subject: Backups Aren't Just For Business [print this page] Backups Aren't Just For Business Backups Aren't Just For Business
Once upon a time, backup was something people only thought about in a corporate context. The idea of an individual doing his own backups seemed a little too high-tech to the average person. In fact, no personal operating systems in the early days had any type of built-in backup software to keep your data safe. If you wanted to attempt to secure your data from loss you had to invest in a third-party backup application. These days, backup routines have become much less difficult and operating systems even have backup software built into them. We can divide backup software into three categories: Third party, operating system based, and online.
As previously mentioned, it used to be if you wanted to back data up you had to go out and purchase a, sometimes, expensive backup software package from a vendor. Companies such as Seagate, Retrospect, and others were the big players at that time. However, their focus was primarily on the corporate customer, with little thought being given to the home-based user. Graphical interfaces were minimal and oftentimes confusing. If a computer user wasn't well-versed in the different types of backups, full, copy, differential, incremental, etc., he would quickly become confused and probably throw in the proverbial towel.
When the operating system matured, whether it be Windows or OS X, it finally came with built-in backup solutions. Mac now comes standard with Time Machine, its proprietary backup software and Windows has its own Microsoft Backup tool. Both of these offer the user excellent protection for his data and have the option of backing up and restoring the entire hard drive and operating system. Up-to-date graphical user interfaces make it much easier and clearer to figure out what you're doing with your backups. If you decide to go with this backup strategy make sure you save your backups onto a removable USB hard drive. These are inexpensive and many models hold between 500 gigabytes and 1 terabyte.
The final type of backup is the latest model offered. Online backup simply wasn't feasible in previous years due to the fact that data transfer speeds were far too slow and the price of storage was at a premium. Only large enterprises could afford this solution. Today, several good backup companies offer online solutions. Some don't even charge you to store up to a certain amount. Mozy offers a home backup package for a cheap price, which includes, automatic scheduled backups, file encryption, and bandwidth throttling so your internet connection won't slow down too much during the backup process. Carbonite is another well-known online backup company offering secure online backups.
We have a lot more choice when it comes to backups these days. Whether it be a third-party application, operating-system based, or online backups, there is no excuse not to use it. Doing so will give you the piece of mind you need to have knowing your data is safe from harm.
