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Well, with a hurricane bearing down on the area right now, it´s a good time to join the "prepared" group because doing so will help you avoid a lot of heartache and frustration later.

Program vs. Data Files
When backing up your data, it´s important to understand the difference between program files and data files.

Knowing what to back up and what to skip will make the difference between your backups taking a few minutes or, quite unnecessarily, a few hours.

Program files are the immense files that make software like "Quicken," "Windows," and "Excel" work on your computer.

Those files are all available on the installation disks that came with your computer and, unless you have a specific reason, there is usually no need to back up those program files.

The files you do want to back up are the ones that contain your data, including:

• your word processing documents
• spreadsheets
• html website files
• databases of names and addresses

A data file is basically anything you created or a program creates that cannot be replaced by re-installing the program itself.

Those are the files you must back up on a regular basis.

Basic rule: if you or someone else created the file and can´t replace it except by doing the work or creating the files all over again - back it up!

Take Your Data "Off-Site"
Now it does you no good to make these backups of your hard drive´s files and then put them on top of your computer desk to get swept away by fire, flood, hurricane or other natural disaster.

Take your files somewhere safe, like a safety deposit box at your bank or send them to a relative out of state via overnight courier.

You can also store files online for free at http://briefcase.yahoo.com

This is a great resource if you have 30 MB or less of data files you want to store somewhere besides where you are now!

Bottom Line: Get your data out of the same geographical location you occupy and into a safe, secure place.

Unplug, Disconnect and Cover
Once it looks like a severe storm is upon you, disconnect your computer completely from all electrical, cable and phone connections.

Even if you have it connected to a surge protector, unplug everything.

If your computer is located on the first floor of your home or building, place the computer on a sturdy table to get it up off the floor.

Not only will this defend against flooding from rain or broken pipes, but will make it much easier if you must grab the computer and run (literally).

Cover all your equipment with heavy plastic to guard against the possibility of overhead leaks from ceiling and roof damage.

Special Message for Website Owners
Make sure you have a copy of your entire website and all necessary files and scripts to run it safely stored on a CD- ROM so you could instantly transfer your business from one web host to another.

Some online business owners learned this lesson the hard way during a recent natural disaster when their web servers quite literally got wiped off the face of the earth.