Backups are essential to avoiding data loss over the long term. To reduce the risk of data loss as much as possible, backups should be performed frequently and stored off site. When using cloud storage, backups should also be encrypted so that storage providers cannot rifle through them. Duplicati is a free and open source backup client designed with online backups in mind. All data is encoded...

Many publishers and funding sources now require archiving of research data. However, many repositories are difficult to use, charge ongoing fees, or both. Figshare provides a free, simple to use repository for research outputs. Their service is already integrated with the PLOS family of open access journals. Additionally, they have a repository-as-a-service offering that institutions may consider....

Perkeep is a personal storage and archiving system that aims to "let you permanently keep your stuff, for life." Perkeep provides a set of formats and protocols for storing arbitrary data, from tweets up to gigantic videos. It also offers a set of tools for searching and accessing the data that it contains. In the Perkeep Overview, the authors describe the system as a "data dumptruck that I can...

Restic is a free software designed to provide backups that are easy, fast, verifiable, secure, and efficient. It's important for backups to be easy and fast so that doing them can become part of a user's usual routine. Restic allows users to verify backups, which will help to avoid the horrible situation of backup copies being corrupted. Restic encrypts data with industry-standard AES-256 and...