Mozy On Over To Online Back-up

by Bonnie Boots

I'm very careful about backing up my computer files. I back up to both an external hard drive and an online storage facility.

Some people-mostly people who are lacksidaisical about backing up---have told me I overdo it. I say that when you make your living with your computer, there's no such thing as being "too careful." Here's my proof.

This week on the local news, reporters stood outside a home lovely that had been reduced to a pile of smoldering rubble. "The good news is that everyone got out safe," the reporter said. "People and even pets were all evacuated by the time firemen arrived."

"The bad news is," the reporter went on, "everything else that once was here has been destroyed. The owner says insurance can replace everything except one thing-the most important thing-his doctoral thesis, the one he was getting ready to turn in later this month."

In a later interview, the owner stated that his computer, his back-up drive, his paper files filled with research, everything he could have used to recreate his thesis, were all destroyed in the fire. "Two years of work," he sighed, " and it's all wiped out in thirty minutes."

Sadly, this man made a common mistake-storing his backup right next to his computer. I saw the same thing happen two years ago to a business client. Thieves broke in to her business one night and stole the computer. Then they took all the software boxes with original discs and the backup drives which were conveniently located---where else?-right next to the computer.

All her business data, including tax records, inventory, client records, employee records, everything was gone. Not only did the business owner NOT have it. Now, thieves did, leaving the business owner, her clients and employees open to any number of dangers

Those are incalculable losses, the kind that can lead to a business closing its doors, or to a doctoral student never finishing his education.

What makes it especially sad is that an off-site backup-something that would have saved them both -is so easily done with an online storage service.

An online storage service allows you to use the internet to upload critical files to a storage space that is digitally encrypted. This assures you that only you can open your stored files.


Encrypted online storage was once only available to large businesses, but today it's so widely available at such low cost that anyone can-and I believe should-take advantage of it.

Online storage may be a good way to store and secure not only your working files, but key information, such as your bank name and account number, your passwords to various business accounts, your phone, fax and email records, insurance records and other critical information so that you could still access them from a remote location in the event that your home or office were destroyed.

Online data storage offers encrypted storage for your data. This means only people that have your unique password can open your data.

The number of services offering encrypted online data storage grows each day. For the most current information, simply search Google for "online data storage." Be sure to read ALL the information before signing with a service to make the best choice for your business.

I've been using Mozy as my online storage service for two years. The data storage space available to me far exceeds my need and costs me just $4.95 a month for unlimited secure backup storage.

In addition, Mozy itself backs up my backup. The keep my files stored on at least two different servers, just in case one is destroyed.

Mozy is extremely easy to set up. I loaded a simple software program that was easily installed. And although the first backup of all my files took several hours, the daily "refresher" backups take minutes.

Below you see the control panel through which you configure the way you want Mozy to run. It can back up every few minutes, every few hours, every few days-the choices are entirely up to you.

I've set Mozy to backup anytime my computer is idle for 25 minutes, so several times a day Mozy kicks into action and refreshes my stored backup. The little control panel shown in the illustratyi0onis all I see of the seamless process, and since I usually choose to hide this control panel, it runs in the background nearly unnoticed.

Should I ever need to access that backup from Mozy, I could do it from any computer. Even if my computer was destroyed, even if my software were melted or stolen, even if I were living in a Red Cross shelter,I could buy or borrow a computer, access Mozy and use online applications like Google's word processor, spreadsheet and Gmail to get back to work.

In a world that seems to offer up a new threat everyday, Mozy gives me a real sense of security. Check it out for yourself. Click the blue link to learn all about Mozy Unlimited Backup - $4.95/Month. I highly recommend it!
 

About the Author

To republish this article in your newsletter, you must agree to reprint the article in its entirety and include the author's information box. If you have questions or comments, contact the author here.