Whether you’re storing investment data on your computer, or if you’ve got photos of your grandkids that can’t be replaced, I’m writing to tell you that there is one thing that you absolutely must do right now.

Not tomorrow. Not next week. But right now.

And that is to ensure you are backing up your data every single day. Most people don’t do this, or even think about it, until it’s too late. After a hard drive crash, virus attack or someone steals their computer, then they start to think of all the irreplaceable data they’ve just lost.

Of course it’s easy to understand why this task isn’t at the top of people’s lists, it’s just too tedious and time-consuming. Plus most people are busy and don’t want to have to search and find all of their recently updated data, zip them up to a file and then copy that file to an external hard drive.

But even for the rare breed who does this consistently, storing data on an external hard drive is not the best way to create backups.

The reason?

Unless you’re storing your backups offsite, a fire or theft can destroy all copies stored at the same location.

So it’s essential that you create backups frequently and store them in another location. Fortunately, with the advent of high-speed internet access, this has become extremely easy to do.

The backup service I use is called Mozy, and it allows you to select which files and folders you’d like to backup and when you’d like the backup process to begin. Then it automatically backs up your data – even files that you are currently using.

After the initial backup is done, Mozy then backs up only the files that are changed, so it’s usually very fast.

You’ll never again have to worry about forgetting to do a backup.

Plus your data is encrypted and stored safely and securely on Mozy’s servers. If you ever need a file, or all your files for that matter, you can simply select it and restore it to your computer.

You can even restore previous versions of your files.

And how much will it cost you for all this convenience and power?

Nothing. Nada. Zip.

If you have less than 2 GB of data to backup, the service is free (no setup fee, no credit cards, no monthly payments, just worry-free backups). If you have more than 2GB, it’s $4.95 a month for unlimited storage.

I currently have nearly 50GB of data backed up at Mozy, but for most people, 2 GB will be enough (remember, you only want to back up your data. Programs can always be reinstalled or redownloaded, so you don’t need to back them up offsite).

So if you don’t currently have a backup strategy and want one that is simple, reliable and easy-to-use, visit the Mozy site and sign up for a free account. Because losing your valuable data is not something you really want to experience.