Once infected, the only solution may be to erase all memory in the computer and start with a clean sweep. If someone steals your computer, your files get stolen too. Backing up is easy if you set your folder structure properly. It's faster and easier to back up if all your files and subfolders are in a single folder, rather than having your Word documents in the Microsoft Word folder, your Excel documents in the Microsoft Excel folder, and your ClarisWorks documents in the ClarisWorks folder. When all your personal files are in one place you are less likely to forget a file when you back-up.
Organization can be the key.
Learning how to organize folders may take practice and is not an innate skill. Copy your existing files and folders into your new folder by dragging them onto the icon of your new folder. To save disk space you should only back up documents and other personal files. Applications such as Word, Excel, ClarisWorks and Netscape can be re-installed.