Just sit and think for a moment about what you have stored on your computer.

It probably includes many of the following: Precious photos of family and friends; videos of your children growing up; hundreds of pounds worth of music downloads; important work documents; letters you’ve sent; your youngsters’ coursework; and the list goes on and on.

Now imagine for a moment what would happen if that computer – whether it’s a PC or Mac, laptop, netbook or desktop – was to suddenly fail to work.

Have you made a backup of everything to be able to restore it?

If not, you could suffer either emotional trauma or financial loss if it was deleted by a computer virus, for example.

Hard drive failures are also very common. It is a crucial part in any computer but can also be the one most vulnerable to a breakdown because it has so many moving parts inside.

So how do you backup safely and also securely? Well, it’s easy. There are lots of ways to do it, and many of them won’t even cost a penny. Below we examine some of the best options.

WINDOWS 7

If you’re running the latest operating system from Microsoft, it can do it all for you. Select the Backup and Restore option from the System and Security menu in the Control Panel.

It will then ask you what parts of your computer you’d like to backup. You can either choose for yourself from a list it displays or it will run automatically and backup the most important places where files are stored.

You can either use a USB memory dongle, DVD or an external hard drive plugged in to a USB port. The service will also tell you how large a file the backup will be. If you leave the dongle or drive connected, it will then update the backup regularly when the computer is switched on.

APPLE

Whether you’re using an iMac, MacBook or MacBook Pro, take advantage of the Time Machine feature that is built-in. This works the same as in Windows 7 and regularly makes a backup for you onto USB stick or external drive.

It is very easy to set up and once you’ve done it once, you can let it repeat the backup cycle in the background without having to think about it again.

ONLINE

There are many online services that provide free storage space to backup your files. But this only tends to be a small amount. You can then purchase extra space as your digital life grows and pay either monthly or yearly. Good examples are Dropbox – www.dropbox.com; Mozy – www.mozy.com; Mobile Me for Apple users – www.me.com; and now even Google Docs – http://docs.google.com

All of these methods are password-protected and secure. They simply upload copies of all your files to their own servers and keep them there in case the worst happens.

The first time you do it, it might take a while for all the files to upload. The time taken depends on the speed of your broadband. Often it’s a good idea to let it happen overnight.

ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE

You may not realise it, but your anti-virus software may well have a backup feature that can automate the saving of your digital world onto whatever external storage device you choose.

Some of them also include a certain amount of online backup in the price you paid for the program.

Check the instruction manual that came with the discs or see the help section of the software for more information on how to utilise the backup features.

TOP TIPS

However you backup is up to you, but it is crucial that you do it. Here are three tips for ensuring you manage your backups to get the most from it.

BE ORGANISED – Try not to have files strewn all over your computer’s desktop and hard drive. Organise them into folders, making sure they are named correctly as to what is saved inside. It will make it far easier to find things later.

BE CAREFUL – USB memory dongles are one of the easiest ways to spread computer viruses. If you use one as a backup device, keep it just for that. Don’t use the same stick to transfer files between machines. If your backup caught a virus, it would be absolutely useless.

BE SELECTIVE – If you are using a free online backup service, make sure you think about what you are saving in it. If space is limited and you don’t want to spend out more money, only choose the files you couldn’t live without in the future. Perhaps copy other non-crucial things onto a CD or DVD, which are very inexpensive. Make sure you write on them though to show what you’ve got saved and keep them safe in a cupboard in a case or sleeve.

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