this may sound old fashioned, but pen and paper in still the most secure, however most of the software packages on the market are pretty similar,
I typed my own up using Word and Excel, because a couldn't decided on a suitable software package that was 100% secure from data coruption or crashing my computer.
Researching Family History is easier in Scotland than in England, because the persons name stays the same on official BMD records, especially when tracing women and certificates have more info on them.
In the Scottish Borders we are slightly spoilt, because we have additional available records online than other areas such as the Maxwell Census indexes 1841, 1851 & 1861, lots of publications by History Society like the BFHS MI's (they also have research facilities bas in Galashiels), the area has a Heritage Hub in Hawick. Also in recent weeks Eyemouth Musuem has started a small History Hub for the local Berwickshire area - (which has links to the BFHS and H.Hub)
Family History has been very popular in the area for over a hundred years - lot of reference books, etc.