You didnt mention what OS and version you are using but I highly recommend this software. I dont know how long it will stay free but this is one of the better backup software companies out there these days. https://www.veeam.com/endpoint-backup-free.html

I use it for my personal backups, lots of great features and I never notice it backing up while I am working.

The OP has not been "live" on FT since he posted the question, so we are just going to have to wait and see what flavour of OS he/she prefers!!

Thanks for your response ...
OS = Win 7 Home Premium on my desktop & Win10 on my laptop
B/U what= Mainly data files & downloaded files
B/U type= Prefer local external drive (although some have crashed in the past). Having said that, I like your idea of a physical + cloud option. And that seems to be seconded by MAN Pax as well.

If I can attach that to my PC and then have the software backup periodically without any intervention on my part, that would be nice. But when I tried this several years (e.g. 10 years) ago, I had two external drives (one Seagate and one WD) crash on me. So I am not sure whether having these drives run all the time is a good idea or not.

If you have any further advice, I will really appreciate that

Thank You!
Were you recommending the Veeam Backup Essentials 9.5 OR the Veeam Backup Free Edition OR the Veeam Endpoint Backup FREE?

I would be happy to give it a whirl.

When backing up to a WD external hard drive, the built-in WD software is good enough.

When backing up from Windows to any external HD, Microsoft's SyncToy is good enough and seamless. Unfortunately, it has no way of setting up automatic backups, though Windows task scheduler can take care of that

Veeam Endpoint Backup FREE 1.5

I think you will find it a pretty easy software to use.

I've been using this for years. Works fine:

https://www.goodsync.com/

I'm going to also put in my 2c for Crashplan. I use the paid version on my primary workstation and the free version on a number of other systems. My files get backed up to multiple locations and I use the version control extensively. My source code directory gets backed up to a local SD card with ten minute versions so if I screw up my code I can go back even if I have been offline. Pretty much all data on my system gets sent to Crashplan's server, my office server, and my home media center in encrypted form so I have truly multi-site backup. It is painless and it works great. Many backup solutions work great until you go to restore - but with Crashplan there has never been an issue.

I can say exactly the same thing about Mozy :)

Saved me several times.

Just to throw in another option. I believe the 2GB plan is free.

FreeFileSync. Lots of options and works as advertised....

Unfortunately, Crashplan is exiting the home consumer market, so I have to find a new home. They have partnered with Carbonite, which is pretty darn expensive--even with the 50% off promo, and that's just for the first year.

Any other suggestions?

I'm in the same boat. I was going to accept their switch to the small business plan since it's 75% off the first year. I have 5 devices backed up, so that's still comparable pricing for a while. It will give me a long time to figure out something better.

Seems like nothing but a price increase... they're perfectly happy to continue backing up home users for $10/month. And dropping support for computer-to-computer backups is another way to force users into their cloud.

I will also probably switch to the SMB plan under the 75% off offer... $2.50/month takes me well into 2019 before I have to switch. At that point it's probably off to Backblaze, unless something better surfaces between now and then.

Crashplan has never worked right for me for any significant length of time (I used it to back up part of a home NAS to the cloud). I'm actually considering backing up to Amazon S3 instead but that seems like it'd be one of the more expensive options--even if opting for "reduced" redundancy.

For those who don't have advanced needs, Backblaze might be reasonable at $5/mo or $50/yr for their home service.

That is probably what I'll migrate to next year.