It is important to make backups of your data often, especially after editing important files. Backups should be made to an external storage source, such as an external hard drive or cloud-based storage service.
For information on creating backups using an external hard drive, see Apple's Back up your Mac with Time Machine Web page.
For instructions on backing up files see the Microsoft Back up and restore your files page.
Cloud-based services like Google Drive File Stream, which is included as a part of your VT Google Workspace account, work in both Mac OS and Windows and can be used to back up your data without the need for an external hard drive. Because your data is backed up to a server, you will need to have Internet connectivity when creating backups and accessing your backed up data.
For instructions on backing up your data using Google Drive File Stream, see Google's Get started with Drive File Stream page.
For a departmental fee, faculty and staff can back up data using the Virginia Tech Spectrum Protect (TSM) system.