Posts Tagged ‘Choosing’

Tips for Choosing Backup Software

How in the world do you decide what type of computer backup software to use? There are many different types of software out there. Some of it will need to be purchased separately, but there are also programs that come bundled with the computer backup hardware that you will be using. While these are not always the best programs, they still get the job done – although without all the usual bells and whistles. They are also likely to be better than some of the programs that you get with external hard drives for example.

Of course, you do not need backup software in order to backup your computer. You can always just go into it with some CDRs or DVDs and manually choose exactly which files to save and which ones to leave behind. However, this can rapidly get tedious and it’s easy to skip over or forget certain files or folders – that’s the very last thing you want to happen in case of a hard drive failure.

There are many benefits to using a proper computer backup package and these are seriously worth considering.

First, automatic setup. The computer will set up the information for backup automatically. Therefore, all you have to do is make sure that there is a disc in the drive. Likewise, you can also split large files across several discs with ease and without constantly having to change configuration information in the backup software itself.

If you’re worried about the confidentiality of your saved backups, you can also encrypt the information. This is especially important if you are going to be using any of the online backup options. You can also compress your data with a data backup program, in order to fit large amounts of data into a small backup space. Backup software will also allow you to choose exactly how much data you want to backup, and how long you are willing for it to take.

Do I have to buy software?

No. There are several programs that you can get for free – or that you already have for free with your new computer. For example, if you have a windows computer, you will have software called Microsoft Backup. This should be installed by default if you have Windows 2000, ME, or XP. You may also have this program available on your system discs if you have a computer that runs Windows 95 or 98.

If you are running a Macintosh system, however, there is also an option available to you. This is the Apple Backup software. This software should be included with whatever operating system you’re running. That way, you can easily make a backup of all the important data on your computer. With an Apple computer, you can back up your information without waiting to get CDs! Apple offers an online backup service called iDisk. The iDisk service allows you to backup up to 100MB of data online! You can also set your iDisk to synchronize between your computer and the online backup – so that you have the most current versions of all your files.

If you don’t like the software that comes with your computer, there are also free software programs that will come with any external hard drives you purchase. These backup programs are generally designed to do only one thing, however. With just a few quick mouse button clicks, you should be able to put all of your computer data onto the external drive.

Make this job easy and save your data! Use some backup software and save yourself a lot of grief and personal time.

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Choosing your Data Backup Strategy

The importance of having a backup copy of important computer files is obvious, since any hard drive can become the victim of a disaster at a moment’s notice. While the type of disaster is unforeseeable, the way to recover from it is quite predictable. Backing up should be part of the computing process in the maintenance category. The first step in this process is to develop your data backup strategy. The strategy comes from a balance between the importance of your computer files and the amount of space it will require. Once those factors are determined, add in how often a backup is required and whether it should be of chosen files, changes or copies of entire file systems.

Who, What, When, Where, How

When starting to plan your data backup strategy, begin by thinking about the situation that will result from a computer disaster. What will you need to rebuild your files? What files and systems will need to be rebuilt? How quickly will you need to be back on your feet? Will a loss of information affect other people? Can some of your files be kept in hard copy without harm? The answers to these questions will depend on whether you are making technical decisions for a mid-sized company, a home computer network supporting a small business and a college student, or a single home computer used for keeping the family budget and general paperwork.

Sensitive data that is important to your daily functioning and changes often should be backed up daily in a safe way that will be easy to reconstruct. If this data is large in size, as it would be if kept in a relational database, then compression is a possibility. Your data backup strategy has to take this into consideration. If your data includes credit card or social security information about a number of your employees or customers, then security is important.

It is simple to make daily copies of important files, but your data backup strategy has to take into consideration the storage of those sensitive files. The recovery aspect of your data backup strategy has to consider whether and how to contact those whose information has been compromised. That means that if the computer disaster is a hacking incident, the recovery is different than if the problem had been a fire. When planning your data backup strategy, remember to concentrate on the individual needs of your data and not just the technical bells and whistles.

Click Here to Try Carbonite Online Backup FREE for 15 days and back up your irreplaceable files automatically and securely. No credit card required!