Online Data Backup Service Tips

There are many options and services available when choosing an online, off-site data backup service. If you are not familiar with what to look for or what questions to ask you could make a devastating mistake that can cost you lost time, money and even lost data. This document will briefly go over what options are mandatory, optional and what to look out for. Use it to assist you in making the right decision, but still do research for what is best for you and your specific business needs.

Cheaper is not always the answer

A company offering a backup service has expenses which will affect the price you pay. Yes, some are able to sell in high volume and, as such, give a discount to customers. But when a price is far cheaper compared to others there is usually a reason. One of the ways a company can cut costs is by not having an adequate network infrastructure in place. This can result in not being able to restore your data. Your "backed up" data may not even be there. That's right; the data you are paying a company to keep safe for you may not be able to give it back to you when you need it most. We suggest doing restores of your data at least once a month to verify backups are good. Another method to reduce their costs is to have their tech support located in different countries such as India or not having any phone support at all. We all know how well that works from our own experiences. When considering a backup company, call their tech support and see who answers the phone and how well they know their own product. Basically, know the company, how they operate and weigh the options and services they provide.

My data; stop that thief!

Security is an extremely big deal with so much information now passing through the internet and hackers trying to steal and sell everything they can. Make sure before backing up your data through the internet that it remains safe and secure. One way to do this is by verifying that the backup software encrypts your data before it leaves your computer and stays encrypted when stored on the service company's equipment. Look for at least 128-bit encryption. Also, having the data transferred using SSL (Secured Socket Layer) makes it harder for hackers to intercept, but if they still happen to, the data is still encrypted.

Floods, fires and earthquakes; oh my!

Just because your data has been encrypted and successfully backed up off-site does not mean it is safe. If a natural disaster occurs, how safe is the facility where your data resides? Data facilities are given a 1-4 rating (4 being the highest) to indicate how strong and reliable a facility is. Know this information before you back up your critical business data to Bubba's shed off the coast of Florida. Another service to consider would be if data backed up to one data facility is mirrored to another data facility in a different region. This way if one site is totally annihilated, or in case of equipment failure, your data is still safe and secure.

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Online Data Backup Tools

Though you can back up your data onto your external hard drives, it can become a hassle because you have to remember when to back up your data. Moreover, external hard drives can malfunction. For these reasons, consider using online backup tools. These tools, which automatically back up your data, also offer the added benefit of strong security.

Mozy

Mozy enables you to save information, such as audio files, family photographs and financial documents. This tool provides the security technology used by banks when they transfer data. Mozy automatically saves the latest versions of your files. This application comes with the Mozy Support Portal feature, which contains comprehensive information about Mozy, allowing you to watch video tutorials and communicate with a support technician via the Live Chat Tool. The Mozy Support Portal also comes with a knowledge base that contains self-help articles. Mozy supports Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7. It also supports Mac OS operating systems, including 10.4, 10.5 and 10.6.
Carbonite Pro


Carbonite Pro, an online backup tool, designed for businesses, comes with an Administrative Dashboard feature. This component enables you to keep track of your activities, such as which of your employees' systems require a backup and how much data the system has copied, as well as the backup status of each computer. Carbonite Pro provides the same security techniques used by online banking. This online tool encrypts the company's data before it goes to Carbonite's servers. You can decide to back up certain data manually or have Carbonite Pro automatically back it up. Carbonite Pro comes with the Restore Wizard, which provides a step-by-step explanation of how to recover data if your files are damaged or lost. Carbonite Pro enables you to use computers while restoring data.

CrashPlan


CrashPlan is a free application for personal use. This online tool backs up your data each day. It also allows you to back up your data to your hard drive or a colleague's computer. CrashPlan supports multiple platforms, including Windows, Linux, Mac OS and Solaris. This means you can back up data from a PC to a Macintosh or a Macintosh to Linux.


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Always batter to have Personal Online Data Backup

There are many factors to consider when choosing a computer backup strategy. Traditional methods like network storage and tape drive backup, work fine for larger organizations who have IT support staff to manage the complex business of data backup. The small business and home user have a tougher time implementing an effective backup solution. Ease of use, and cost effective solutions are two of the big features that most small business and home users are looking for. These features and more are outlined as some of the benefits to using personal online data backups.

