I've used Norton Ghost for years and have never had a problem. It's automatic and it really works.
I guess you could say it's risky because I use a local HD to backup to, but what are the odds of both crashing at once? I guess a fire or tornado might get me, but It hasn't happened in over 15 years. I have just restored C: when things get so messed up I can't get by and it takes about 30 minutes for about 40 gigs of stuff. If I use my USB drive, maybe 45 to an hour cause it's slower. A WD USB 1 terabyte drive runs less than $100 most places. They have solid state USB 3.0 drives now that will hold my stuff for about the same price, just not 1 terabyte.
I divide my main drive in 2 parts and just make C: big enough for my OS and a few programs. The data is usually kept elsewhere on D:,E:,F:, ect. Get a virus and restore C: in minutes. When I install my OS and programs, I make am image then totally clean and keep it somewhere. If I get a virus I can use the totally clean image or go back a few days to get rid of it. If I loose something mechanical, I can do the same if I have the image somewhere besides my main drive.
I never understood Mosy or Carbonite because, if I understand correctly, you have to format C:, install the OS and then restore the image online. I'm sure Ghost is faster using the boot disk. Also, if you have a virus or malware, doesn't it get stored with your data so you would just reinstall the virus?
I have a similar approach except I take it to an obsessive / compulsive level (I have no choice - its who I am).
I have an iMac and MacBook Pro and I use Time Machine to back them up to an Apple “Time Capsule”, that is step one. Step two, I copy all of my Pictures, Music, and Documents folders to 3 different USB drives. One is connect at all times to the iMac, the second one is sitting if my den not connected to anything so that a power surge doesn’t take it out, and the 3rd one is at work. I bring it home every couple of months and copy stuff to it and take it back the next day - that way if my house burns down I still have all the pics of my grand kids and my 60s music.
The last thing I do is copy all my music and pictures to DVDs - just in case some big magnet mysteriously follows me around. OK, obviously I don’t know exactly why I do the DVDs but you can never be sure ....... sigh ....