The 3-2-1 Backup Rule That Can Save You From Losing Everything
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Hard drives fail. Phones get stolen. Ransomware encrypts your files. If your important data exists in only one place, it is not a matter of if you lose it but when. The 3-2-1 rule is simple: keep three copies of your data, on two different types of storage, with one copy stored off-site.
In practice, this might mean your files live on your computer, on an external drive, and in cloud storage. The key is that no single disaster — a fire, a theft, a hardware failure — can wipe out everything at once. Setting this up takes an afternoon. Recovering from data loss without it can take months, if recovery is even possible.
The point
Three copies, two storage types, one off-site — the 3-2-1 rule ensures no single disaster can erase your digital life.
Living experience
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I work as a photographer and lost a full wedding shoot once — 1,800 images — when a card failed and the laptop backup drive turned out to be corrupted. Clients were devastated. Now I run Backblaze continuously, with a local NAS and a quarterly cold copy to an offsite drive at my parents' house. Three years of zero losses since.