I'm very careful about clicking links. I read in a respected computer magazine than you have to treat the Internet as if everybody is out to get you. Most aren't of course, but when you drop your vigilance you can get snagged.
But I know more savvy people than myself have been duped so....
1) I make an Acronis disk image at the end of every day to an external, removable 'toaster' drive. The external drive is never on when I'm working so the malware people can't write to it.
Of course I could be backing up an infected drive so I make sure I have at least a half dozen backups before the oldest gets erased. So I have almost a week's worth of disk images.
2) I also use another removable drive that I put in the 'toaster' once a month and backup, and I keep more than 9 months of complete disk images on that drive. It's removed from the system except for backup time.
So if I get malware, I can go back to a point where my computer was before it got infected. Disk images are not like simple backups, they 'clone' the disk itself.
3) But what about my data? If I restore my computer to its state a few months ago, what will I lose? Hopefully nothing because I also use Microsoft's free SyncToy app to backup my data every day. That includes every folder that I think the data changes on like documents, pictures, e-mail, music, etc.
The Acronis Disk Image and SyncToy backup can be run at the same time but I found it's better to start SyncToy about a minute before booting Acronis. It usually takes about an hour, and Acronis can turn your computer off after the backup is finished.
Backing up your computer and data are like going out to sea with life jackets and life boats. Chances are you will never need them, but if you find yourself in a situation where you do need them, you will be very glad they are available.
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