 Online Backup - What and Why?  Online
Backup is simply a way of backing up the files on your computer
without having to use awkward and unwieldy methods like burning CDs.Most of us have realized the need for some form of backup for our data. In some cases we realize it through one of our friends having a computer crash and losing everything. If we are very unlucky, we realize it through having a disaster ourselves. This can take many forms - a hard drive failure, theft of your computer, a fire or flood, or a computer virus. I had two friends warn me to back up, after their computers crashed and they lost everything. In addition, another friend simply spilt a cup of coffee over her computer and ruined it! This could happen to anyone. I started off by burning backup disks using a program called Nero StartSmart which I got free on my computer. It was certainly better than nothing. The problem was, I never knew how long to wait after a backup before doing it again. Plus I have so many files on my computer, in so many different places, that I found it impossible to identify which ones I had already backed up so I had to start at the beginning each time. One of the two friends I mentioned above has got hold of a second hard drive and copies everything on to that all the time. But you really have to be a techie to do that. When someone introduced me to online backup I was hesitant at first. But it has made such a difference to me - just in terms of peace of mind as much as anything else. To me, the service is well worth the modest payment. See my Backup Solutions blog for more. How Does Online Backup Work? Online Backup is
simply a process of sending the data on your computer
to be stored on the server of the backup company. The service
will encrypt your information first, before uploading it to the backup
server. Once you have signed up, you will be provided with a
unique ID and the
 service will start
the encryption and backup
process. Obviously, the initial process will take quite a long time - probably a few days, depending on how much data you've got on your computer. If you need to switch off, don't worry - it will wait until you switch back on again and then continue. It can only do the backup while you are connected to the Internet. Once the initial backup is complete, the service will continually scan your computer when you are online, checking for new data to back up. It does this in the background and is very unobtrusive so it doesn't affect your work at all . What Happens If I Lose My Data? If
you lose your data, and you have Online Backup, you can simply go to
another computer, or wait till yours is repaired or you have a new one,
go to the site of the backup service and log in with your unique
ID. Then you can access your data and have it downloaded if you
want. There may be other specific instructions which you need to
follow, which they will provide you with when you register.
 It goes without
saying that you MUST print out this information and
keep it in a safe place - or more than one place. It would be
very frustrating if you lost your computer in a fire or flood, and
found you had lost your retrieval information as well!Of course, you can
log in to
your online backup service any time you want, from a different computer
if you wish. It will reassure you that your data is fully backed
up and add to your peace of mind.
What Questions Should I Ask When Choosing Online Data Backup? There are a large
number of providers of remote backup services. How do you
choose? It's very important to make the right choice - you don't
want to find your sense of security was false. These are the main
questions you need to ask.
Click to find out more. And don't forget my Backup Solutions blog! |