How to backup before using CCleaner

Back in the old days data was not as hard to preserve, however hard to distribute. Nevertheless, if papers were stored at the right temperature and written with the right pen, there would not be the problem of data loss but if hazards should occur (fire, flood etc). Nowadays, things are a bit more different – in other words, data can be easily modified under the action of viruses, worms, remote access and so on.

Without precautions, your computer may be under attack at any time and if you care about your data, backup is the only way to go. The irony is that people would spend more money on antivirus applications, along with firewalls and antispyware rather than just thinking how backing up their data.

File backup is the typical process of saving data on different medias (floppy, CDs/DVDs, hdds and so on) therefore no matter what happens to the original data (the one stored on your computer) you will also have it saved elsewhere.

What to backup and how much backup is actually required is generally a personal choice – you are the only one who knows what deserves to be backed up and what can be easily restored later. For example, until a while ago, I kept making DVDs of my favorite software until I realized that no matter what happens to them, I will always have the Internet to download them again.

Data that generally needs thorough backup-ing are financial records, tax statements along with personal files that should have a backup because in its absence you would be in real trouble. Backup generally takes little time and energy not to mention that it is a very wise idea.

Back-up Solutions

If you search the internet you will find out that there are numerous back-up solutions – from using special software that will help you back-up to DIY ideas. We shall discuss here about some of the most common back-up solutions you have available, that are also the most cost-effective.

· E-mail your data – This process takes little time if you have a bunch of data and a good internet connection. You can send them to your own e-mail and you have the assurance that no matter what, your data will always be protected and at hand. You would be amazed how efficient this method is, not to mention the fact that it does not cost you anything extra (compared to what it would be like to buy software to backup your files)

· Using external media – This includes anything from external hard disk drives to the use of DVDs and CDs. Basically, all you have to do is search your hard drive for useful information and store it with the drag and drop technique (or copy-paste). DVDs are rather cheap and they store up to 4.2GB with every disk, however they tend to scratch and become useless in time. Hard drives are a bit more expensive but they allow you to modify and add data, not to mention that they are more reliable.

· Hard Drive Cloning – If you need a thorough backup of everything your hard drive contains, therefore a cloning process might be required. In this case, special software should be used, but you do not necessarily need to buy one since as of Windows XP (and Vista) you have a built-in hard drive cloning utility in program files. All you have to do is search and use it.

What is CCleaner and Why Is It Necessary to Backup

The tagline for this product would be something like “Simple, quick and easy”. In other words, CCleaner managed to deliver a reliable application with a user-friendly appearance. While it is true that it does not have all the artistic elements of most PC-cleaning applications that can be found nowadays, I would rather consider its technical performance more important than its visual impact.

CCleaner is designed to wipe out all data of your presence on the internet (and it has a variety of browsers in its gallery: Internet Explorer, Opera, Firefox and even the newborn Google Chrome), not to mention that will clean all unnecessary data (perhaps harmful data) from Windows system areas and other applications (torrent temp files and other similar data).

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The only thing you should be careful about is what is being labeled useless and what actually needs erasing. Since CCleaner is not necessarily the top of the line of system utilities in some cases you might end up with more than 50 percent of your important data being erased with no reason in particular. Back-up becomes very useful at this point, and it takes so little time that I do not see why you should not take this precautionary method.