Though you can back up your data onto your external hard drives, it can become a hassle because you have to remember when to back up your data. Moreover, external hard drives can malfunction. For these reasons, consider using online backup tools. These tools, which automatically back up your data, also offer the added benefit of strong security.


Benefits:

1: Ease of Use
Many people using online backup systems do so for one reason. They are easy to use, and not just at backing up your files, but also when you need to recover them. Good systems will have a simple interface that is easy to navigate.

2: Cost Effective
High on the list of concern for almost all small businesses and most home users is price. Personal online data backup needs to be price competitive. The larger players in the market tend to give unlimited data backup to home users for about $5/month. Pricing plans vary for small businesses.

3: Automation
How many times have you thought, I've got to burn a disk, or copy my files to a USB or external hard drive? For most of us, it's still on a to-do list. This is why the software installed for your online backups uses automation. This automatic backup feature is a real advantage for personal online data backup. It's a set it and forget it type system.

4: Security
All the major players in the online backup world use state of the art encryption methods to keep your backups secure. Most actually encrypt the files on your machine, before sending the backup to your storage space on their servers. Encryption is also used on the file servers so your data is protected once stored too.

5: Catastrophic Events
Besides hard drive crashes, theft, power surges, or accidentally deleting your own files, catastrophic events do happen. From fires to floods, your data is safe as it is safely stored on a remote server.

6: Recovery
It doesn't matter how you lose your data, recovery is just a few mouse clicks away...even if you lose your computer. You just need to visit your vendor's website, and you can be recovering your files within minutes.

Fix Corrupted Files

Corrupted files are the computer files that become non-functional altogether. There are several reasons for the file getting corrupted. It can be a glitch in the operating system or in the program utilizing the file, improper file saving procedure, system crash or the file corruption may be a result of some dangerous computer virus. The damage could be on the hardware level, if the file system sector or the hard drive itself is damaged. Let's learn how to understand when a file gets corrupted and how to fix corrupted files.

When the file you are trying to access does not open and displays a message like 'Cannot open file' or 'File data inaccessible' then its a clear indication that the file is corrupted. In case, the file opens but the data within is unreadable i.e. showing signs and symbols other than normal alphabets and numbers, then the file is corrupted.

How to Fix Corrupted Avi Files
Avi (Audio Video Interleave) files are video files that run on a program application that is designed to play an .avi file. To fix an avi file, all you have to do is, download a software that renders an avi file correct. If the software is in zip form, unzip it using a unzipping software like winzip. After all the files are displayed, click on the setup file and follow the instructions to setup the software on your computer. Now, run the software, the interface window will display the functionalities that the software renders. Browse and add the corrupted avi files and click on the button for repair. The repaired avi files may be stored at the same location as the previous files or it may prompt you to select the location. Different softwares will provide different facilities so, select the one that suits your needs. This is a generalized procedure for any question regarding how to fix corrupted video files. Few examples of avi file repair softwares are DivXRepair 1.0.1, Avi Previewer 2.27, RegCure, ASF-AVI-RM-WMV Repair, etc.

How to Fix Corrupted Jpeg Files
Jpeg is the short form of Joint Photographic Experts Group. When a jpeg/jpg image does not open with any default application programs like paint, windows photo gallery, fax viewer, etc., it is corrupted. To retrieve the image, try renaming and saving the picture file with a .jpg extension. Other option is to use jpeg image recovery tools. Using these tools is a trial and error process as, it is difficult to figure out which one of the tools will recover the images successfully. The procedure for downloading and executing the tools is same as that mentioned for the avi files repair software. Examples of jpg recovery software tools are JPEG Recovery, Picture Doctor, etc., or try opening the pictures with ACDSee, Irfanview, etc.

How to Fix Corrupted Word Files
Word files are document files that contain text data. When a word file gets corrupted, download a word file repair software to resurrect the files. Click on the software's icon and follow the instructions. Some software may need installation while others may not. Examples of word document repair software are Repair MyWord, Nucleus Kernel Word Document Repair Software, etc. Repair MyWord can be downloaded free of cost and it provides an easy interface for the retrieval of files.

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How to BackUp Hard Drive Data

Your computer stores data on its hard drive. Backing up the hard drive is a precaution users may take in order to minimize data loss in the event that the hard drive becomes compromised, damaged or unusable. These days, hard drives are capable of storing vast quantities of data, exceeding the size of rewritable CDs and flash drives. That is why an external hard drive is the most thorough method to use to back up your computer's hard drive. Both PCs and Macs have pre-loaded software that will help you back your data up to an external hard drive.

