We all know we should be backing up our computers. We also all know we should exercise more, eat more leafy green vegetables, and spend more quality time with our families. Well, I can’t help you with the lifestyle choices, but I can give you a way to make doing your backups as painless as possible.
What is my secret painless backup method? One word, Mozy. Mozy is a remote backup service that works on Windows or Mac. Basically it backs up your data to the cloud. Yes, the famous Internet cloud we all keep hearing about. The software is a quick download and is simple to install and setup. And here is a real cool thing – it is free for up to two gigs of data. Yup, if you are just going to backup a subset of your files, it is free! And if you want to backup more or even all of you data, it is only about $5 per month for as much space as you need.
There are both pro and home versions of the Mozy software, so if you are looking at backing up an office environment they have you covered. And, heaven forbid, if you ever need to do a restore you can do it over the Internet to the same machine or to a different machine. If you have backed up a huge amount of data they can even just send you a physical copy of the data instead of having to download it all.
I’ll tell you the truth. I use Mozy because it works and it is kind of just a “set it and forget it” solution. I don’t have to swap tapes. I don’t have to worry about taking something off-site, and I don’t have to fear that the backup media or disks might get stolen and compromised. Everything is stored securely far away from here so I just let it run.
Again, there is a totally free version for up to 2 gig of storage, meaning there is no reason not to try it. So please, backup your files. If you don’t use this, use something. There is absolutely nothing worse than losing your work, your taxes, your financial records, or your prized family photos and knowing that you could have prevented the loss.
Oh, and if you want help with all those other lifestyle issues… check out ZenHabits.
December 4th, 2009 at 9:24 pm
Never. Never ever trust online backups. Not even to “name” brand places. When your data (no matter what it is) is out of your site, good luck. Its your data, keep it backed up locally and take the backup tape to the bank every so often and rotate with one that is already in the bank. Dont let anyone else handle your data.
December 4th, 2009 at 9:37 pm
Sorry James, have to disagree with you. Now yes, you do need a local backup, and you also need to have safeguards. But, just as your money really isn’t in that bank down the road, your backup doesn’t have to be right here either. The key is to trust but verify. That means, just as you would with a local backup, you need to do a test restore every so often. It also means you need to investigate the company your are dealing with, and your data needs to be encrypted before it is sent over the wire.
But, to totally distrust online backups is the equivalent of putting your money in a jar in the backyard.
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May 19th, 2010 at 11:43 am
Can you back up more *.exe files?
May 19th, 2010 at 11:45 am
Yes, you can back up exes or almost any file. There is very, very little you can’t back up. And it depends on the way they are backed up as to how useful or easy it is to restore.
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