Backing Up: What Are the Best Solutions For You?

Modified on Fri, May 10 at 3:01 PM

Backing up your important documents and files is vital and there are various ways to do so. Computers will always eventually fail and often this will happen when you least expect it. We recommend backing up data at least once a week.

Common Backup Options

Method	Description	Size Range	Portability	Durability	Ease of Use	Archive Quality*
External Hard Drive	Stores lots of data; semi-portable	128GB - 4TB	Medium	Medium	High	Medium
Flash Drive	Plug into any computer with a USB port; very convenient	1GB - 128GB	High	High	High	Medium
Cloud Storage (e.g. Box.net, DropBox, OneDrive).	Automatically backed up; usually provides plenty of space.	Varies	High	High	High	Varies

*Archive quality denotes the ability of the media to be used as a long-term (many years or decades) archival medium for data.

Options

Cloud Storage on Penn+Box

The University provides the Penn+Box service, in partnership with Box.com, for all Penn students. If you would like to activate a Penn+Box account, please review the following information:

Each Penn+Box account includes 50 GB storage on a secure cloud server.
You must activate your Box account at http://upenn.box.com
The Box Login uses a separate set of credentials (note the different email address):
- email address: username@upenn.edu
- Login: Pennkey username
- Password: Pennkey password
- Log into Box using the credentials above
- Click the Circle icon with your name in the upper right of the screen
- Choose Account Settings and scroll down to the Login and Email Addresses section.
- Click Add Email, and enter your Penn email address
- Log in to your Penn email account, and follow the steps in the Verification email.
  - (There may be a delay; please wait a few minutes. If it doesn't come, you can click the Resend Confirmation email link in Penn+Box.)

App Version
There is an app version available for Box. To log in to the app, select the Company Credentials option and enter the Penn email address that Box associates with your account (username@upenn.edu). You will then be prompted to enter your PennKey username and password. After you log in, you will be prompted to enter a passcode that you set specifically for Box

Hard Drives

There's a variety of inexpensive external hard drives available.
Many external hard drives come pre-loaded with software to schedule automatic backups.
Mac computers come with a program called Time Machine, which backs up your data to another place on your hard drive.

Flash Drives

Convenient, but easy to lose.
Works with any computer that has a USB port.
Widely available for sale at sizes starting at 1GB.
Also know as a thumb-drive, Jump Drive, or memory key.

*Adapted with permission from support.wharton.upenn.edu