Here’s the usual file types you should backup online.

• Documents: “The dog ate my homework” doesn’t fly anymore in today’s digital world. Important documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and data files should all be considered. Everything from your kid’s homework to that important work presentation you brought home last weekend.
• Pictures: Pictures capture the memories we wish we could rewind the clock and go back to enjoy. Birthdays, weddings, holidays, baby’s first steps, kid’s graduation – you get the idea. These are all memories you want to cherish for a long, long time. Keep these tucked away in a safe place as they are irreplaceable.
• Music: If you’re a music lover like me, you’ve probably invested your whole lifetime building a music library of 1000s of songs. Imagine if you lost it all and had to start over from scratch. Even at $1 per song, iTunes would cost you a fortune to reclaim them all. If you look to “alternative” download sources, you’d be spending hours and hours trying to remember all the songs you lost. Is your time really worth it?
• Movies: You may have your home videos still stuck on VHS or DVD, so this one may not be a problem for some people. But, if you are big into downloading movies, especially ones you purchased and have no way of retrieving them, you’ll want to consider backing up your movies.
• Program, Application Files: Not many people think about this one, but consider all the programs or applications you’ve installed over the years. Each of these include many different settings or preferences. I know I can’t remember them all, so why leave it to chance?

Now that we’ve established which files to backup online, you’ll want to think about how often you should backup your files. Most online backup services will let you automatically schedule your backup on a regular basis, so you don’t have to worry about it.

Here’s a few recommended timelines of when to backup your files.

These schedules are merely a guide for you to follow. Feel free to modify them as you see fit to meet your online backup needs.

What files do you backup online? How often do you back them up? Share your online backup tips in the comments below.

Some exciting news coming out of Mozy Online Backup. Mozy plans to offer 2 amazing new features that would allow you to access your files from anywhere, from any device (well, almost any device).

1. Mozy Sync
2. Mozy Mobile Apps for iOS and Android

Mozy Sync

Mozy Sync allows you to access your files from any of your computers. No more hassle with bringing the laptop home from work or emailing files to yourself or saving to a USB flash drive. Now you can stay in sync with your files from any computer.

While Dropbox already offers a sync service for free up to 2GB, including this in Mozy’s paid subscription could be the 1-2 punch Mozy needs to stay ahead of Dropbox and the rest of pack in the online backup race.

Sign up for the beta trial at Mozy. We’ll also keep you posted here at Watch Me Backup Online when this new feature becomes available.

Mozy Mobile Apps for iOS and Android

This second feature is even way more cooler. Mozy mobile apps allow you to access your backed up files from your iOS (iPhone or iPad) or Android device. This gives you quick and easy access to pull up that picture you took last weekend and email it to your friends or grab that presentation you were working on last night. You can stay connected to your files from anywhere.

While Carbonite already supports iOS, Android AND BlackBerry, Mozy is looking to leapfrog ahead of Carbonite and the other players to become the full service provider with backup, restore, sync and mobile access.

Add your name to the list, if you want to be notified when Mozy mobile apps is available.

With all these changes that Mozy’s bringing out, maybe that price change wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

Online backup is a much safer option than physical backup devices. With online backup, files are copied from your computer and sent over the Internet to a remote location, out of harm’s way.

Listen to this reader’s story…

I’ve been using local external drives for backup, but recently I’ve decided to move my backup to the cloud. A few months ago there was a massive fire behind our home. I only had enough time to get my family, my and laptops out of the house. I left the backup drives behind.

Luckily, our house didn’t burn down… we would have lost a lot of data and photos. After this experience, I decided to move all backups online, rather than local.

- Jeremy

Consider these reasons why people choose an online backup over a physical backup device.

• User friendly: You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure how to backup online. Online backup sites are super easy to setup. No more hassle about which cord goes where or copying/storing CDs or DVDs. Once you get up and running, you’ll never know it’s there.
• Cost effective: Online backup tends to be easier on the wallet than physical backup devices. Some online backups are FREE up to 2 GB, $5.99 a month up to 50 GB, or $54.95 a year for unlimited backup space. There’s a price point to suit everyone’s budget and storage needs.
• Remote access & sharing: A handy feature many sites offer is the ability to access your files 24/7 over the Internet from any computer or share files with your friends.
• High security: Since keeping your data safe is their #1 priority, many online backup sites include military-grade security and encryption to keep your data safe and sound. Some online backup sites will even go as far as hiring former computer hackers to help them design and test their systems to make sure they are impenetrable from danger.
• Tech support: If you get really stuck, there’s plenty of ways to get in touch with your online backup site to help you out. Don’t be afraid to ask – they feel your pain. They’ve all “lost” a file or two and are happy to help out.

Some people will argue, “you shouldn’t put all your eggs in one basket” by using online backup 100% of the time. And I couldn’t agree with them more. I personally use a combination of both an external hard drive and online backup service to keep my data protected.

I could keep going, but I think you get the point by now. Online backup is the best way to keep your data protected.

Here at Watch Me Backup Online, we’re here to help you choose the right backup solution. Check out the Online Backup Reviews, How To Video’s, and other resources to help you choose the right backup solution.

Check out these staggering numbers on the main causes for data loss.

• Over 44% of hard drives fail every year
• 50% of computer users have overwritten or accidentally deleted files from their computer
• Approximately 2 million laptops are stolen every year
• 12% of users have lost data due to software corruption and programming errors
• PC virus’ cause 7% of computer user data loss

There is no shortage of statistics to convince you why you need to backup your files.

Think of a backup like insurance. You may not like to pay for it, but when something goes wrong, you’re mighty glad you had it in place to cover you.

Investing in a backup solution will give you peace of mind knowing your important files are protected. It’s a no brainer!

Still not convinced yet? Need to learn more? Don’t know where to start?

Here at Watch Me Backup Online, we’re here to help you choose the right backup solution. Check out the Online Backup Reviews, How To Video’s, and other resources to help you choose the right backup solution.

Here’s an excerpt from the email we received…

Thanks for being a valued Mozy subscriber. For the first time since 2006, we’re adjusting the price of our MozyHome service and wanted to give you a heads up. As part of this change, we’re replacing our MozyHome Unlimited backup plan and introducing the following tiered storage plans:

50 GB for $5.99 per month (includes backup for 1 computer)
125 GB for $9.99 per month (includes backup for up to 3 computers)

You may add additional computers (up to 5 in total) or 20 GB increments of storage to either of the plans, each for a monthly cost of $2.00.

While this policy takes effect for new MozyHome customers starting today, your MozyHome Unlimited subscription is still valid for the duration of your current 1 year term. Your new plan will take effect on your first renewal after March 1, 2011.

If you are currently signed up under a 1-year subscription plan, you can continue to enjoy the unlimited plan until your first renewal after March 1, 2011. So if you signed up in say January (like we did), then you should be able to continue using the unlimited plan until then.

You can read the full news update on Mozy’s website.

This has been welcome news to Mozy’s closest competitor, Carbonite Online Backup.

Carbonite tweeted their commitment to customers…

@Carbonite
We remain committed to providing unlimited backup for a flat fee because of the simplicity it provides to our customers.

Carbonite continues to offer it’s unlimited online backup plans for roughly the same price as Mozy, at $55 for 1 year. If you’re looking for an alternative to Mozy, Carbonite’s your #1 choice.

Check out our how to videos to see how easy it is to use Carbonite Online Backup.