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Online Backup Features List

Online backup services, many companies and many products, the differences between these companies are in the features they provide, here are the most important features you will need when you choose your online backup services provider:

Easy to Use software, Online Backup must provide you with an easy to use software client that is installed on your system.

Flexible and Easy to use Restore Options online backup must come with easy to use restore window

Automated online backup, the backup process must be automated, you setup your initial backup once and the system will do the backup automatically.

Online Access to Files, it must give you the ability to access and restore the backed-up files via a normal web browser on the website.

Fast Synchronization continuously replicates data from the source system to the backup one.

Scheduled backup allows you to run the replication according to your own time schedule. This could be daily, weekly, or certain days of the week.

Data Compression Online Backup must provide you with the option to compress data before have it pushed to the backup server; it will reduce the time of backup process.

Differential data compression a way to further minimize network traffic is to transfer only the binary data that has changed from one day to the next.

Bandwidth usage and this one of the advanced features used by services providers and it is user-selectable option to use more or less bandwidth.

Data Encryption for Secured Transmission the data must be encrypted while transmission between source machine and backup one using two standard security algorithms.

Transfer Data Encryption to prevent interception of data. This does not mean that the data will necessarily be encrypted during storage.

End-to-end Data Encryption your data will be encrypted on your machine and then it will be transmitted and stored on the server. This requires a client-generated key.

Good online backup companies make session encryption is not optional, it is mandatory all the time and that for your security.

Data saved on redundant servers in case one server becomes unavailable, you can quickly access the other server for data restore. Advanced Archiving Online Backup must support file archiving where files being overwritten or deleted could be kept in a separate archived location for future reference if you need them.

Advanced Reporting Online Backup must provide detailed report includes complete information about the backup session which includes folders/files that have been backed up, backup size, duration of backup and success/failure status reports. A summary report includes success/failure status report.

File Sharing it must allow you to share your files with your friends. This is very helpful for end users specially when dealing with large size files.

Opened File Backup it must give you the ability to back up files that are frequently left open, such as Outlook files (*.pst) or SQL database files. This feature allows IT administrators to run backup jobs at any time of the day.

Locked File Backup it must give you the ability to back up locked files when they are opened or closed.

Network Backup it must give you the ability to backup multiple computers, servers or Network Attached Storage appliances on a local area network from a single computer or device.

Multi-Site Backup it must give you the ability to backup data from many sites like at home and at work, or at the primary site and data located at remote.

Your Privacy they must be committed to you that your data could not be opened by any mean, only you can open your data using password provided by you.

Remote Data Wipeout in case your device is lost or stolen, your critical data will be erased from your lost device and no one including who has you devices can access them.

Remote IP Address Locator when your device is lost or stolen it locates the IP address of your device and find exactly where it is and the contact information of the owner of the internet connection used in your device, these information will be used to get back your device again.

The last two features are very important and they are the newsiest features in online backup technology. They are available only in MDI Online Backup.

Please visit My Data Image MDI Online Backup to get more information.

Basics about Data Backup and Backup Recovery

What is the Meaning of Backup? A backup is a replica of the data you created. Suppose, you have lost your original data; you can recuperate from this loss by using the backup copy of the lost data. Backup data and original data, both have separate storage mediums and separate locations. This is because if, in any case, the original data is lost, the backup data must not be lost in any way. It lies safely at one place and does not cause any affect to the backup data. For safety and convenience, regular backup your data. Instead of taking any risk, it is better to get into the habit of backing up data regularly; otherwise, chances of data loss can be more. It is very important for you to backup your crucial data from time to time because you never know when the trouble is on your path. You can’t take risk in losing your important files so regular backup of crucial data elements is helpful.

You can perform backup on your PC using simple backup systems. For a particular computer system, you don’t need to adopt intricate backup systems and measures instead go for simple and easy systems. Most of the organizations today, like to adopt some useful policy and strategy to regularly backup the data of employees. When your important data is lost, you can restore the lost data by using that data backup. Backup policies focus upon the following aspects:

* Type of storage like hard drive, optical or tape
* How frequently the backup needs to be created?
*The place where the backup has to be stored
* What is to be done to create backup
* Who is to be given the responsibility for backing up data

Also, backing of data depends upon the following conditions:
* How frequently the data changes?
* How long your last backup was took place?
* Whether the current data need backup or not?

