I've temporarily suspended my recommendation of Acronis TrueImage Home.

This isn't a disrecommendation, per se, but rather a reflection of my discomfort continuing to recommend it at this time. Based on reader feedback and on what I'm seeing in the Acronis support forums I'm reluctant to recommend recent versions to the average consumer.

If you're using Acronis you don't need to switch. Most issues appear to be installation and customer support related. While I might recommend confirming that you can access the contents of your backed up files, that's a recommendation I make for all backup software.

If you're looking for an alternative, or for new backup software my current recommendation is Macrium Reflect.

As long time readers know, I frequently mention backing up as one of the biggest and most important missed opportunities that too many people are overlooking to protect themselves. And I get reports every day of people who've lost important data, sometimes everything, that a simple backup solution would have protected them against.

If you're still without a backup solution I recommend Acronis True Image Home as an easy to use solution for anyone who should be backing up but isn't. Acronis is easy to set up, can back up files and folders, or your entire machine, and can similarly restore individual files and folders, or your an entire machine image, quickly and easily.

When used with an external hard drive, Acronis True Image can be a nearly "set it and forget it" backup solution.

In fact, it's what's running on the very machine I'm using as I write this.