This blog is about the 3TB Model of the WD My Book USB3 External HD

1. Having a single copy of anything is NOT a back up. I could put a label on a disk saying "Backup" but if it is the only copy and if it is lost - It is gone for good.
2. Even if you have a reliable storage device, point 1 above applies.
3. Even if you had a device that never failed (assume its a magic storage device with magic hardware) point 1 still applies. Think about it 
4. Your magic storage device my be lost or stolen
5. The device may have is data corrupted as hardware fails or software crashes on your computer (e.g. during a write operation)
6. You read point 1 right.

I've seen a lot of information about these units. And there is a lot of information that is plain WRONG. I'll document what I find with my device.

First of all lets start with the basics not just for this drive but any drive

Take home from this? To not have faith in any one device / vendor / cloud storage. If its important think about the cost of replacing the data or the loss in emotional terms. 

Now the good news

STORAGE is INSANELY CHEAP and super reliable.

Keep one copy for working, and make 2 separate copies on 2 separate media. Store the 2 copies at 2 different location (far enough away so you will not lose both in the case of a flood / fire / quake / tornado / other bad thing)

If you want to know more...

http://www.dpbestflow.org/backup/backup-overview

These are the opening lines of the site

"There are two kinds of people in the world - those who have had a hard drive failure, and those who will. Make sure this common occurrence does not lead to the loss of your image collection."