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| Strengthen Your Storage Arsenal |
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Back Up, Restore & Protect Data April 2003 • Vol.9 Issue 4 |
 Strengthen Your Storage Arsenal Make Online Backup Part Of Your Regular Backup Routine | ||
Jump to first occurrence of: [FILESANYWHERE]  Even with daily PC drive backups on tape or CD, your files are vulnerable. Local backups are your best first line of data disaster defense, but for even more assurance in the event of natural disasters, theft, or catastrophic user error, add an online storage service to your PC protection arsenal. Pick a company with three essential elements: sufficient storage capacity at a price that meets your budget, adequate security, and a good balance between ease of use and power features. Conceived during the dot-com boom and realized with the growing adoption of high-speed Internet connections, not all online storage services disappeared as the dot coms failed. Several early entries in the field have refocused their services, in some cases adding features and options that appeal to medium-to-large business and enterprise customers. But there are still plenty of good choices among the existing online storage services for consumers and small businesses. In this article, we'll explore why you should consider online backup, the features and factors that matter, and how to choose from the several good companies that offer this service.  Aren't Local Backups Enough? How safe is safe enough? The answer and standards vary depending on the context. Consider, for example, the relative safety concerns when a grandparent carefully buckles a child into a car seat and when an extreme skier heads down the side of an unfamiliar mountain. When the question of relative safety is posed about computer data and files, you can expect a wide range of answers. In the end, the answer becomes personal because only you can assess the problems and hassle you'd face if your PC data and files were destroyed. Businesses have long been required to keep duplicate offsite records as an extra measure of protection. Online storage services make it convenient and relatively inexpensive for individuals to keep
Online storage services have features beyond data backup, particularly file retrieval from any computer with Internet access. If your data is available online, you don't have to take your notebook on trips and can therefore avoid the hassle of security checkpoints. In summary, the advantages of online backup services are the security of offsite storage, relatively fast setup, and automatic backup and ad hoc file restoration via the Internet. We recommend a broadband Internet connection to take advantage of the benefits of online storage services. Get Personal. When choosing an online storage service, it's important to identify your particular needs and pick a service that best meets them. Some individual users choose services that support individual users but are primarily focused on large enterprises, perhaps thinking that they'll benefit from the rigorous security standards these services' corporate customers demand. The problem with this path is that the minimum charges for enterprise-focused services may be unreasonable for the amount of storage you need to back up personal or family PCs. Enterprise-focused sites also may build in the cost of other features that are unnecessary for personal use. Other services focus on multimedia file storage (typically image, video, or music files) and also let you store documents online. Some have unique paradigms, such as Streamload.com (http://www.streamload.com), which stores one copy of popular video and music files and tracks the number of customers who pay to access the common files. Most users, however, will get best results from online services designed for customers who need to back up a general mix of data, documents, and various multimedia file formats. Factors That Matter. As we mentioned earlier, the primary factors in your choice of an online storage service should include cost, con
Capacity vs. cost. Before you begin to compare prices of the various online backup services, carefully consider the total file size you need to back up on a regular basis. If you overestimate your needs, you'll end up paying for unused capacity, which can add up quickly when you approach the high end of typical cost structures. Service fees vary depending on the amount of storage capacity you need. For example, @Backup (http://www.@backup.com) charges $299 per year for 500MB of online storage. CapSure (http://www.capsure.com) charges $14.95 per month, IBackup (http://www.ibackup.com) charges $108 per year or $10 per month, NovaStor (http://www.online-backup.com) charges $199.95 per year or $17.95 per month, and Xdrive (http://www.xdrive.com) charges $29.95 per month. If you want to move up to 1GB of online storage, @Backup's service costs $595 per year, CapSure costs $19.95 per month, IBackup costs $216 per year or $20 per month, My Docs Online (http://www.mydocsonline.com) charges $349 per year or $109.95 per quarter, and Xdrive charges $49.95 per month. Note that some services charge per month but offer discounts if you pay annually.
