Having lost data due to faulty backup systems, I can attest that a quality backup program is critical. Contrary to the thinking of a decade ago, tape backups or CD backups don't hack it.

Ideally, one should store the back up media in safe place. I accidentally placed head phones on some disks and compromised the data. A second concern is that the back up should be stored in a different location than the computer. A local event like a fire or flood will destroy both the original data and backup.

Interestingly, the Internet and broadband communications have opened a new backup market. Rather than storing back ups on questionable media. Online services allow people to store backups in remote secure data centers. These centers store your backed up files on media that is far more secure than what you use at home.

This page lists web sites offering automated backup procedures or sites offering remote diskspace.

BTW: The central key to all back up programs is to make sure you can get your data back!!!! Nothing is more heart rending than finding that the backups you've been doing each week are corrupt. When you do a back up program, you should regularly test the procedures to recover the data. You also need to make sure that more than one person knows these procedures.