Simple program to backup info?

My dad is in real estate and finally got himself a laptop. He is terrible with computers but he has finally got a grasp of the basics. He asked me today what would could be done if his computer was stolen and he lost all his data. So that brings me to my questions.

1. Is there a program I can install to "Lo-jack" the laptop in the event it is stolen? (It is a very good possibility considering the town we're from)

2. I went and purchased him a flash drive. Unfortunately, he would have no idea how to back up his data to it and I am only home for spring break. Is there some sort of program that I can specify what folders to back-up and it just runs whenever the flash drive is plugged in?

In regards to question two, how big is the flash drive? Most flash drives aren't big enough to back up but just a few files. I would purchase him an external hard drive and I'm sure someone/we could find software that does backups every x amount of days. I'll look around for you.

Q.2 Allway Sync http//alwayssync.com/

I use it on my flash drive. I have it configured to update my home PC and my work PC with the documents on the flash drive whenever I plug in the flash drive.

[quote5fff27e136="doylnea"]Q.2 Allway Sync http//alwayssync.com/

I use it on my flash drive. I have it configured to update my home PC and my work PC with the documents on the flash drive whenever I plug in the flash drive.[/quote5fff27e136]

How big is your flash drive and what exactly do you select it to back up? Just certain folders?

Q1 LoJack actually makes the program
http//www.lojackforlaptops.com/learn-more-lojack-for-laptops.asp

[quote803e9bf045="JKirk"][quote803e9bf045="doylnea"]Q.2 Allway Sync http//alwayssync.com/

I use it on my flash drive. I have it configured to update my home PC and my work PC with the documents on the flash drive whenever I plug in the flash drive.[/quote803e9bf045]

How big is your flash drive and what exactly do you select it to back up? Just certain folders?[/quote803e9bf045]

My Flash drive is 512mb, though Staples has a 1GB on sale right now for $20 out the door...

But yes, you can select individual files, folders, or entire directories to backup. It takes 10 minutes tops to setup, and then it just works. It's terrific software!

Thanks so much for all your help! To answer the question of questions, its a 1 gig flash drive. Picked it up for 15$ at Circuit City today. But it honestly wouldn't matter if it was a 256mb stick. He's not backing up music or pictures, he's only backing up his contacts and all his real estate stuff which is just text files. In all honesty, he could probably do it on floppies but that is SO 1997. wink You guys rock.

lol I got a 6 gig flash drive online for $37

I would recommend looking online there are a lot of cheap ones but be careful (mine doesn't work anyone)