Backing up data

[David]

Hey all

Overall, we run the gauntlet when it comes to our data. Home computers/laptops, and portable devices, contain a myriad of data files that we really do consider important. Some things, like movies, or TV shows - we can do without. Things like that can be downloaded again. But other files are extremely valuable to us; photos, home videos and documents.

I am by no means an expert in all of this, but I have had some experience in data backup/recovery, and have lost data of my own. This is just my view on things.

It might seem overkill, but we really need to look at different scenarios. What if your hard drive dies? What if your computer is stolen? What if your computer, and everything else in your study/office is stolen? What if you have a house fire and lose everything you own? In each of those situations, what have you lost? Where do you get it back from?

Tip 1: Imagine different scenarios, and imagine what you lose in each one.

At worst, you should have a copy of important files somewhere. Burning DVDs or having an external HDD is the minimum you should have. After this, you should then think about where you store that backup. In the same room? In another room? At someone elses house? All good (and progressively better) options.

Tip 2: Consider an "off-site" backup for photos, documents etc

So you have a backup HDD, and leave it at someone elses house. Then, their house is broken into, and it's stolen. Who has your data? Not you - and not your friend. Was the data secured? Encrypted? Anything? Whilst having the data outside of your house is a great idea- it's less secure.

Tip 3: Discover ways to encrypt your data, especially if it's not going to sit in your control/reach

Organisation is paramount in backing up - having all your data in a logical format and structure on your computer makes backing up a lot easier. Naming files and folders so you can see quickly what they are, and then structuring the folders in a clever way means that finding data is simple - and if it's simple to find data on your computer, it's simple to find it on a backup.

Tip 4: Arrange and organise your localised data

You can't have too many backups. Obviously you need to work out security, and manageability, but in essence, ten copies of something is better than zero. So how else can you cover yourself? The answer is probably online backups. There are many options for this, some good, some bad, some cheap and some expensive. The idea is that you have a private "cloud" (I hate that word) where you can backup data, and restore from. I love this method, as it covers me in the event that my entire suburb is blown up (and I survive). In that event, I can get anything back I want and haven't lost a thing. And, it doesn't have to cost a lot.

Recently, I've tried a few different companies for this. DropBox was one I initially tried, and it was really good. Simple and effective, you could backup data and restore it quite easily. You could sync data over many decides too. But it was restrictive in many ways, so I moved on to Sugarsync.

Sugarsync is awesome. I can have it installed on my work computer, home computer and laptop - as well as my smart phone. I can set a folder (akin to My Documents) which, if I copy things into, will be replicated on all devices I set it to. On top of this, I can backup data to my cloud for later retrieval. How much does it cost? Well,t he free account on Sugarsync give you 5 Gb of space which can be increased if you perform certain tasks (install it on a mobile device, for example).

And, if you like the service, you can upgrade to 30Gb of data - which is plenty for most people to backup every photo they have ever taken along with a copious amount of other personal data. that costs you $4.99USD a month, or $50 a year. As good as the price of a cup of coffee each month for the benefit of having your personal photos and information backed up securely, and at your finger tips.

Online backups have a heap of other features too - a lot to worry about here - but when you look into email attachment saving, file sharing, social media posting and other cool things, it makes it a simple decision.

Tip 5: Strongly consider ONLINE BACKUPS.

On a side note, if you are interested in Sugarsync, let me recommend you. If you sign up from my referral, you receive 500Mb extra, and so do I. If you then sign up for a paid account ($5 a month), we both receive TEN GIG extra. No, I am not posting this to get you to all sign up, and to be honest, as much as extra space is nice, it's that cheap anyway - but I figure share and share alike. Shoot me your email if you'd like a referral. Alternatively, refer each other - and benefit from the 10Gb bonus. to see a quick video on backups/sugarsync, check out the video here : https://www.sugarsync.com (click on the "Watch a video" link)



In summary - back your shit up. No one wants to lose data, especially photos from ten years ago, or your important business documents. Those things are priceless, and whilst you can always get tv programs, software, movies etc back - some things can't be replaced.

[trishan]

Great post Dave and certainly food for thought. I always say I am gonna get around to doing it but never do. How often do you backup to physical storage like DVDs and HDDs?

[David]

With photos, I backup once a month at the moment, or try to.
Other data is less, depending on the data, though I email myself important things.

Now, though, I backup daily with online storage.

[Adam Hancock]

I have a fire-proof (800+ degrees celcius) safe I recently bought (to some extent for this reason), and this weekend am drilling into the slab at home and bolting it down. Thus far, all I have in it is a 200gb HDD and some old coins and COAs from some frames/merch I have. Monthly backup of photos and documents off PC and laptop, sweet as!

[BigPete33]

There are a lot of providers offering "cloud" based file storage for free (not a lot of storage) or for a charge (larger options for file storage).

What it really means is you are trusting someone else to look after your stuff should something bad happen, and they will store it on their servers for you.

You are also trusting them to not royally cock things up.

[bennymacca]

i still think the chances of them cocking something up would be orders of magnitude less than someone stealing your pc though

[BigPete33]

You have a lot to learn, grasshopper.

[666HARPS666]

You have a lot to learn, grasshopper.

It troubles me master, I stick my D!ck in water it looks bent.

[David]

There are a lot of providers offering "cloud" based file storage for free (not a lot of storage) or for a charge (larger options for file storage).

Yep. I've looked into many MAN of them - both what they offer and WHO they are - to find out about history, etc.

What it really means is you are trusting someone else to look after your stuff should something bad happen, and they will store it on their servers for you.

Yes, but choosing the right company/site means you are well protected (just with anything online if you research).

You are also trusting them to not royally cock things up.

Yep - but I'm trusting myself not to cock things up (which can happen), and I'm trusting my surge protection not to cock up, and I'm trusting my external HDDs and media not to become corrupt. I'm trusting thieves not to break in and steal my gear.

This is added protection, not the only protection.

Add to that, I can access what I want, anywhere.
I can "email" my cloud with an attachment and it will save it to the cloud (And sync to all my devices)

I can share an entire folder with other sugarsync users to work on projects (as we are with The Rail).

[rcon]

I still remember when I was first confronted with the idea that data relating to customers was going to end up on a cloud solutions. Initial response was ... eff that!

Then over a period of time, you start to do classification exercises on your data, private, confidential etc etc, then you look into their data center setups, and the fact they have people who specialise in data security.

I'm good at my job, but I don't send all day looking at ways of doing just one thing, I have to run all sorts of programs and projects. Specialisation and the focus on a core compentency is these guys bread and butter. If they fk your data, they lose the trust of the community and they're out of business.

sure, bad things can happen, but just like with a PC, we make a best effort to secure it, then we utelise it. If you're going to use cloud services, do your homework, select to trust only that which you feel comfortable with and then go for it.