Why the data should be backed up? The data needs to be backed up to prevent massive loss after the damage to original files. There are various reasons for data loss. Some of the significant reasons are given below:

* Through Human Errors: Due to improper handling of system, loss of data can arise to be an outcome. The users those who don’t have much system knowledge might lose all the data unintentionally.
* Virus Infection in Computer: Another reason for data loss is virus in your system. There are various anti-virus programs available in the market but sometimes these anti-viruses are ineffective and may further add to the loss.
* Hardware Malfunctioning: There are very less cases of hardware failure but in case the hardware components fail, chances of data loss become higher.
* Errors in Software due to Bugs: Bugs are the most common cause for data loss. Bugs in any software running on your system can corrupt your data files and due to this, sometimes usage of such software becomes the cause for data corruption and data inaccessibility.
* Error due to unforeseen circumstances: Floods, fires, spilling liquids on system and other such external entities can lead to serious harm to your data. The above mentioned reasons can cause damage or harm to your saved data. In case of data loss do not panic, instead try to find some solution to restore backup of your data.

What should be backed up? In this regard, it is important to understand that the most important data which you cannot afford to lose at any cost is important to be backed up. This can include your or your boss’s journals, emails, calendar, contacts, bank statements etc. Sometimes, it would be wise on your part to back up all the data instead of selecting the important files. By doing so, you would ensure your data safety and chances of losing any data might not occur.

Where to Save Backup Data? It is important to know that where backup data has to be saved? You can use several devices and storage media to store your backup data. They can be external or internal. Few data storage devices are given below:

* External Storage Devices
CDs & DVDs: Almost all the computers these days have CD or DVD writers. To store backup data in these devices would be the most affordable choice as it has large and enough storage space to store data and also they are portable, which adds to the ease.
Pen Drives or Memory Stick: These are removable storage devices. They are costlier in comparison to CDs & DVDs. They are the best backup medium to store a large amount of data.

* Internal Storage Devices
Hard Drive: Hard drive is another medium to store large amount of data. Although, it is not very handy and portable yet, it is reliable and can contain data in bulk.

From the above mentioned devices, you can decide your backup storage medium according to your convenience. It would be better to use more than one backup storage medium because it decreases the chances of the loss of original data.

Archiving and Backing up Two Different Phenomena: Archiving provides certainty in knowing that the older data is lying in a different location and recent data in other different location. However, archiving and backing up data are different from each other. Archiving helps in moving your older items to a different data file. It does not aim at creating copies of your data items at two different locations although the backup process wanted to achieve the lost data in case you lose your original data.

What is Recovery using Backed up Data? Recovery is the process by which you can restore you data by using backup. In this way, restored data becomes the working copy of the data. Through this, you can easily get your lost data back.

Why is Backup Recovery Needed? What if your backup data itself has got corrupted? This is where the data safeguard called the backup data itself fails to save you from a total loss situation and the backup files get corrupted leaving you nullified. This is where backup data recovery tools come into picture. This backup restore tools now take the role of your data safeguards helping you recover backup files and folders. Backup data recovery is needed for the following reasons:

* To get back crucial official and unofficial documents
* To resume normal functioning of work
* To continue with various work and non-work operations
* To carry on with the functions dependent on that data.

Why invest in SysTools BKF Repair software? It would be worth investing in a reliable tool like SysTools BKF Repair software as it is an efficient tool to carry out the process of backup data recovery in a short span of time. It is one the most high-performing backup recovery tools.

Robust Slr Backup Tape Storage Media

The type and format of the backup storage medium used effects the future growth, investment protection and performance of the company. The restore & backup strategy are dependent on the format of the tape medium being used. According to the findings, more than five hundred thousand drives of SLR are installed in Servers of iSeries around the world. The SLR tape format is best suited for the “iSeries” and it protects the high volumes of data with fast recovery and backup performance. The SLR is the abbreviation of “Scalable Linear Recording” and Tandberg Data introduced the first generation SLR-1 tape in the year 1987.

