[TheNewGirl]

You can set times backup points on your comp (mine runs at like three am once a week). I also stick a flashdrive in the side of mine and it backs up critical folders/programs to that nightly and I just swap them every few days for a clean one (so that I always have a non corrupt version always handy). I do this on my work and home comps so if I ever have to do a clean install I at least have my critical files saved.

It's also a good idea to do a complete backup to an external source now and then. That's why the data storage sites are handy where you upload your backup to a server somewhere, or you can use an external hard drive (they come up to like 1000G now, you can back up several comps to one).