Online Backup Works For Home and Small Business

Online Backup Services provide a secure place to store backup copies of your data. Online Backup Services are particularly good choices for small business and home users. If you are a small business computer user or home computer user, Online Backup can offer a lot of protection for little cost. This article covers some of the reasons why you should be using an Online Backup Service.

There are some other terms that are commonly used synonymously with "online backup". This article refers to online backup as described in the first definition of online backup below.

Terminology used for online backup services:

• Online Backup - 1) A service that provides backup software and storage space specifically for the purpose of making backup copies of data to a data storage facility via the Internet. 2) A backup method that allows data to be backed up while the application is currently in use.
  
• Offsite Backup - A general term that refers to backup data being stored in a location that is separated from the location where the primary data is stored. In order for data to be off-site, it should be in a different building at a minimum, and ideally should be located in different facility at least a few miles away from the location where the computer and primary data are stored. The term offsite backup has been used for decades to describe the process of moving backup tapes to a secondary location for the purposes of disaster recovery in the event the primary location is destroyed or becomes inaccessible. With the advent of the Internet and online backup services, the term offsite backup is often used with the same meaning as online backup where data is copied off-site over a network.
  
• Internet Backup - A service that provides backup software and storage space specifically for the purpose of making backup copies of data to a data storage facility via the Internet.
  
• Online Storage - 1) Many ISPs allocate some amount of storage space on a server in the ISP's data center for the use of their subscribers. The space can be used for email, websites, or file storage. However, online storage that is included with your Internet service does not usually include any software to copy, schedule, and manage your backup data. 2) The term online-storage is also used by large data centers to describe storage that is immediately accessible by users, websites, and programs. For example: disk storage is online storage, and tape storage is offline storage. You may find that some online backup providers use the term online storage.
  
• Remote Backup - The process of backing up data to a server in a remote location. This term is often used synonymously with online backup services. Remote backup is often used within a corporation and is not necessarily a service.
  
• Network Backup - The process of backup up data over a network to any media, including tape or disk. This term is mostly used internally by corporations who backup their own computers over their own network using various software and media.

No hardware, software or backup media needs to be purchased.
No need to purchase a tape drive, tape media, or backup software. If you are reading this article online, then you already have everything you need to start use an online backup system. The online backup service provider will provide you with any software needed.

Automated backup requires no effort.
Backing up to any media other than online backup requires that someone insert a tape, a CD, a Zip disk, or plug in a USB drive or something. This is often the source of missed or failed backups. The media is not changed, overwritten, or left unattended for days or weeks at a time. Unless you are a larger corporation with dedicated IT staff, the only way to ensure that your data is backed-up as it should be is to eliminate all human intervention.

Data is stored off-site.
Your backup is not going to do you any good if it is in the room with your computer when a disaster strikes. Virtually all medium and large corporations move their backup data off-site at least daily so that they can quickly recover from any disaster that destroys their data-center. In many cases off-site storage of records is a requirement of state or federal regulations and it is almost always a requirement of auditors. Small business and home user rarely move their data off-site on a regular basis, exposing them to total loss in the event of a disaster. Off site storage is inherent in online backup services without the additional costs.

Data is moved in the background.
In most cases the data is backed-up with no disruption to business as usual. Your backups can be set to run during off-hours. In most cases the backups can be run while the computer is in use with no noticeable effects.

Backup records are kept automatically.
Having records of which files were backed up, when they were backed up, and which media they are on, the location of the media are often overlooked by small business and home users. Online Backup systems take care of all of this automatically. In most cases you can use your backup software or a website to quickly find your files and restore them when needed.

Off site data is available immediately 24x7.
Larger corporations often use off-site tape vaults for storage of backup media. It can take several hours and hundreds of dollars to recall media from a vault in an emergency. Online Backup makes your backup data available immediately 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, even on holidays.

Security
How secure is your backup media? Is it stored in your office or your home where it could possibly be stolen? What is on those backup tapes or disk that you wouldn't want a criminal to have? Most online backup services store your data in encrypted form in a secure data center. Your data is usually safer with an Online Backup provider than it is in your house or office.

DSL, Cable, Broadband
Online Backup services work extremely well for small business and home users because of the ubiquity of fast Internet connections. DSL and Cable broadband service provide an excellent data transmission vehicle to move data off-site to an Online Backup service providers data center. In addition most Online Backup services compress your data and do incremental backups to reduce the amount of bandwidth needed.

