How To Protect Yourself From Online Services Shutting Down
Google's unfortunate decision to shut down its RSS reader service, Google Reader, is an important reminder of just how unreliable the cloud can be. When using free online services, and in some cases even some paid ones, you can never be too sure what is going to happen to your content, and whether or not the service will be available a year from now.
Easily Back Up & Restore iPhone Contacts To & From PC With CopyTrans Contacts
If you dropped your iPhone in a puddle, what's the first thing you'd worry about? If you said "Contacts," then here's a tool you absolutely need right now.
Did You Know Windows 8 Has a Built-In Time Machine Backup?
We sometimes forget with all the focus on Windows 8's new "Modern" interface, but Windows 8 has a variety of great desktop improvements. One of them is File History, a built-in backup feature that functions similarly to Apple's much-loved Time Machine. Enable File History and Windows will automatically back up your files to an external or network drive. You'll be able to restore previous versions from these backups.
5 Tools For Backing Up & Downloading Your Facebook Photos
Facebook has for a long time been the place where we post our photos online. Why? Because it's a convenient place where everyone we know can see what we’re up to. But what about an easy way to make sure those photos are safe should anything happen to Facebook or our own profile? Thankfully, there are several tools you can use.
Getting a New Computer, Part 1: How to Transition From Your Old PC to Your New One
Ahhh! The joy of a new computer! An opportunity to start fresh and leave all the worries of your slow, dusty, old computer in the past. However, whether you've just purchased a new computer or are thinking about it, it is crucial to start out with it the right way in order to have the best experience possible. There are several aspects in doing this, all of which will be covered in this series of 4 articles. This is the first article in the series.
Polaroids In The Wind: Have You Backed Up Your Instagram Account?
Ah, Instagram. There isn’t much that hasn’t been said about the photo-sharing phenomena. When I think about it, it still surprises me how a simple app like Instagram achieved such am superior status, but even the greatest social-media hater can’t deny its power and allure. Being a tech blog, we haven’t exactly ignored Instagram either. We’ve already told you about sites that enhance your Instagram experience - except for backup.
5 Great Cloud Backup Tools & Services That Fully Support Linux
If you ask any power user for one good piece of advice that applies to any operating system, it would be to back up your files regularly. As much as technology can be helpful, it can also cause problems or even fail at the worst possible times. Therefore, it is important that you are able to identify different backup methods for your system. With Linux, you have a good amount of reliable options at your disposal, but it may not be quite as obvious as with other platforms.
Dealing with System Problems in Android: Safe Mode, Factory Reset & Restoring Backups
If you've run into a problem on your Android phone or tablet, this method just might help you save it.
Cobian Backup - The Best Backup a Windows Computer Can Get For Free [Windows]
Cobian Backup is a free backup software for Windows. It is crammed with featured, yet seems minimalistic at first glance. Users can create multiple backup tasks for different purposes, backups can be scheduled individually, back files up to multiple different locations, compress or encrypt backups, and more. If you are looking for a truly versatile and easy to use backup tool, look no further.
Double Driver Makes Backing Up & Restoring Your Drivers Easier Than Ever [Windows]
Your drivers can be a scary and intimidating thing. The two pieces of the Windows backend that I never recommend the novice user play with are the registry and device drivers. The smallest of errors in handling either of these can result in system instability or a completely bricked operating system, and that's no fun. As you become a more experienced, savvy, and paranoid citizen of the Internet, you'll grow accustomed to religiously backing up your system and online data.
5 New Year Resolutions Every Geek Should Aspire To [Opinion]
What about resolutions that geeks in particular should consider? Tech enthusiasts tend to have different priorities than other people – watching less TV, for example, may not be applicable if you’ve already replaced it with YouTube and video games. Here are five resolution ideas that even the most hardcore geek should consider.
Automatically Backup, Sync & Restore Your Windows Files With @MAX SyncUp [Rewards]
Backing up is one of the most important things you can do as a computer user. If you doubt its importance, just let me direct you here, here and here. I suggest you add all three of those articles to your reading list. Of course, there’s a lot more about backing up on MakeUseOf, especially the amount of applications available to do the task. But we’re not here to talk about those. We’re here to talk about @MAX SyncUp.
Backup Your Files To Box, Google Drive, SkyDrive And More With Duplicati [Cross Platform]
So you have your Box, Google Drive or SkyDrive account, but how do you automatically add files to them? They are quite useful for manually adding files to, but what if you wanted to use the storage space to back up your computer files? Well, there aren’t too many options, especially free ones, that allow you to do this.
Prepare For The Worst: Disaster Recovery Tips You Need To Use Now
Your biggest enemy is simply putting it off.
Why You Need To Backup Now And 6 Reasons Why You Haven't Done So Already
How else can I say this? Actually, there is no other way more straightforward than this: you need to backup now. The risks involved with not doing so are simply not worth it. There’s no really no reason to not be backing up your computer. That said, you likely feel you do have a legitimate reason. And in some cases you might, but there is always a way.
Don't Let Browser Crashes Waste Your Time: Here's How To Back Up Forms & Email Enquiries
While browsers keep getting better and better, there’s one thing none of them have managed to abolish entirely - crashes. Every browser (well, OK, at least the big names) crashes every once in a while, and that’s without getting into more general computer crashes, loss of power (happens even on a Mac!), etc. No matter what computer you use and which browser you prefer, crashes can happen. And when they do, be sure they’ll happen in the wrong time.
Replace Windows Home Server With These Great Free Tools
Microsoft has been implementing big changes lately, and none of them are sitting too well with me. If you’re as jaded as I am about the $50 Windows Home Server being killed off - replaced by the $450 Windows Server Essentials - then fear not; you can get pretty much all the same functionality from these awesome free tools, and not give Microsoft a penny in the process.
Did You Know Twitter Deletes Your Old Tweets? Here's How to Back Them Up
The importance of backup can never be overstated. No matter what it is, if it’s important to you, back it up. You never know when something might fail, and you’ll find yourself wishing you’ve taken the time to back up your stuff. Your Twitter presence is no different. In the several years Twitter’s been around, many of us have collected thousands of tweets, followers, DMs and lists. While not all of these can be backed up, why not save what you can?
SyncToy: Microsoft's Simple Backup & Synchronization Solution [Windows]
If you have files on your computer, you need to backup. Plain and simple. Many of us are familiar with backing up and there are lots of methods and programs to use. Another aspect that is somewhat different from backing up is synchronizing files. This means that you are duplicating files from one folder to another and vice versa. SyncToy, which has been previously covered on MakeUseOf once before, is from Microsoft and is a free program.
How & How Often Do You Back Up Your Files? [You Told Us]
Digital formats are a brilliant innovation let down by one fatal flaw: If anything bad happens - be it theft, failure, or natural disaster - to the physical object housing the data, then a lifetime of work (or more likely your whole music and movie collections) can literally be lost forever. This is why backing up your digital data is so important. This prompted the question in last week's We Ask You querying your methods for preventing that possibly cataclysmic loss happening to you.