<p>rsync is a good option, also I find simple-backup and also luckybackup to also be useful in their own ways. Obviously if you JUST want to backup folders and files, that is different than say backing up entire systems, which you would use a different toolset to do, like Clonezilla.</p>
<p><a href="https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BackupYourSystem/SimpleBackupSuite" rel="nofollow">https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BackupYourSystem/SimpleBackupSuite</a></p>