Tandberg is one of the major manufacturer and supplier of the backup tape media products. The major tape formats of Tandberg are the Linear Tape Open (LTO), Digital Linear Tape (DLT) and the Scalable Linear Recording (SLR).

The product line of the Tandberg includes the backup tape libraries, tape autoloaders, media and backup data tape drives.

At first the SLR backup tape was based on the technology of QIC (Quarter Inch Cartridge). Afterwards the technology used was the SLR (Single Channel Linear Recording). Then new technology MLR (Multi Channel Linear Recording) was added and then to its present form of the SLR tape format. The SLR tape media products are highly scalable, reliable. They are also compatible both forward and backward with the other generations of SLR format.

In the SLR-7 tape the recording of the data is done on 2 tracks and is recording is done in parallel. While in SLR-60 & SLR-100, the recording is done on 4 tracks. The data is recorded on the media in such a form that incase of degrading of media, the data could be read in the operation of restoring. The attributes and technologies that enhance the speed of the SLR tape are the “auto sense function”, “inline compression”. The data buffers are also large in the SLR technology. The SLR-1 tape format gives the tape solution for entry level and at a low cost. Since the year of the introduction of SLR, about 2 million drives of SLR have been installed by the companies worldwide.

The cost of ownership for the SLR tape format is very low because it has low rate of failure which is about 1.5 percent. The SLR is best for those enterprises where the field maintenance is low.

The SLR-60 has 30 GB native capacity and 60GB of compressed recording capacity. The data transfer rate is 4MB/sec with 8MB/sec of compressed rate. The transfer rate per hour is 15GB/hour with compressed rate of 30GB/hour.

The SLR-100 has 50 GB native capacity and 100GB of compressed recording capacity. The data transfer rate is 5MB/sec with 10MB/sec of compressed rate. The transfer rate per hour is 18GB/hour with compressed rate of 36GB/hour.

The reliable and robust backup tape format choices for the small & medium business enterprises are the SLR-60, SLR-100 and the SLR-140 backup tapes.

The SLR technology has the capacity, technology and the features to fulfill the future’s data backup demands and requirements of the companies in efficient and cost effective manner. The roadmap of the SLR tape format has the ability to meet future demands for backup data storage. The roadmaps do tend to change with the passage of time and when the future generations come close to the existing and the present generations.

For more details and online order, please visit www.tape4backup.com

Advantages of Offsite Data Backup Storage

Are you looking for an efficient way to backup and store your computer information? If the answer is yes, you have to know that online data storage backup is a good option. This kind of solution has many advantages.

You can find here a few tips about online data storage backup and how it can help you.

Why should you be concern about data storage?

When you backup your data online, you eliminate the hard drive as a solution, which is good, since it can be a source of lost documents and files. It might not seem a problem for you now, but hard drives can fail and you can lose all the data on them.

Whatever the problem you might have with your hard drive or whatever disaster might hit your network, you lose everything if you kept it all in one place.

There are backup hard drives in your office, but once fire destroys the office it will damage the backups as well but if you store that data online, it is more secure because you it is in a different location.

You just need an Internet connection to restore the files and even if your office is disorganized, all you need is a computer and Internet to access all your backed up files.

There’s one more argument in favor of online data storage backup. Even if you’re on holiday, you can still access all the files you backed up.

Even if you forgot to copy the files you needed on your laptop, you can access them from any hotel room in the world, as long as it has Internet.

If that is the case, you don’t need to ask people to email you important files. You can take them yourself, by logging in on the site that stores your backup data, and download the files that you need.

One advantage of this kind of service is the fact that it isn’t costly, there are some companies that offer free online data storage.

It is cheaper compared with other data backup options. Online backup data storage is a good option that you should consider, for all the reasons I mentioned so far.

Laptop Backup Data

If you were to look at past statistics regarding the information that has been lost in regards to laptop computers, you would find yourself amazed.  Even though this information can be astounding, many of us still don’t take the time to back up the information on our laptops.

