I have written many posts in the past regarding data backup. I regularly backup my data, especially the data I can’t replace, such as digital photos or videos. I have seen hard drives and entire computers
fail, and all data stored on them lost completely.
There are many methods to backing up your data, including DVDs, external hard drives, and USB flash drives. In this post I’ll talk about why online backup may be good choice to include in your backup strategy. I currently use online backup for all my data, but let’s look at 5 good reasons you can also backup online.
Reasons for Backing Up Online
While you can use other physical media to backup your data, here are 5 reasons you may want to look at online backup.
- Your data is stored offsite.
When backing up your data, it is important to store it away from the building that currently houses the data. Having a copy in another location ensures that your data isn’t lost if something were to happen to your current location. For example, if you were to have a fire in your home and your computer was destroyed, you can recover you backed up data since it was stored outside your home.
- Your data is always accessible – with an Internet connection.
If you need to restore your data, you can easily do so with an Internet connection. You don’t need to find a specific DVD, or go out and retrieve the USB flash drive you stored offsite. Your data is available as long as you can connect to the Internet.
- Your backed up data is secured.
Online backup providers usually encrypt your data on your local machine before it sends it to their servers. When it does transfer your data, it is done over a secure SSL connection. The data remains encrypted on their servers so your data cannot be read.
- You data is automatically backed up.
Many online backup providers supply a small executable that runs in the background on your computer. When you computer is not in use, these applications will automatically read the directories/files you specified to be backed up, and then back up any new/changed files. This means you won’t have to remember to backup your data.
- Online backup is affordable.
You can easily find online backup providers that over a few gigabytes (GB) of storage space for free. Others charge a small fee for many gigabytes to unlimited storage space for personal use.
As you can see there are many benefits for using an online backup service to protect your data. As I mentioned earlier, I currently use online backup to protect my data. I am currently using Mozy and have backed up over 140 GB of data.
With Mozy I unlimited Online Backup for only $4.95 a month. You can also sign up with Mozy and receive 2 GB of storage space for free.
Regardless of which online backup provider you choose, I suggest you do your research and then choose one that fits your budget and needs. While there are many methods of backing up your data, online backups are one of the easiest methods to keep your data safe.