When I started dealing with computers, one of the first things that I have learned is that these machines are not 100% trusted. No matter your hardware, for more the operating system is properly configured and by more experienced that is the user, the chances of something going wrong with the machine there are and, not infrequently, the victims of this history can be your precious data. For this reason I have made this column, that shows you tips and guidelines on how and when to backup (backup) your files to avoid the panic of having their data lost.
What is Backup?
The first step for a person or for a company to understand what is backup is to have the notion that their data may have importance of equity and, therefore, should receive the same treatment other items of value. To assess the level of value that some thing I represents, suffice to imagine what the consequences you would have to lose it or have it as unreachable. For example, assume that you have never been concerned in making regular revisions in your car and, a beautiful day, the vehicle suffers a crash minutes before an appointment. In addition to the prejudice with the repair of the car, you may have lost something very important for not having appeared to the place that you would like.
Now Imagine what would happen if the bank of which you are the client lost the data of all the accounts. How to know the amount of money that each client has? How to know who are the customers? This is perhaps the example that best illustrates the importance of looking the data as a heritage, as something of value.
For you to know how important are your files, imagine what would happen if you lost. What would your reaction be to know that your collection of over 10 thousand songs simply gone? What would you do if you discovered that the files of your work completion of the course are all damaged? What would be the consequences to find out that the CD where you saved it the only copy of an important presentation slide is broken? What would you say to your friends when they discover that, by a fault in your computer, you lost all the photos the one great event that you were? What is the excuse that you give it to your boss to find out that one report of more than 100 pages is corrupted?
Well, if you imagined the situations above or have went through something similar, you should already have the notion of all the troubles that this can cause. Then, based on this, I ask: what would you do to prevent situations embarrassing like these you come to pass? Among the options that you talked to is to make copies of the files, my congratulations, since the backup is exactly that, a copythat is at your disposal for the case file the original cannot be used for some reason. Now that you already got the spirit of the thing, that such include the backup in your everyday life?
With what frequency do the backup?
A backup is not only to be used in place of a file damaged or inaccessible. The copy can also be used to refer to a piece of information that, for one reason or the other, does not exist in the current version. Therefore, it is important to keep in mind what the purpose of the file and with what frequency it is updated to set the interval at which the copies security must be made.
If you have, for example, a small trade, maybe is adequate back up of data on a daily basis, since customers and new requests are added every day. However, if you is doing a work of conclusion of course, you can create copies every time the file is changed.
If you want to make copies of your music files, you can do it only once, and only add the songs new that purchase. This is because the music files do not are changed constantly. The same goes for your videos, your PDF files, your photos, anyway.
Here, in the AbbreviationFinder, for example, are carried out on copies the daily and weekly. The database of the Blog AbbreviationFinder is copied daily, since this section the site receives new information regularly, as the text and new comments are added almost all day. On the other hand, the files of the materials of the site and the database of the Forum AbbreviationFinder are copied weekly, since they do not are changed with a frequency too high.
Based on these examples, analyze your situation to verify when backing up your files. As a rule, the more up to date and important they are, copies the most frequent should be made.
How many copies do?
To set the amount of copies of files to do, you can be based on two things: first, the importance of the files; second, in the amount of devices and storage media that you are going to use.
The parameter of importance is trivial: the more important the data, the more backups should be made. Already the parameter of the storage devices depends on several factors: it is worth purchasing a equipment own backup? Use what I have on hand is enough?
In the case of large companies, it is common for the hiring or even the creation of data centers (data centers) themselves to the management of backups. A company-sized medium or small, you can prefer the acquisition of servers specific to this order – which have, for example, a schema replication-based data in the RAID.
The vast majority of home users, however, do not need this apparatus the whole. Your music files, for example, can be burned on CDs or DVDs. If you have a second computer at home, you can store the copies of the songs on it also. If you prefer, you can buy an external HD own for backups.
Files of academic papers can be stored in multiple places. For example, you can keep a copy on your computer, another on a flash drive, and a third one in your e-mail service, since most offers generous spaces for this, such as in the case of Gmail.
However, it is not because you have multiple storage devices that you need to use all. Use only those that are deemed useful and accessible. Here in AbbreviationFinder, for example, we keep the files the original and three copies backup. One of the copies is stored on a server on the Internet, thus it is possible to access it from any place. The second copy is stored on the computer used to administer the site, while a third copy is stored on an external HD, which can be easily transported. There is still a fourth set of copies stored on a DVD that contains old versions articles, scripts, and images used on the site.
Some interesting ways to backup
For most people, backing up is a hassle, especially when the files are large in size or numerous. But there are a few ways you can do this in an indirect way, almost that without realizing it. Here are some tips for this:
– If you created the files for an academic job, by example, send copies to your colleagues of the group. This way, if your copy, for some reason, is unreachable, one of your colleagues may be able to replace it with the copy that you have;
– If you have music files, video, photos, between others, you can divide them with your friends (provided that they have a taste similar it is of course). For example, you can send a DVD to a friend containing the videos of the last party that you attended. So, if you miss the original videos, you canask the friend to lend him their copies;
– With the popularization of digital cameras, a person it is able to generate hundreds and hundreds of photos. When we pass them to your computer, take the opportunity to save them also in services of online albums such as Flickr and the Picasa Web. This way, in addition to being able to share the photos with friends, you keeps a copy online, accessible at any place. The same goes for the videos. You can send them for services such as YouTube. Most of these sites allow you to store your files both in terms of public (accessible to anyone) and private (accessible only authorized persons);
– Create versions of your files. When working on a file, you can make irreversible changes and repent. So, whenever you make a significant change, save the file with another name or in another directory. So, you you may refer to the previous version whenever necessary.
