[ohiovr]

Timeshift and storing the system backup folder in an off system portable hard drive has worked for me with system backups. I've restored timeshift backups from bare installs or live disks without issue. For home backups I just use rsync. I keep a few backup scripts in my .local/bin folder so they can be easily accessible from any directory.

Here is an example of a backup script I use: https://pastebin.com/16MPxby0

this script will show me what files have changed. So if a huge number of files have changed I can perceive that as a potential crypt attack. Or some other bonehead thing I did..

This script will DELETE files on the backup that no longer exist in my home directory. I do that so I don't have a bunch of zombie files laying around that are no longer needed.