Backups are critical. (Pause for effect). Let me say it again, (slowly) Backups are critical! It’s not really difficult to make sure you have a good backup structure. If all you have is a cheap USB drive, put all your critical files on that but let me give you the most ideal way to keep all your data safe inside a backup.
Again, this is the “best practices” version that everyone should be using. First, have a larger drive that is either network connected, or USB connected and setup a schedule to run at least daily if not multiple times per day. The status of this backup needs to be checked often and most PCs will warn you if a backup is missed. If you’re working with an IT services firm, they should be monitoring the backup health but assume nothing.
Second, you should have second USB or network device for “offline” backups. These are usually done once per week and then the backup device is disconnected and securely stored away. If you want to take offline backups further, get several of the same devices and rotate them throughout the month for redundancy, that way if any one of the devices fail, there is always another.This whole procedure is about risk management. If you feel like taking that leap of faith with your data, by all means, go for it, live on the edge. But protection from general data loss or cybersecurity threats is not hard and only takes a little time and effort.