Best Simple Backup Solutions

Just like you wouldn't leave for a long car trip without a spare tire, you shouldn't trust your treasure trove of family pictures, correspondence, and family budgets to your computer alone.  The mantra of every computer user, whether corporate or home, should be Backup! Backup! Backup!

Fortunately, backing up your computer data couldn't be simpler now.  From the relative cheapness of usb flash drives, to the great cloud storage solutions from Microsoft, Dropbox, and Google, effective backups are now in reach of even the most non-computer savvy users.  Over the next few days, I'll detail, step by step, how to use each of the cloud storage solutions from Microsoft, Dropbox and Google to ensure you personal pictures and data are protected.

All of my step by step procedures will be detailed on Windows 7.  The steps should be similar for Windows XP.  Stay tuned for the Microsoft SkyDrive step by step guide on Saturday!

Top 3 Best Free Antivirus Programs

There's a host of really good, and really bad antivirus programs available on the market. Some range from nothing more than a pretty icon that sits in your system tray, to full fledged security solutions that act like overzealous customs agent checking everything that tries to enter your computer. Here's a breakdown of the top three best free antivirus programs available today.

  

#1. Avira Antivirus Free Edition

The Good:

• Perpetual Free License means no re-registration.
• Rated very highly by the VB100.com RAP comparison
• Very light weight meaning minimal slowdowns on your PC

The Bad:    

• Nag-Ware. One pop-up window a day that you must close. 
• But, this is a small price to pay for free.

Download:    http://www.avira.com/en/download-start/product/avira-free-antivirus

  

#2. Microsoft Security Essentials

The Good:    

• Perpetual Free License means no re-registration
• Integrates very well with Windows
• Non-nonsense Icon lets you know when there's a problem
• Seamless updates bundled with regular Windows Updates

The Bad:    

• Slightly bloated meaning some slowness will be noted

Download:    http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials

#3. Avast Free Home Edition

The Good: 

• It works
• It talks to you when it downloads an update or detects a virus

The Bad:

• It talks to you when it downloads an update or detects a virus. Gets annoying!
• Must register the software and it only allows you to register for one year.
• If you forget to re-register, you lose protection even though it's free to re-register.

Download:    http://www.avast.com/free-antivirus-download