Instructions

Back Up For PCs


Plug your external hard drive into a power source. Insert the external hard drive's USB or Firewire cable, depending on the model of external hard drive, into the respective port on your computer.


Click "Start." Point to "Accessories," then "System Tools" and then click "Backup."


Click "Next" on the "Backup or Restore Wizard" screen that appears.


Make sure that the "Back up files and settings" option is selected. Click "Next."

Select the "All information on this computer" option from the "What to Back Up" box. Click "Next."


Select your external hard drive on the menu asking to "Choose a place to save your back up." Provide a name for your back up in the field provided. Click "Next."


Click "Finish" on the "Completing the Backup or Restore Wizard" page. Click "Close" once the back up is complete.


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Advantages of Windows Remote Data Backup Recovery

A business that owns a server or a network needs to have a way to backup and restore their data in case of an emergency. Emergencies such as fire, flood, natural disaster, user error or hardware failure can all be a potential hazard to digital data on a computer or server. Remote data backup sends this data to a storage server owned by another company, usually by means of a secure high-speed Internet connection. This server is located remote from the business' server and network to provide extra security for the stored data.

Off-Site Storage

One major advantage of remote data backups is that the storage server is located off-site from the business' server or network. If there is a fire, flood or natural disaster on the site of the business office, it may destroy the business server or computers. If the business also kept the data backup on-site, this backup may have also been destroyed in the disaster. Because the data is stored on a remote and protected server, it will remain safe even in the event of a disaster on-site.

Access to Data

Because the data is backed up and stored on an online server, users will be able to access the data globally, from any computer that has an Internet connection. This is helpful for users who travel and need access to the server data. It is also useful in case the business decides to re-locate their server or purchase a new server for their company. All a server needs is an Internet connection and backup software to have access to the recovery data.

No Media Management

Since all data is stored remotely on another server and is transferred through the Internet, the business does not need to manage media and backup hardware along with the server or network. This also frees up employee time for other tasks since the IT department does not need to worry about checking backups and managing the integrity of backup media. If the business decides to purchase a new server, purchasing and installing backup media will not be a concern as remote data backup is usually compatible with all servers.

Backup Software and Support

Most remote data backup service providers will offer their customers free backup software for the server or network. Technical support should be available to help install this software and troubleshoot any data transfer problems that the business might have. If the business' data recovery needs change over time, the service providers should be able to respond to these needs and offer options to support future expansion and changes in technology.


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The Importance of Data Backup For Businesses

A data loss can be caused by a number of issues. Everything from hardware malfunction to malicious behavior can be the culprit. It can come in the form of a few deleted or corrupted files. Or in the worst-case scenario, a complete loss is possible. Whatever the reason or scale, a backup will permit you to replace the lost data, allowing your organization to continue normal operation. So the question is, not if data backup is important for a business, but how best to get it done. In making this decision, there are many factors to consider. Some of these factors include the amount of critical data, the security requirements and how quickly that data needs to be restored after a disaster.

First, consider the amount of data that needs to be backed up. Having a backup will at least double the size of your data. Depending on the frequency, updates and other backup requirements, the size of your data could be well more than doubled. For many businesses, this means in-house data backup will be difficult. Many colocation or data centers offer a good backup solution. For capacity, they tend to be one of the most efficient options. These data centers are constantly monitored and can ensure that you only pay for the space you need, without having to worry about running over capacity. This is a good option for organizations with large amounts of data or with variable space requirements.

The next item to consider is the security requirements for your data. If your data contains sensitive customer or employee information, you may be restricted to very specific security laws. Even information such as phone numbers can be considered sensitive and special precaution should be taken when deciding where to back it up. If selecting an offsite option like colocation, be sure to ask the provider for specific security information. Also, a data center with SAS 70 Type II compliance is highly recommended. This means the data center's operations have been audited and verified by a 3rd party.

Finally, you must consider how quickly the data needs to be restored after a loss. For some organizations, a data loss may not cause immediate panic. For other companies, business operations may be on hold until data is restored. If immediate restoration is a requirement for your business, take that into account when researching backup options.

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