Backup tips this Christmas
Whether you are a small business preparing to close down for a few weeks or taking some time off from work yourself and want to get organised for 2010, now is a good time to consider your drive backup software needs.
To help you I have prepared a mixed bag of tips that will assist you to get and stay protected in 2010.
Review what you have on your PC’s and assess what needs and doesn’t need protecting. It’s probably a good time to also clean out some old downloads and applications that you aren’t using.
If you have been using a hard drive to backup, then get it out and get it to work. Ensure you get a copy of all important files onto the external hard drive. It might also be a good time to set up an auto sync so that in future, when you plug it in it, it will automatically know what to start backing up. There are several tools out there free and paid that will do this for you.
Once you have completed backing with your hard drive, do yourself a favour and test it out. Check to see that the date on the files is today’s and that the files can be opened.
If your hard drive looks like it’s getting pretty full, then maybe it’s a good time to invest in another one. Terabyte drives are under $200 these days so, it’s worthwhile having plenty of space.
Online backup isn’t just for big businesses. Ensuring that your important files are located offsite somewhere is called a sound backup strategy and it’s just as applicable for your home as it is for your business. The last thing you want when you return from your break or a day out is to find that your PC and other hardware has been damaged or stolen. Relying on an external hard drive will not help you in any way. A remote windows backup solution is the only way to recover those files instantly.
Online or remote backup doesn’t need to cost you the earth. Services like Carbonite will cost you less than $6 per month to protect all the files on your PC. To be honest you don’t need to back everything up with Carbonite either. If you are also using an external drive, I would use online backup for the really important stuff, the stuff you can’t live or run your business without.
With Carbonite, you can use the defaults when installing it. This will pick up most files on your C: drive. Alternatively you can manually select the files that you believe are important and you can do this via Windows Explorer. If you are a business, backup files like your email, MYOB/Quicken database, Tax Invoices, Tax Documentation, Contracts and agreements.
Get the backup started early so that you can have it all uploaded well before you shut everything down. Typically, uploading works through 2 – 3GB per day.
If you are already using an online backup service, be sure to check the expiry of your subscription so that it doesn’t fall when you are away and don’t have access to your emails. In most cases your data will be safe for another 30 days but its best to be prepared. We are talking about your data at the end of the day.
Have a great festive season and see you in 2010.
Carbonite Australia Team