Even if you are currently doing a good job of backing up your data to tape or portable disk, you should still consider using Online Backup as a supplement. Schedule your critical data to be stored off-site and you will be protected from human error associated with manually backing up and moving data off-site. There is really not a good reason to do this. There are plenty of low cost providers that offer great service.

This article discussed reasons why you should use an Online Backup Service. I hope your next decision is to select the right provider for your budget and needs. Please check back here for more information that will help you sort out the Online Backup Service providers and identify the services and features that you need.

How Much Data Can You Afford To Lose?

It is astounding how many people say the can't afford to lose any data and at the same time they are doing little or nothing about backing up their data. The same people who say the data on their PC's is critical, will also say that they aren't doing much to backup their data. Furthermore, most of these people are aware that "stuff happens" that can destroy their data.

What happens if you lose your data? Lost productivity? Business impact? Costly manual recovery? Months of inconvenience while you keep finding reasons why you wish you hadn't lost your data? Re-downloading/Repurchasing MP3's that you paid for once already? What about the loss of all of your digital photos that cannot be replaced? In a lot of cases the answer is "All of the above".

Ok, so you are aware of this and you are part of the 50% of people who do occasionally make backup copies of some of there files. How often are you making those backups? I talked to a gentleman this week who copies his important data to a CD about once a month. I translate that to mean that he is willing to bear the consequences of losing a months worth of data. You know that Murphy's Law requires that your hard-drive crash at the worst possible time, like when your data hasn't been backed up in 30 days.

Do you ever forget to do your backup? That really encourages Mr. Murphy. Sometimes I think it's like the weather, if you take your umbrella to a ball game it will not rain, but leave it at home and you're gonna get wet. Just keep skipping that backup and see what happens. Instead of losing a few days worth of data, you're gonna lose a few months worth. But, your old obsolete stuff will be safely backed up somewhere.

I suppose you know what I am getting at. The frequency of your backups should be proportional to the amount of data you can afford to lose. Murphy doesn't care if you just forgot to backup or if you had plans to back it up tomorrow. If it's not backed up, then kiss it good-bye forever. Most of you will probably want your data backed up everyday, but you are not willing to go to the expense and hassle of changing the media everyday. And even if you are willing to do that, mistakes will be made; media will not get changed everyday, media will get over-written, you will run out of cd's or dvd's and a variety of other things will happen that will screw up your best backup plans. Just remember, Murphy is watching and waiting for the best opportunity to zap your data when it will hurt the most.

Now that I have laid out the ugly reality of backups and losing data, I want to offer a solution. First of all you have to automate your backups. I mean automate everything. Don't leave any room for a manual mistake to invite Murphy over to hit you where it hurts. The only practical way to accomplish a fully automated backup is with an Online Backup Service. If you're thinking that Online Backup is too expensive, then think again, Online Backup can be less expensive than buying backup devices and media. And far less expensive than losing data. If you think Online Backup is too complicated, then you may be surprised to find out that it is far easier to setup and use than any other form of backup. If you are concerned about the security of your data when backed up to an Online Backup Service provider, then consider that most online backup providers offer data encryption that makes your data much safer than it would be on a CD in your desk drawer.

You may be concerned about the amount of space you would need to backup that huge hard drive you have. It is not practical to backup hundreds of gigabytes to an online backup service provider. That would be too expensive and the time it would take to move the data is prohibitive. In most cases the online backup service can be effective at backing up your documents, photos, and data in a reasonable amount of space, and in a reasonable amount of time, while the cost is still relatively low compared to other backup methods. I recommend that you use an online backup service for your daily work, letters, spreadsheets, presentations, photos, mp3's and email files. You may also want to burn a DVDs on occasion if you are collecting video or movies.

If you are like me, and can't afford to lose your data, then make sure the files that you create and modify everyday are backed-up. I use an Online Backup Service and my data is backed up daily without fail. I don't have to think about backing up, I don't have to change any media, I don't have any mistakes screwing up my backup. Murphy is going to have look at someone else's computer because there is no opportunity here. Will it be yours?

