Google to let users back up entire computer to cloud

Backing up your PC or Mac is one of the most important things a computer owner can do.

But whether it's the inconvenience of plugging in an external hard drive or the cost of cloud storage, people don't back up as frequently as they should. 

Google's new Drive update may help solve that problem. Revealed Wednesday in a post on the company's enterprise-focused G Suite apps blog, Google is preparing an update that adds a feature called Backup and Sync.

The update, which will go live on June 28, will allow consumer users of Drive to back up full folders of their computer to the cloud. This means that instead of putting individual files or photos from your computer's Desktop folder into the Google Drive folder, you can automatically have Google Drive back up the entire Desktop folder and everything within it. Google will also continuously back up the folder to ensure your files are up to date. 

Google says it does not scan the files stored in Drive for advertising purposes. 

The area of cloud backups is a fairly crowded space, with a variety of other options available including iDrive, Mozy Home, CrashPlan and Carbonite. That said, Google's new offering could be an interesting choice given the simplicity and speed of Google Drive — though if you do decide to backup to Google's service you'll likely want some additional storage beyond 15GB the search giant gives away for free. The company sells higher options, with 100GB available for $1.99 per month ($19.99 for a year) and 1TB available for $9.99 per month ($99.99 per year).

Whatever platform or service you use, now is a good time to remind you to make sure to back up that computer. 

Follow Eli Blumenthal on Twitter @eliblumenthal