It's happened to so many of us at one time or another in our technologically obsessed lives. We process important information in the computer. We've been so engrossed for hours, that we pretty much lose track of everything else. And just when you are almost done, something major happens, and you will regret it for the rest of your life.

An unexpected power outage. The blue screen of death. And you realize as you bang your head on the wall, that you didn't save. Isn't that sad.

Okay. So maybe you were careful enough to save every so often just so that you don't lose your important information. Heck, most programs now have the new-and-improved autosave function, just work away at your desk, and the computer will do the rest, saving your work automatically every few minutes or so.

So your resting easy on your chair that whirls about and gives you a few occasional bouts of headaches and nausea.

So you saved. Is that it? Don't you know that shortcircuited, faulty wiring will zap all your precious data in a spark? Don't you know that unscrupulous hackers and prowlers will try anything they can to rip off important information from you? So what do you do?

Well, folks, the key word here is backup, and no, we're not talking just backup. We're talking about maximum-security backup. Hey, information is precious. You don't see those leather-bound encyclopedia volumes coming cheap now do you.

Your information could be worth millions of dollars. Or even if it's just your very own personal information, and even if nobody wanted it anyways, it's still priceless to you, and that's what matters. It is always a monumental loss if you lose something to the ill incidents of technology.

So what do you do to protect your important, precious files? Backup, and how! Backup several different copies in different places. Print it out, burn it on a compact disc, store it on several different hard drives, flash drives, your ipod, wherever.

You can never have too many backup copies of your mom's famously delicious top secret chocolate chip cookie recipe. Of course, keep in mind that as you update your original files, you should update your backup files as well, not forgetting the backup media used also.

I mean, you may have stored tons of backup copies on tape magnet, but I think it's safe to say that we're well out of the era of low-tech storage media. It's time to update your backup copies before they get phased out altogether and you will have no way of restoring them.

Of course you actually need to keep your backup safe too. You can't just leave them exposed to the elements and untrustworthy people. Store the cds and drives as required: keep out of sunlight and high temperatures; as the manual reads. Keep it somewhere where you know you will find it.

Don't play with it too much. Store in a cool dry place. And if you are the kind who is not messing around with data at all, you may already know the high price at which you value your very important information.

Therefore, take all the necessary precautions. Don't just take backup, keep it under lock and key! Encrypt like crazy. Toss in several different levels of maximum security.

Update your software regularly. Just keep following these things and you will be successful with your backups and you won't have problems retrieving your information again.