Zero Touch Backup

For the last couple of years the popularity of portable hard-drives for backing up data has risen. My first instinct is that this is good news. However, my unscientific polling reveals that the people who are using the portable hard-drives for backup are the same people who used to backup data with tapes, CDs, other media. I was hoping that the rising popularity of this data backup method was an indication that the low cost of these backup devices was causing more people to backup their data. But, it turns out that most of the gains are from people who are just modernizing their backup process, and the people who were not backing up data are still not backing up data.

These USB and Firewire devices are great products. The cost is reasonable, and they are fairly easy to use. They are much easier to use than tape based backup systems, and they are somewhat easier to use than backing up to CD's or DVD's. All you really have to do is plug one of these devices into your computer, and then start dragging files and folders to drive in your file explorer.

Some of the portable drives offer a One Touch Backup feature that allows the user to simply press a button to start a backup of their data. These drives can be used as regular USB or Firewire drives, but if you want to use the One Touch feature you will need to install and configure software on your computer. Seagate, Maxtor, and Iogear all offer excellent One Touch Backup products.

These devices make backing up data easier than it has ever been before. Hopefully this will encourage more people to backup their data. Unfortunately, most people don't pay much attention to backing up their data until they have a loss. Even the people who do backup their data tend make two common mistakes: 1) Not backing up data frequently enough, or they frequently forget to do their backups. 2) Not keeping a copy in a separate location from the computer.

There is one thing better than One Touch Backup, and that is Zero Touch Backup. This is accomplished with automated scheduled backups. A lot of the software backup packages, including the software that comes bundled with some One Touch Backup solutions, have a scheduling feature built-in. In order for the backup to be truly automated and reliable, then the system should not depend on a human to change a tape, plug in a backup drive or anything else. Online Backup, also known by other names like; Offsite Backup, Internet Backup and Remote Backup are the only way to accomplish this.

There are machines that will change your tapes for you, but those are very expensive and require careful configuration and maintenance. Portable hard-drives can be plugged in and left alone to receive backup data, but that means your drive is connected to your computer and vulnerable to some of the same problems that may destroy your data. A virus could easily wipe out your computer's hard-drive as well as any other hard-drive that is connected to your computer, such as a portable hard-drive. Either way; portable hard-drive, or tape library, you still have the issue of maintaining a copy off-site, which will always require human intervention. Onlne backup solutions are the only way to get your backups completely automated and data moved offsite with absolutely no manual effort.

I encourage everyone to backup their data consistently and frequently. Firewire and USB external hard-drives are a great choice, especially the ones that offer One Touch Backup. Online Backup provides Zero Touch Backup which is an even better solution in a lot of ways because it automates what we tend to forget to do.

Don't Wait Until Your Computer is Dead

I started programming computers in the 1970's. I went on to get a BS degree in Computer Science. Ever since, I have worked in the computer and software industry in various capacities. I come from a large family and I also have many contacts outside of the computer industry. Somehow everyone thinks I am their "computer guy". While I really like to help people, the reality is that I have a very busy schedule and don't have time to deal with every-one's wireless connectivity issue, email error, or dog-slow computer. I really empathize with these people because it's not their fault. Despite all of the efforts of the computer and software manufacturers, personal computers are still not exactly friendly for non-technical people to use and maintain. And then, when a non-technical person gains enough knowledge and know-how to become proficient at using the computer, a plethora of attackers disguised as help or fun are lurking about with dangling bait just waiting for the unsuspecting computer user to make the fatal click. I usually find some way to help those who are most in need, but I don't have enough arms and legs to keep up with the problems.

When a friend, neighbor or co-worker calls with a hint of panic in their voice and tells me about an error message like, "No Operating System found", or "No Boot Disk", or "Error loading boot.ini"..., it is not in my nature to tell them "tough-luck". I try to help. My first question is; "What is on the computer?". Notice that I use the word, "is", rather than "was". I don't want to cause a premature panic even though I know that chances are that the appropriate word should be "was". The answer usually goes something like this; "All of my photos from the last four years, my email, my financial records, letters, music..." The answer seems to start off quick, but as the poor sole is answering that question, they keep thinking of more and more important stuff that is on their computer and nowhere else but their computer. I a talking about the computer that seems to not have any data. My next question is where the panic starts to take hold, "Do you have a recent backup?". Silence is a common answer. I once had someone tell me, "Yes, when I got the computer, a recover disk came with it".

