Computer Repair UK

Why change my existing backup solution?

Your current windows backup software may very well be running with problems and you may even have bought an external hard drive or even have a server running at home to keep your backup secure. Online backup solution are by many considered an expensive solution if you only need to take a small backup now and then, while others think online backup is too risky and therefore buy their own home backup solution with mirrored hard drives and what not. I would like to demystify all these statements.

Why use Online Backup?

Online backup is much more than just windows backup software, but provides you with a highly reliable backup solution, which can run in the background like we not it from antivirus software, that is guaranteed to keep your data stored on a reliable medium and additionally provides you with remote access to all your backup files like is was a online storage for files. If needed you can access all your files or create a new backup while sitting in the train on your way to work or bring your laptop with you on your vacation and immediately store your photos on a reliable backup until you get home. Imagine your laptop being stole or broke on your way home and all your family photos were lost. Internet backup services will solve all these issues for you. One last thing to mention is the storage capacity. While your normal windows backup software relies on your medium to have enough free space to store all your backups, online backup is unlimited. Some online backup services even provide free usage for private users as long as the data doesn’t exceed 2 GB. If you need more than 2 GB, you pay a monthly fee, which usually is around $5 and then you have unlimited space.

Online Backup Requirements

Requirements for running online backup are very few. You computer has to be running on Microsoft windows for using any windows backup software and you need to have an internet connection for using the internet backup services. Many of the online backup sites require you to do a test of your internet connection speed and if it is not sufficient, they will tell you not to use their services. In my experience, there is not such thing as a too slow internet connection. It all depends on what you want to back up. If you only have a couple of thousand word documents, you can do it with a very slow connection, though the initial backup will take quite some time. If you intend to back up your whole hard drive with all programs, images and word documents, you probably need a 512 kilobit connection or better.

Wrapping up

Using internet backup services provides you with better accessibility, unlimited space and very low costs compared to a power consuming backup server. This small article is the first in a series of articles about the subject and advantages, or disadvantages, by using an online backup solution.

written by Newshound \\ tags: backup, backup solution, internet backup service, online backup, Windows backup software

When starting to take backup of your data by using windows backup software, it is very important to know your needs and what to backup. If you are taking backup of everything, you could add unnecessary cost to yourself or if you are taking backup of the wrong files, you could end up with a data disaster. This small article will help you set up a backup solution that fits your needs.

How much is your data worth?
What would your family say if all your digital photos suddenly disappeared or all your private budget files accidentally were deleted? What about your own small company loosing all invoices and customer registrations? What about you loosing all your outlook contacts?

These are all questions you have to ask yourself before determining what much your data is worth and why to have to ensure a backup copy is always secure

Important files
Here is a list of the most common files to add to your backup set. These examples may not cover all your requirements but they are important to most people.

• The folder(s) containing all your office documents
• The folder(s) containing all your digital photos
• The folder(s) containing all your projects
• Your internet bank security key
• E-mail messages
• E-mail contacts and calendar from outlook or similar
• Website bookmarks - maybe not critical but easily added
• Software or music purchased from the internet

Besides these files, you must also be sure to add any work related program data to the windows backup software configuration.

Determine your needs
Once you have selected all these files and folders, you should have a better overview of your backup needs. When thinking of your backup needs, you must decide how often you expect this backup to run, how big your backup will be and so on.

Choose your Windows backup software solution
Windows Backup Software can either be an offline solution or an online solution. Offline backup solutions will maybe be adequate if you are only backing up a few files and that these files do not changes very often. Examples of this could be your security key for your internet bank and maybe this year’s budget. If this is the case, you can just add an event in your calendar to remind you to copy the files to a USB stick every 6 months.

If you are using windows backup software for taking a full backup of all the examples mentioned above, you are better off selecting an internet backup service. These online backup solutions are easily configured, very cheap (free if the backup size is below 2 GB) and a very secure way of storing your data.

This option also gives you the possibility of accessing your data from everywhere as long as you have an internet connection.

Online backup solutions are by far the best option available to the normal user looking for windows backup software.

written by Newshound \\ tags: data disaster, internet backup service, Offline backup, online backup, Windows backup software