Author: Robert W. Penry @ 2021

As you gather and enter information into your genealogy program, it is imperative that you back up your data.  There is nothing more frustrating than spending hours entering data and suddenly having a power failure and losing those hours of work.  Even worse is the possibility of a fire, flood, theft, or some other disaster that destroys precious data and documents.  A computer crash can destroy your program and its associated files. Because of these possibilities, there are ways to protect yourself.

You can backup by subscribing to a backup site.  Many of these sites install software on your computer that detects when you update your system either by adding a new file or updating an existing file.  There are several of these available and the cost varies.  My backup site stores my information automatically on servers in multiple U.S. states.

Today most operating systems and many programs offer cloud storage.  The cloud consists of all servers on the web that allow users to store data.  The cloud is normally transparent to the user which means that you have no idea where your data is being stored.  Major suppliers of cloud storage have security procedures in place to store and protect your data.

There are also backup devices that you can use:

      External Hard Drive

Another Computer (laptop, Tablet)

   Thumb Drive

CD or DVD

  SD Cards (Camera Chips)