Backup tools
If you run a business or work with lots of data, will even have to face a backup routine. Fortunately, there are several tools available for this. The advantage of to use them is that you can create or restore your backup files quickly. We tested some solutions aimed at the home user or small businesses. For the ease of use and for being free, we choose the following program:
Cobian Backup (version tested: 8.4.0.202): compatible with Windows 98, Me, 2000, XP, 2003 and Vista, Cobian Backup has already called the attention soon to be available in multiple languages,including the Portuguese of Brazil. It is possible to select the desired language once the installation for the program to start.
The use of the program is very simple. So to install it, go to the menu Task , and select New task(assuming that you chose the Portuguese language the Brazil in the installation). In option General in the window that appears, give a name to the task (preferably, a name that makes reference to the files that you are copying, for example, “work college”). In the option File, you can drag the files which you want to do backup or click on the button Add to add files or directories separately.
In the option Program, you can schedule the computer to perform automatic backups. So, the Cobian Backup will make copies your files alone, while you run some other task on your PC. You can make schedules for daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, schedule a specific date, choose a certain day of the week, etc. If you want to decrease the size of the file that stores the copies, just go to the option Compressed File and choose the format of understanding. The compression in the ZIP format might be better, for be most popular.
In the option Special, you can choose files or specific folder to be copied. In the Event, it is can run programs or scripts before or after backup (this is an advanced option). Finally, in the option Advanced, you can choose a user in specific to perform the backup.
So that your task is ready, simply run it using the execution buttons in the main interface of the program or in the menu Task. Use the menus, the History of Backup and Log to track the status of backups performed. In the files log it is possible to know, for example, which files are not were copied because they have been removed, what went right and what went wrong, etc. Do not forget to go on the List and Save list as to save all of the files that were copied. So when you want to perform the operation back up again, just open this list and you do not need to indicate again which files and directories should suffer backup.
If you want to customize the most of the program, go to the menu Tools and choose Options. There you you can perform a series of settings in Cobian Backup, including visual changes. Anyway, this is a lightweight program, easy to use, with features interesting and, it may be recalled, is free. It is one of the best options for home users and small offices.
But if you’re not a Windows user, you know that can also count with good backup tools. The Mac OSX, for example, has a tool called iBackup, which is also free and easy to use. Already the Linux users can tell you, for example, with the Konserve for the environment KDE, and with the SBackup (Simple Backup Solution) to the environment, Gnome.
But, if you do not have many files or directories, even need to use a specific program for backup. You you can make your copies using compactors/descompactores files such as WinZip, Winrar or the free FilZip, or even, burning software, CD/DVD, like Nero. In the case of compactors, simply open the chosen program, add the files and directories desired, compress them and save the resulting file on a CD, DVD, external HD, etc.
Final tips
Now that you already have a good notion of when and how to backup your files, here are some tips complementary:
– keep copies in places varied, including outside of your house or your office. For this, you can use storage services on the Internet, save your files in the home of a relative or in another branch of their company, anyway;
– when it is inevitable to save copies of important files in notebooks, PDAs, usb sticks, CDs, external hard Drives, or any other device similar, protect them with passwords or encryption tools. So, you makes access to your information confidential in case of theft or loss of the equipment;
– do not rely on floppy disks to store your backups. These devices are obsolete, extremely fragile and have low capacity storage;
– when you hire the services of companies specializing in backup, look for references that attest to the quality of their services and note if the company guarantees confidentiality and availability;
– to use the services of storage of files on the Internet, check the privacy policies, availability, and security site. Do not use services unknown or with a few references on the Internet;
– when you purchase backup tools, prefer those that have the means of validate the copies. This is a way to avoid, for example, that copies changed, damaged, or generated incorrectly to be placed at the disposal of the user;
– be organized. If you make many backups, organize by date or category. So, you will access a given copy more easily when necessary;
– if you have a website or a blog, keep at least one copy of it on your computer. Although many hosting services offer the backup option, a lot of times it is necessary to pay for access to the copies, and the recovery process of the data can take several hours.
Ending
Be certain of one thing: no matter your computer, your data are never 100% safe. Although I expect that this will never happen to you, your computer can be stolen, can be damaged by a electrical discharge (although this is rare), you can be abducted by ETs, you can have your data deleted by a virus and can be a victim of yourself – who is it that never override or deleted a file by mistake? So, create the habit to make backup copies of your files, for more tiring as it may seem. Anyone who has gone through it, you know: it is a great feeling to recover a file very important simply by having a copy of it 🙂