To put it in simple terms, nothing in the computer industry is fool proof.  Hard drives can crash, the laptop can get stolen, or it can even be dropped and rendered useless.  To ensure that we are never left without our precious data, we should always create a backup of our information.

There is no mistaken the fact that over a million laptops have been stolen over the years in the United States alone.  Anytime a laptop is stolen, chances are that it won’t be recovered.  If the information wasn’t backed up, then the owner will be left with no laptop – but more importantly – no backed up data either.

Just like you can with desktop computers, you can also create a backup of the data on your laptop as well.  You can use online services, back it up remotely, or use several other methods to ensure that you keep all of your data.  Preserving your data is something you should really look into, especially if you have business material on your laptop.

The best way to go about backing up your data and files is to burn them to a data CD.  Data CDs can hold up to 700 MB (Mega Bytes) of data, which means a lot of files.  To back things up this way, all you need is a CD/RW burner in your laptop, which most of the newer ones come with.

The only drawback to laptops is the fact that they don’t offer near as much storage or security measures as a desktop PC.  Desktop computers have a lot more power, and they can also do things (including backups) in a fraction of the time.

The laptop computer was designed for on the go use, which is the main reason why people don’t really think about backing up their data.  When the thought finally does come to mind, it is normally too late to do anything about it.

As mentioned above, the easiest and quickest way to backup your laptop data is to use an online backup service.  Depending on your connection to the Internet, it can take anywhere from several minutes to several hours.  Although it may take you a little bit of time, you’ll have the satisfaction in knowing that your data is there if something should happen.

Whether it’s for your business or personal use, you can’t go wrong backing up your data.  You should always create a backup of your data at least once a month, even more than that if you have a lot of important information that you add to your laptop on a frequent basis.

Backup Data Correctly

Computer data can be very important to us, especially those of us who make a living on the computer.  Over the last several years, the computer has grown on all of us, making our lives so much easier.  For that very reason, it’s easy to tell that if we lost our computer data, it would completely destroy a majority of us.

Losing data can be an overwhelming thought to say the least.  Computers store data, although machines have been known to fail.  Even though the computer has become a lot more reliable over the years, it is virtually impossible to prevent computers from losing data.

You don’t need to take this lying down through, as you can indeed fight back.  The ideal way to ensure that you never lose your precious data, is to back it up and keep backing it up.  You should back up your computer data at least once a week, with once per day being the recommended way to do it.

In the past, and even some today, the floppy disc is the main method used to back up computer data.  Even though they store a small amount of data, they are easy to access, easy to use, and nearly every computer has one.

Those of you who are looking to take things to the next level should look into backing up your entire hard drive.  Backing up your entire hard drive is something that everyone should do, as it is indeed one of the best and most reliable ways to backup your computer.

When you create a backup of your entire hard drive, it will copy all of your information, so if something happens you’ll always have your data.  Doing a full backup of your hard drive is great, although it can be very time consuming.  To make matters worse, it is recommended that you create  a backup at least once a week.  On the other hand, if what you have on your computer is very important, you’ll find it more than worth the effort and time needed to back things up.

Another way you can back up your data, programs, and files, is to burn them directly to a data CD or DVD.  This way, you can select which files or folders you want to keep.  If you use CD/RW or DVD/RW disks, you can continue to add information to them when you create a backup.  If you don’t use the RW (re-writable) media, then you won’t be able to go back and add more information to the disc.

Burning data directly to discs are the method of backup that most people are using these days, although backing up the entire hard drive is the preferred way of backing up your data.  If you plan to use discs, you’ll need either a CD or DVD burner, which you can get for a great price these days.  The discs are cheap as well, which only makes this method of backing things up that much better.

Whether it’s for your business or for personal reasons, you can’t go wrong backing up your data.  You should always strive to back things up properly, as this will ensure that the data will always be there when you need it.  This way, if you computer happens to crash or you lose everything on your hard drive, you’ll always have your backup files to go back to.  This in itself can save you a lot of time, effort, and quite possibly even money – just for the simple fact that the files are all but a copy away to restore.

