It never fails. I get a call every week from someone needing a file from year’s past. Why do they need it? Their hard drive failed and they had no backup! Folks, take backup seriously! Today I’ll share a very compact drive that fills the needs of many of you. Yes, there will be a link to Amazon where I get a tiny commission if you buy using the links. No, I haven’t gotten a free one.

What makes for a good backup device? The first criteria is having enough space to hold your data. This drive comes in sizes of 1 TB, 2 TB, 3 TB and 4 TB. So it should have a size perfect for your needs. Honestly, go for the 4TB given the price differential between each of them. It should be fast and the USB 3.0 connection allows the data to move reasonably fast. Of course the price needs to be right and even the biggest version is a steal given the value of lost data. Heck, it may be worth buying two or three so you can alternate them just in case of absolute disaster.

In additional to all the criteria above, the drive is really small measuring 4.33″ x 3.21″ x .85″. That would make it easy to store in a safe place like a bank box. Want it to look good? The WD My Passport comes in seven different colors so you can find one that makes your desk look great. For those who don’t have a backup system in place, this is a great place to start. If you already have a backup plan, could this improve it or supplement it? Don’t mess around with the potential of data loss and get a great system in place!