I have become fairly proficient at recovering failing disks and saving most of the data. I have a number of tools and a computer that I use for nothing but disk recovery. However, on many occasions, the disk is not recoverable with software, and my limited ability to fix hardware or mechanical disk problems is inadequate. I have on occasion researched an contacted some of the disk recovery services. These services use special hardware and electronics to recover data from broken hard drives. The recovery process is user labor intensive and therefor expensive. Most of my friends and neighbors are not willing to pay $750 to over $1000 to get back some of their data. Especially when they don't know how much they will actually get back. Then they still have the problem of getting their computer back up and running with a new disk and getting the recovered data transferred to the new system.

The best solution is to backup your data consistently and frequently and store it away from your home or office. If you do this, then when your data is lost or destroyed, you will have your computer back up and running with all of your data with minimal expense and lost time. Notice that I used the word "when" instead of "if". You will lose your data at some time. Don't wait until your computer is dead to think about backing up your important data.

How Can I Lose My Data, Let Me Count the Ways.

You wouldn't believe how many people are not backup up their computer files these days. I think the problem is that so many people have computers now. I know when I got my first computer back in the 80's, only geeks had computers and all geeks (back then) knew to backup everything they want to keep. The computer and software manufacturers have worked very hard over the years to make computers more friendly to the general population. As a result, computers are almost as common as microwave ovens in homes. I think the general consumer tends to treat the computer more like a microwave oven than us geeks do, just turn it on an use it and don't worry about it until it breaks. I guess if your microwave oven breaks you just go get a new one. Most computer failures are not permanent, instead software, configuration, or other problems make them unusable and they can often be fixed by someone with a little experience without the need for any serious repair and more importantly, data loss.

I want to point out that there are numerous ways that your data can be lost forever. So please think about what that would mean to you. What if your computer was wiped out and your data was lost forever? Would that cause you any heartache? Most people would feel a great loss and in a lot of cases it could cause months of trouble. If you are one of those people who just turn your computer on and use it without paying much attention to the possibility of data loss then please read on.

A baker's dozen ways that you can lose your data forever:

1. Mechanical or electrical failure of your computer's hard drive.
   
2. A virus or malicious code could permanently delete your data.
   
3. An electrical surge could destroy your data.
   
4. Liquid could spill into your computer and short out critical circuits on your hard drive.
   
5. A broken pipe or leaky roof. See above.
   
6. A natural disaster could damage or destroy your computer.
   
7. Human error, such as accidental deletion, formatting or overwriting of your files.
   
8. Erroneous code in an otherwise legitimate program could erase or overwrite data.
   
9. Your computer could be stolen.
   
10. Your hard drive could be damaged during an upgrade, repair, or installation of new hardware.
    
11. Your computer gets dropped or otherwise physically damaged.
    
12. Your computer is damaged or destroyed by fire.
    
13. A hacker gains control of your computer and destroys your data.

Any of the above can cause your data to be lost forever with no chance of recover. You may have read about unformatting, unerasing, hard-drive recovery services and other measures to recover lost data. In many cases the loss is permanent and that is all there is to it.

If you have valuable data on a computer that is not being backed up then please take a moment of silence and pray for your data. It will eventually be lost for one of the reasons above or perhaps a reason that neither of us has thought of. Do yourself a big favor and start backing up your data now. Tomorrow might be the day that your data is destroyed.

Even with backups you can still lose all of your data. For example, if you are backing your data up everyday to a cd, tape, or portable hard drive and a fire burns your office, then your data and your backups are gone forever. The best solution is to use an online backup service. Online backup services backup your data to an off-site location. Rhinoback is good choice, its safe, reliable, and very reasonably priced.

Encrypting Backup Data

Last December I received a letter from my mortgage company informing me that a backup tape was missing that contained personal information, payment history, and social security numbers of their customers. They were offering free credit reports and a credit monitoring service from one of the big credit bureaus. I don't know exactly how many people were affected by this, but I assume it was many thousands. This must have been incredibly embarrassing and expensive for the company.

In fact, in 2005, there were several other incidents where backup tapes had been lost or fallen into the wrong hands. I suspect that this has gone on for a number of years, but the companies who lost the data probably didn't make it public. There are several laws now which require companies to inform affected parties in a timely manner when sensitive data is mishandled. This information usually makes the national news and causes the company who was responsible great losses in confidence and in many cases the financial impact is devastating.