Backup Data on your Laptop

If you were to look at past statistics regarding the information that has been lost in regards to laptop computers, you would find yourself amazed. Even though this information can be astounding, many of us still don’t take the time to back up the information on our laptops.

To put it in simple terms, nothing in the computer industry is fool proof. Hard drives can crash, the laptop can get stolen, or it can even be dropped and rendered useless. To ensure that we are never left without our precious data, we should always create a backup of our information.

There is no mistaken the fact that over a million laptops have been stolen over the years in the United States alone. Anytime a laptop is stolen, chances are that it won’t be recovered. If the information wasn’t backed up, then the owner will be left with no laptop – but more importantly – no backed up data either.

Just like you can with desktop computers, you can also create a backup of the data on your laptop as well. You can use online services, back it up remotely, or use several other methods to ensure that you keep all of your data. Preserving your data is something you should really look into, especially if you have business material on your laptop.

The best way to go about backing up your data and files is to burn them to a data CD. Data CDs can hold up to 700 MB (Mega Bytes) of data, which means a lot of files. To back things up this way, all you need is a CD/RW burner in your laptop, which most of the newer ones come with.

The only drawback to laptops is the fact that they don’t offer near as much storage or security measures as a desktop PC. Desktop computers have a lot more power, and they can also do things (including backups) in a fraction of the time.

The laptop computer was designed for on the go use, which is the main reason why people don’t really think about backing up their data. When the thought finally does come to mind, it is normally too late to do anything about it.

As mentioned above, the easiest and quickest way to backup your laptop data is to use an online backup service. Depending on your connection to the Internet, it can take anywhere from several minutes to several hours. Although it may take you a little bit of time, you’ll have the satisfaction in knowing that your data is there if something should happen.

Whether it’s for your business or personal use, you can’t go wrong backing up your data. You should always create a backup of your data at least once a month, even more than that if you have a lot of important information that you add to your laptop on a frequent basis.

Backup Data Properly

Computer data can be very important to us, especially those of us who make a living on the computer. Over the last several years, the computer has grown on all of us, making our lives so much easier. For that very reason, it’s easy to tell that if we lost our computer data, it would completely destroy a majority of us.

Losing data can be an overwhelming thought to say the least. Computers store data, although machines have been known to fail. Even though the computer has become a lot more reliable over the years, it is virtually impossible to prevent computers from losing data.

You don’t need to take this lying down through, as you can indeed fight back. The ideal way to ensure that you never lose your precious data, is to back it up and keep backing it up. You should back up your computer data at least once a week, with once per day being the recommended way to do it.

In the past, and even some today, the floppy disc is the main method used to back up computer data. Even though they store a small amount of data, they are easy to access, easy to use, and nearly every computer has one.

Those of you who are looking to take things to the next level should look into backing up your entire hard drive. Backing up your entire hard drive is something that everyone should do, as it is indeed one of the best and most reliable ways to backup your computer.

When you create a backup of your entire hard drive, it will copy all of your information, so if something happens you’ll always have your data. Doing a full backup of your hard drive is great, although it can be very time consuming. To make matters worse, it is recommended that you create a backup at least once a week. On the other hand, if what you have on your computer is very important, you’ll find it more than worth the effort and time needed to back things up.

Another way you can back up your data, programs, and files, is to burn them directly to a data CD or DVD. This way, you can select which files or folders you want to keep. If you use CD/RW or DVD/RW disks, you can continue to add information to them when you create a backup. If you don’t use the RW (re-writable) media, then you won’t be able to go back and add more information to the disc.

Burning data directly to discs are the method of backup that most people are using these days, although backing up the entire hard drive is the preferred way of backing up your data. If you plan to use discs, you’ll need either a CD or DVD burner, which you can get for a great price these days. The discs are cheap as well, which only makes this method of backing things up that much better.

Whether it’s for your business or for personal reasons, you can’t go wrong backing up your data. You should always strive to back things up properly, as this will ensure that the data will always be there when you need it. This way, if you computer happens to crash or you lose everything on your hard drive, you’ll always have your backup files to go back to. This in itself can save you a lot of time, effort, and quite possibly even money – just for the simple fact that the files are all but a copy away to restore.

