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For too many people, the realization that they need to back up their photos and videos only comes when they misplace or break their smartphones and lose everything. Between smartphones and digital cameras, people take a tremendous number of photos — The Globe and Mail reports that there are more than 2.6 billion camera phones on the planet and that Facebook has been known to upload 6 billion photos in a month.

With so many precious videos and pictures, it’s important to make sure they don’t vanish forever. Here are some tools and tips to help you safely back up your videos:

Make Local Backups

Making local backups is the easiest way to ensure the safety of your videos. By creating a local, physical backup, you can archive your videos in a form that can’t be lost if there is a server failure or your hard drive has a problem. Physical backups such as CDRs and USB drives can be placed off-site to increase their safety. External hard drives are the most reliable and usually largest forms of physical storage. The Wire Cutter researched and tested the 4 TB WD My Book hard drive for more than 40 hours and reports that it is a good backup because it is reliable and fast and comes with a 2-year warranty.

The major downside of physical backups is that they can only be accessed when they are in hand. This means you can’t update your backup or view your videos from a remote location.

Back up to the Cloud

If you want access to your videos anywhere and at any time, cloud data storage is the most convenient and safe way to back them up. Cloud storage is composed of online data backup servers that are accessible from any device that is connected to the Internet. There are many cloud data services out there, so it’s important to choose the one that is right for you. Services such as Mozy feature web-based administrative consoles that allow you to manage user access of your videos from anywhere in the world. For ease of backup and access, the cloud is your best bet.

How to Upload Your Videos

Before you upload your videos, there are a few steps you need to take. First, it’s a good idea to encrypt your videos as you upload them and secure them with password protection. This helps keep the safe and private from hackers. Then, know how much data you will be uploading. Cloud storage services, especially free ones, have caps on how much data you can upload. If you think you will need more memory space, it’s a smart idea to purchase more space or upgrade your plan. Finally, save yourself time in the future by configuring your device to sync with your cloud service. This allows you to automatically update your backup as you add new videos to your library. This way you never have to worry about forgetting to back them up or risk losing them again.