Is Online Backup Risky?

Ever search the Internet for information on a particular topic and find a lot of worthless noise? Happens to me all the time. The bigger problem is when people with little or no knowledge of a subject pipe up and post in online forums as if they are experts. Sometimes they have just enough knowledge (or BS) to sound like they know something. Unsuspecting searchers find this garbage and think it is correct. In most cases the dumb-@$$ poster actually thinks he is smart and everyone should know what he knows.

I was researching data backup methods when I ran across a posting where someone was thinking about using an online backup service. One of these dumb-@$$ posters who thinks they know what's best posted a reply, something the effect that online backup is risky and not secure. I bet that dumb-@$$ poster hardly ever back's up his own data, and when he does, he probably does not encrypt the data and probably stores it in the same room with his computer.

The fact is online backup is usually safer than other forms of backup for a number of reasons. It is actually more secure than other media because it is almost always encrypted and furthermore it is always off site where it is safely out of reach of any disaster that would destroy your computer and your backup media that is stored in the same location. So don't believe the mis-informed, un-informed, or otherwise dumb-@$$ 's; online backup is probably your best choice and is far less risky than most other methods. Just do your homework and choose a good provider. You can find a lot of good information about online backup at the Data Backup and Recovery site.