This is not a new age riddle or philosophical
question... This is a real problem that millions of people face more frequently that
most people are aware. It could happen because of a lightning strike or a power
spike. YOU could be stolen, corrupted, burnt up, get washed away or just
disappear for no apparent reason. YOU are your data, and losing your data could
actually be the most terrifying thing that will ever happen to you – and believe
me, sooner or later it will happen to YOU.
If the “ones and zeros” that make up your life disappear,
it will be as if
you never existed.
Most of us are "knowledge workers" (expression made famous by Peter Drucker
in 1959), a phrase used to categorize the computer workforce of today. Our daily
work tasks are performed using computers and in an incredibly short span this
occupational technology was incorporated into our personal lives via the
personal computer. No one could have predicted that the PC, which was once
purely a business tool, would become a 'lifestyle enhancer' as commonplace or as
invaluable as microwave ovens and cable TV.
With the exception of a decreasing non-computer
literate senior citizen population, do you know anyone who does not have
a PC in their home? Broadband Internet and home networks are a staple
of modern life. We shop, do our banking, research, trade stocks,
download music and videos, connect to our business, play games and
communicate with the world from our personal computers. Most of us have
a detailed history of our lives stored on our PCs. From our financial
records to family photos, who we are - is bits
on a hard drive.
At one time or another, all of us have lost a file.
You remember that important letter or report you were working on? You had hours, maybe days
invested in it and all of a sudden it was gone. Poof! It is one thing to lose
a file, but it is still another to lose a lifetime of data, pictures, videos,
music, financial records and other irreplaceable information. Yet, statistics
show that one in every ten hard drives fail each year. Were you aware that the
cost of recovering a failed hard drive can exceed $7,500, and no service company
will guarantee success?
The point is, if you use a computer, you absolutely,
positively MUST have a backup system in place. So what’s the best
approach that best suits your needs? At a
bare minimum, you need to backup to a separate PC or external hard drive such as
a
Maxtor. The main drawback with this option is that if the back-up machine is
in the same building, you are still susceptible to loss through natural
disasters, fire, power surges, lightening and theft. Most IT professionals
recommend that you backup your data to a remote location.
Over the years, I have utilized everything from boxes of
diskettes or CDs to external hard drives to back up my important files. I stay
current with the best solutions for backup because I’ve been a victim of data
loss and I refuse to go through that again. The obvious questions to remote
back up services pertain to security, software configuration, storage
limitations, ease of use and cost.
There are many off-premises (remote) back up companies, but there
are only a handful that have addressed all of these important concerns. I did my
research, and ultimately I chose the same solution recommended by Consumer Reports, the
Wall Street Journal, PC World, Smart Computing and Business Week and others. If you do not
have a back up solution, I would encourage you to look at a company called
Mozy (Berkeley Data Systems).
I chose
Mozy
for my business and personal data backup, and I have recommended them to
all of my clients. Their service is ridiculously inexpensive for
unlimited data backup, it is easy to set up and offers downright
bulletproof protection for your sensitive data. After you create an
account, you will download their software, follow a few easy set up
instructions, select the files you want to backup, and Mozy takes care
of the rest.
Depending on the amount of data you have to back up, it
will take a while to copy, encrypt and transfer all your data to the remote
servers for the initial backup. Mozy performs their back up in the background so
it will not affect your computer’s speed adversely, and you can even throttle
that down if needed. Once the first back up is complete, Mozy only backs up
new files and thost that have changed since your last process. This makes subsequent backups
very fast. I perform my daily backups at 2:00 AM and every morning Mozy
confirms that my files were backed up while I slept. Sweet!
By the way, if you are concerned about the security of your
remote data (and you should be), Mozy uses 128-bit SSL encryption during the transfer process, which
is the same technology used by banks. On their servers 448-bit Blowfish
encryption secures your files, meaning that your data is safe from hackers.
Another powerful feature is that Mozy will back up your documents whether
they're open or closed and they back up Outlook files providing disaster-proof
email protection.
The best part is that you can get all this for only $4.95
per month for unlimited backup. World-class backup, state-of-the-art
security, automatic administration and 100% peace of mind. Why are you still
reading this… you know you need a reliable, set it and forget it, backup
solution. Get Mozy!
Mozy Unlimited Backup - $4.95/Month
About the Author
Tom Heatherington
has been an Internet consultant to small business since 1996. He co-founded one
of the first ISPs in the U.S. in 1992. Tom is the author of “The Complete Small
Business Internet Guide” and numerous articles about niche marketing.