Backup Data Online for Free

Your hard drive contains your most important system files. This includes existing files and future ones. Because many of these files are important, but from an operating system standpoint and a personal standpoint, you want to make sure you take proper steps to backup the data. This may include copying files to an external drive, buring them to DVD or CD or uploading backup copies to an online destination or server.

A hard drive nowadays can hold an enourmous amount of data. The more data you have, the greater the chances of your facing a harder situation in case of hard disk failure. While the technology and safety measures incorporated within are upgraded regularly, they are finally machines and are apt to fail at some time or another.

Considering that data loss is more often due to human error than hard disk failure, you should try and create back ups as often as possible so that nearly all the information is available to you. You can thus prevent or at least minimize the damage.

Data loss can have very serious consequences. Consider this situation. You have a presentation the next morning and you have spent sleepless nights trying to get it just right. You finally are happy with your efforts and finally get a good night’s sleep. The next morning you arrive at the meeting and your computer decides to play tricks. Your presentation just refuses to get underway because your computer has decided to follow its own instructions. Naturally the meeting ends up in disaster.

What you could have done is to save your presentation as a backup before you turned off your computer the previous night, and accessed that copy when you found out that the main presentation was malfunctioning. Malufunctions and crashes can occur anytime and often will have no warning signs. Therefore creating backups is a safety net available to you.

One method is to use the services online or to down load the software and do the task yourself. Most of these services do not mention that they are backup creators, but you can consider them to be so. Try saving your material on your email account by mailing the important files to yourself. You will always have access to them when required.

These free online storage services will have limited space available to you and some are not very reliable or efficient. Other services will carry a nominal fee, monthly or annually, and these services are usually more reliable and safe. Whichever route you choose to travel, please ensure that you have a set of backups to fall back on in cases of emergency, so that the day can be saved.

Small Business Backup – Data Loss Statistics

If you are not backing up the data for your small business, you are at risk of going out of business.

Here are some statistics that will give you some good reasons to backup your valuable data.

Key causes for unplanned downtime:

25% Hardware
25% Software
20% Network
15% Human error
14% Environmental

Source: Gartner Group 2001

Suddenly losing all your mission critical data can put you out of business.

25% of all PC users suffer from data loss each year. (1)

1 in 4 — Are you willing to risk your business or job with these odds?

7 of 10 small firms that experience a major data loss go out of business
within a year (5)

15% of all laptops are stolen or suffer hard drive failures (1)
What if you or your sales people lost their laptop and it had no recent backup?

,881 …the average loss due to laptop theft. (6)

No. 2 …cause of overal PC loss is theft. (7)

Billion annual cost of data loss.
Can you afford to not back up your data?

96% of all business workstations are not being backed up (3)
While servers are typically backed up, companies rarely back up individual PCs containing
valuable data generated by employees every day.

Billion annual computer virus damages to U.S. businesses (4)
Even equipped with the latest antivirus software, viruses continue to pose a serious threat to your most valuable asset.

80% …of computer crime consists of “inside jobs” by disgruntled employees. (1)

80% …of surveyed companies admitted financial losses due to computer breeches. 6

100% the failure rate of disks and tape drives — all drives eventually fail.

(1) Gartner Group; (2) IDC; (3) Contingency Planning & Strategic Research Corp.; (4) TrendMicro; (5) DTI/PriceWaterhouse

Coopers, 2004; (6) CSI/FBI Computer Crime and Security Survey; (7) Safeware The Insurance Agency; (5) Gartner Group; (6)

CSI/FBI 2002 Cost of Recreating Your Lost Data

According to the National Computer Security Association, without adequate backup it takes:

19 days and ,000 to recreate just 20 MB of lost sales/marketing data;
21 days and ,000 to recreate just 20 MB of lost accounting data;
42 days and ,000 to recreate just 20 MB of lost engineering data.

Make sure to take the time to backup your data today. Don’t take the risk of going out of business.