There is absolutely no excuse for this. Sarbanes-Oxley, HIPPA and other regulations require that backups be maintained off-site for disaster recovery purposes. Even without the regulations larger companies have auditing and business continuity requirements that call for off-site storage of data. Most professionally run IT operations pay intense attention to security; physical access to servers, authenticating access, encryption of data transmissions... However, it appears that some are perfectly willing to put sensitive information in plain readable form on a backup media, and then hand it over to another party to transport it and store it.

There is a very simple solution to this problem and it is hard to believe that some companies are ignoring it. Encrypt the data before it is sent off-site. If you do that, then a lost, stolen, or mishandled tape has very little consequence. The encryption technology is readily available and cost relatively little to implement and maintain.

Smaller businesses are not usually as diligent about backup and recovery as large corporations, but the loss of data or the disclosure of sensitive information can be even more devastating. A single embarrassing incident, or lawsuit can easily put them out of business. I have talked to quite a few small business owners and some medium sized companies about their data backup practices. In most cases, the plans are inadequate at best. In a lot of cases employees are expected to copy data to a cd, tape, or portable disk and take it home with them. First of all, those plans are not reliable and are subject to error and neglect. Second, sensitive data may be rolling around in the trunk of someones car, and easily accessible by mechanics, car wash workers, parking attendants and who knows who else.

It is rare that home users store backup data off-site. Most don't even backup their data in any reliable way. While data loss on a home non-business computer may not be as costly as a loss of business data, the loss can be very painful and costly. The value of data on home computers is increasing with the new ways that people are using computers. Backup is usually an oversight, until they suffer a loss. And everybody will suffer a loss eventually. Home computer users should consider using a reliable backup system and storing their valuable data away from their home. Home computer users should also ensure that their off-site backup data in encrypted because an identity theif would likely find more than enough information on your backup media to open new accounts in your name.

The best way to solve the problem of off-site backup and security of backup data at the same time is to use a high-quality online backup service that encrypts the data. This solution works well for business and home users alike. Good online backup systems are fully automated so now the backups are reliable and the data is encrypted and stored off-site all at the same time. Select an online backup service provider that stores your data in a professionally managed data-center and make sure your data is transmitted and stored in encrypted form. There are plenty to choose from, Rhinoback is a good choice that I am familiar with, and the cost is very reasonable for home and business users.

Transition Away from Tape Backup for Home and Small Business Computer Owners.

Tapes have been the primary backup media for digital data for over 40 years. Over the years, tape drives and tape media technology has improved rapidly and dramatically. Tape backup is still the best choice for many applications because large amounts of data can be stored on portable media. However, using tape technology for backup does require a certain amount of diligence and care in order to ensure the recover-ability of data.

Several years ago, home and small business computer owners starting using other technology such as Zip disks, Cd's, and now portable disk media. These backup technologies are generally easier to manage and use than tapes, making them more appealing for users who do not have overwhelming amounts of data and IT professionals to manage it. While these media types are easier to deal with than tapes, they do require some level of diligence to maintain reliable backups.

The most recent trend has been towards online backup services. These services copy your data to a secure storage server on the Internet. The primary reason why these services have become popular is the increasing availability of bandwidth. There are some significant advantages to online backup:

1) No tape drives, tapes or other backup media or devices are required. This may be a bigger cost savings than some people realize. The backup devices and media become obsolete quickly. Tapes have to be stored properly and they do wear out, and need replacement.

2) No software needs to be purchased. Most online backup services provide the software for free as long as you subscribe to the service. While there is a monthly fee, there is no upfront purchase and ongoing maintenance costs for the software.

3) Software maintenance is handled by the service provider. Any software updates that are required are usually provided by the service provider. Some service providers, such as Rhinoback, automatically keep your software current as part of the backup schedule, relieving you of any effort to maintain the software beyond the initial installation.

4) Backups files are cataloged. The more robust and expensive software backup solutions maintain a catalog of all files backed up and the media that contains them. However, the catalog itself is usually lost in the event that your hardware fails. IT professionals handle this by backing up the catalog and maintaining printed reports of some backup catalog data. Most online backup services automatically catalog your backup files and the catalog will not be lost if your hardware fails or is lost.

5) Backup files are maintained off-site. Most home, and few business, computer owners maintain a regular set of off-site backups. Online backup services maintain your data off-site with no extra effort or expense.