July

What is your Computer Backup Plan?

Posted In: Computers and Technology by Gregor Anton

When is the last time you backed up your computer?

There is an old saying… Backup Early, Backup Late, Backup Often!
Backup your important data all the time. Better safe than sorry!

As our computers advance and we utilize it more and more, we tend to store more and more data on our computer. From important business records, accounting, to important word documents, resumes, scanned documents, wedding pictures, and so on. Our computers have become a major storage unit that like your important documents such as passports, certificates, etc must be safe guarded.

Lets face it, computers crash. Accidents happen… Technology is mass produced, very inexpensively, and it’s just a matter of time before your computer crashes. It’s not IF but WHEN rather…. So be safe and backup. But what is the best way to backup?

If you are tired of using DVD, CDs or external hard drives to store your files, than you will want to consider online backup. Your hard drive might be crammed full of unfiled documents, and you might be wondering what in the world you would do if your computer crashed. Don’t leave your important information at the mercy of your fallible computer which might catch a virus, but if you get online backup, you can be confident that you will always have your files available. Online backup is easy to use and to understand. Once you see how well your online backup program will work, you will never rely on CDs or DVDs again.

Tip #1 - Use Multiple Backup Systems

I’m not saying you should totally abandon your existing backup routine. External hard drives are great for example. However you should back up in multiple locations. I use an external hard drive AND an online backup. I highly recommend you consider both too.

With online backup, you can choose between full backups and incremental backups, which will gradually store your files. These programs will allow you to pick and choose which files you want to backup and you can also save different versions of the same files. To conserve space on your online backup program, you can choose compression levels; the highest levels will save your files in their smallest form and will give your more space to store many more files.

An important feature in online backup is security. It doesn’t make any sense to back up all your files only to discover that a hacker has gotten his mitts on you and your customer’s personal information. A good online backup program will offer encryption, which will make it impossible for outsiders to read your documents. Even the file name can be disguised, and various versions of a document will also be encoded. This coding, however, does not make it more difficult for your to retrieve your documents from online backup; only interlopers are prevented from accessing your files.

With online backup programs, you can backup your files automatically or schedule backups. You might want to schedule these backups for times when you are not using the computer, since excessive activity usually slows down a computer. You will receive a detailed log of these jobs and an e-mail notification of a scheduled backup. This will enable you to organize your information and to confirm that a file backup has actually taken place.

For computer users who are concerned about how online backup will affect their bandwith, space-saving technology is one way to preserve bandwith and to store documents more efficiently. In addition to compressing files, many online backup programs only transfer altered portions of a file to save space. You can select which files you want to backup quickly and easily using drag and drop features.

The kind of online backup program you choose depends very much on the size of the files you want to backup and your priorities. Do research with different companies before making your final decision. It is definitely worth it to take advantage of trial offers and demos, and these opportunities will give you a better idea of which online backup programs are right for you.

Tip #2: ABC – Always Be Checking Your Backups were Successful!

And I don’t mean you should just rely on the little window that tells you that everything backed up just fine. Do spot checks, make sure your files are there and restore a file just to make sure you can. Trust me, you’ll want to do this if you want to keep your data.

I remember years ago while implementing a Sales and Marketing System with a major Canadian Retail Chain in Toronto, I uncovered that all the backups were blank… The IT Administrator was blush-red when I showed him what had happened.. While he did have a backup plan, he never even checked his backup tapes to ensure the backups were successful… They were blank.

Tip #3: Keep a copy of your data offsite

The problem with most backups, take DVDs, CDs, and External Hard Drives for example, is that they are stored where? Right next to your computer usually or in the same location! Why is that bad? Think about it… If your computer gets a Virus, your external hard drive will too. If there is a fire, both your computer and your backup source are destroyed at the same time. What if there is a power surge? Both your external hard drive and your computer get fried. Take it from me. You want to keep a copy of your backup offsite, that’s why online backups are so great!

The best part of online backups is that they are often free for up to 2GB. Unlimited backups are as little as $4.95 a month. I recommend you give Mozy a try!