups then you don't really need to read on.  But, if you are like the rest of us, the vast majority of people, then using a robust, automated online computer backup service is your best bet to prevent a stressful, even painful data loss scenario from happening.

There are many causes of data loss including, human error, hard drive failure, power surges/failures, theft, physical damage (like dropping your laptop), software corruption, viruses, and on, and on.  If data loss was a book it would be entitled: "The Encyclopedia of Murphy's Law, Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.", or, "When Hard Drives Attack."

As far as the hard drive in your computer is concerned, it is not a matter of if it will fail, but when it will fail.  In fact, the most common cause of data loss is hardware failure (78%), then human error (11%), software corruption (7%) and malware/viruses (2%).

Three out of five computer users have lost data that they believed to be properly backed-up.  Only one in four users regularly backup their important files, even though 85% of users claim to be concerned with the possibility of losing them to hardware failure, hackers, viruses, power surges, power failures, etc.

There's a good chance that your hardware will last a long time, but human error can wreak havoc with your important files as well.  Let's say you inadvertently delete a bunch of files that you only meant to move.  Or, you accidentally save a file using the same name as an older one and destroy a month's worth of work in the process.  Or, how about this popular one:  A computer user purchases an external hard drive for backing up and proceeds to move files from the main drive to this new drive.  Well, moving files to and external drive does not back them up--they have to be in at least two different places.  If the external hard drive fails then all the data that is believed to be backed-up is history.  This user has to copy the files (placing the same file on two separate devices or media) to the external hard drive, not move them.  And this is just a barebones backup method because you still have localized threats like fire, flood, burglary, coffee, soda, beer, cousin Eddie (the "Computer Expert"), and rugrats.
IMPORTANT TIP: If any of these things happen you will likely be facing data loss.  After you realize you can no longer find or access your data you will naturally begin looking for a way to get your data back.  What you do next could determine whether your data is recovered successfully, or lost forever.  Remember, the best opportunity to recover your data is the first attempt at recovering it.  This means that you shouldn't attempt do-it-yourself data recovery as you may be wasting what life is left in a "dying" drive.  If it is important data then contact a professional data recovery company for true data recovery procedures.
Of course, you can avoid all of this by using a quality online backup service (See our 2009 online backup review of Carbonite, Mozy review, or SugarSync online computer backup service review.)  With this type of data backup service your files are securely transferred to a data storage center for safekeeping.  In most cases, the systems at these data centers are millions of times more reliable than the single hard drive in your computer.  In the aftermath of some awful event, heaven forbid, your data will be safe and easily accessible from any computer with an internet connection.

To top it off, the leading online backup services are very affordable.  Carbonite online backup service, for example, is just $54.95 per year for unlimited storage space--that's a real bargain by anyone's standards, and a cheap price for the peace-of-mind it will bring you.

See our online computer backup reviews for complete details.