Windows only: DVDSmith Movie Backup is terrible for our headline style, since it does exactly what its name implies. It's great, though, for anyone who simply wants to watch a DVD without the disc.
There are just five buttons to click on DVDSmith's single window, and most times you'll only need one. You can choose between "Full Disc," which gets you menus, extras, and the full DVD-watching experience, or click "Main Movie" to grab the longest video and audio tracks. What you end up with on a "Full Disc" backup is a familiar VIDEO_TS folder, wherever you told the app to put it, and a bunch of .vob files, which can be played in most advanced media players like VLC. "Main Movie" does much the same, but with fewer .vob files turned out. DVDSmith is proud to announce on their site that their tool breaks through all the the major copyright protection schemes.
If you're looking for a bit more control over your DVD backups, check out the free, cross-platform Handbrake, our own DVD Rip, or any of our Hive Five best DVD ripping tools. If you're looking for a DVD backup tool an 8-year-old could grasp, though, DVDSmith Movie Backup is worth a click or two.