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The three places are typically a computer, an external hard drive, and a cloud service. "The best advice around backup is to have it in three different places," says Sean Metcalf, founder and chief technical officer of Trimarc Security, a company in Washington, D.C., that helps organizations secure their Microsoft platforms. Another option is to store them in the cloud, which is made up of remote servers you access online. But even backing up files to an external hard drive on your desk isn't always enough.
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If you've ever accidentally deleted or overwritten an important file, spilled a cup of coffee on your computer, or had a laptop that was lost or stolen, you understand the importance of backing up important files.
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