Note that if you take advantage of free trial offers to experiment with various services you will most likely need to input your credit card information to initiate a trial period. Be aware of the termination dates of trial periods in order to cancel if necessary or you might incur automatic rollovers to periodic billing on your account, which can include automatic upgrades to more expensive plans. Most online storage services, such as Backup Manager (http://www.backupmanager.com), CapSure, and FilesAnywhere (http://www.filesanywhere.com) offer data compression services to maximize storage capacity, so this is an important factor to con
Ease of use. To get the most from an online backup service, consider the variety of factors that make up ease of use. These factors include setup and configuration, the user interface, manual vs. automated operations, and data access or restoration. Although some services, such as FileGenie (http://www.filegenie.com) and FilesAnywhere, have Web-only access and do not require you to download and install special software to your PC, most backup services do, at least as the starting point for account configuration. You'll typically need to specify a user or account name, an account password, and possibly an encryption key. The configuration software for most backup services usually runs with a wizard that walks you through multiple screens. Once you have set up your account, the next step is to specify the files and folders you want to back up, assuming that you don't want to back up your entire PC (an option that is usually also available but will typically require lots of space). Remember that there's no need to back up OS (operating system), utility, and application files for which you have the original CDs or diskettes. You can vastly simplify file and folder selection if you determine ahead of time what files you'll actually want to back up and where they are located. Connected TLM (http://www.connected.com) searches all of your system drives and automatically selects files for backup based on predetermined criteria, such as file type. For example, the trial version of Connected TLM automatically chooses data files in your My Documents, Quicken, and QuickBooks folders (if present). IBackup for Windows lets you get very specific with a
Most services support both scheduled and manual backups. Once you're comfortable with your choice of files and the quantity of space they'll take up compared with the capacity you're paying for, the safest approach is to schedule a backup at least once a day. Particularly if you're backing up a whole computer, the initial backup can take hours even with a broadband Internet connection. Subsequent backups are usually much quicker if you configure the system to only back up files you have changed since your last session. Online backup services often provide user interfaces (the screens and controls you use for a given service) that resemble Windows Explorer. To select a file or folder for backup, you'll usually place a check mark in a checkbox to the left of the file or folder name. Although most services display a view that shows just your PC's directories when you're selecting files to back up or only files stored with the online service when you want to restore files, IBackup has a double-pane view that simultaneously displays files in your computer and in backup storage. You'll typically be selecting files from a single computer for online backup, but various services handle file restoration in different manners, including some that let you restore files to any Internet-connected computer. When you're working on your home or office computer, you will usually run the backup service's desktop application, click or select the Restore command, and choose whether to restore all or selected files and folders. The beauty of applications with Web access, such as Connected TLM, @Backup, and FileGenie, is that you can restore files to any computer with Internet access without running the service's desktop application. This also means that if your home PC malfunctions or is stolen or damaged, you can quickly retrieve your important data on another PC. Services without direct Internet access will require you to download their applications to another computer and reconfigure your account in order to restore your files. Security features and safe practices. If you're concerned about security in backing up your data on the Internet, rest assured that
Don't overlook the importance of your password. It may be tempting to use the same password for many applications, including email, but it's safer to use a unique strong password when security is paramount. Strong passwords use the maximum number of characters allowed, combine alpha and numeric characters, and, if the program allows it, use special characters such as punctuation marks. Don't make your data vulnerable by choosing an obvious username with a common password, such as your Social Security number, pet's name, mother's maiden name, or the same password that you've used for years with other accounts, particularly for those backup services that provide Web access from any computer.
Be sure to take the time to print out both the online account configuration information and any confirmation email messages you may receive because these communications will likely include your username and account password, and for some services, the data encryption key. Be sure to store this printed data in a safe place. Range of services. Your main reason for subscribing to an online storage service is for backup. A second reason might be to have convenient access to your files when you're traveling without having to take a notebook along. Additional features can make one service provider more attractive to you than another, so don't overlook some of the frills when making your decision. Many services will burn CD-ROMs of your stored data for an additional fee, typically $24.95 to $34.95 for a 640MB disc. If you don't make local backups, a readable CD-ROM can be a convenient medium for fast access to your data. My Docs Online also offers a Fax Service that lets you distribute stored files to a fax machine with a command from a PC or a wireless device. There are extra charges for this service based on minutes of fax use. For example, 100 minutes of fax use per month cost $9.95, and you can't carry unused minutes to the next month.
Decision Making. For most of us, the deciding factors in choosing an online storage service are cost and usability. As PC prices continue to drop and we use our computers more, the need for secure data storage increases. We all want to protect our cherished digital images, videos, and music tracks, as well as personal financial records and selected documents and correspondence. The incremental cost of subscribing to an online storage service diminishes in light of the value of the files and data protected therewith. You could argue that avid multimedia creators and collectors might not want to budget the extra money required to protect prodigious collections, but it becomes increasingly easy to justify the expense as such collections grow in size and personal or tangible value. Everyone's definition of ease of use isn't the same, but no one argues against convenience and speed. The best services automate data backups but also offer the option of hands-on configuration for special purposes. If the service you choose provides Internet access to your files, you may be surprised how useful that function can be, particularly as public access to Internet-enabled computers and devices proliferate. Easy access to your data and files from any computer with Internet access is compelling, particularly if you don't have to jump through too many hoops to see your files. Rest Easy. It's not realistic to expect 100% security using any one form of data and file backup, but using an online storage service in conjunction with a judicious local backup routine can go a long way toward lessening your chances of data disaster.  by Bruce and Marge Brown |
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