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Best Security Software.com |
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Online BackupOnline backup? But you already have your security software installed, your hard drive backup up and imaged, and you're learning how to avoid phishing and drive by virus downloads. Isn't that enough? Almost. Remember, everything is still in one physical location so if you lose it in a disaster, it's all gone--poof. There's still one more step you simply must take if you want to be really sure you won't lose the pictures of the grand babies. Online backup is affordable nowadays, at least for your documents folders. I wouldn't bother trying to back up your entire hard drive since you could simply reinstall everything if disaster strikes and it's more expensive to do it that way. I have a folder in my documents folder called software. I store key codes, registration, login, and receipt info in this folder for software I've purchased so that I can reinstall them if I lose everything (including my local drive images). So, if my documents folder is stored online, so is my software info. There are several online companies that sell such storage. Some Internet security suites include online backup now too but I like to keep it separate. I've tried several but my favorite is Jungle Disk. I really love this service and have had zero problems with it. I update my backup every night while I sleep so I have a fresh folder every morning. Jungle DiskHere's how it works: Jungle Disk serves as a front end to another service through Amazon Web Services called S3. You see, Amazon has literally thousands of computer servers all over the country connected together to provide the power to do all the incredibly complex things that Amazon.com does. Amazon rents space to businesses on these servers for small fees based on only the amount of space used at the time. Now, Jungle Disk simply gives you the software for your computer to set up your backups (and it's sweet) for $20 per year with lifetime upgrades. Through their software, your computer backs up to Amazon's S3 servers. Here's a few screenshots:  File Selection  Backup in progress  Restoring files Adding up the charges is a bit confusing but I'll give you a simple example. For 20 gigabytes storage per month and a daily average upload of 1.4 gigabytes (changes in files, etc), I spend under $10 per month. For me, that's cheap insurance. If the worst happens, I don't lose any of my documents, emails, photos, music, etc. Jungle Disk has two levels of their online backup service and I use the "Plus" version because it offers additional really nice benefits. Setting up is a bit tedious because you have to sign up for an Amazon S3 account and a Jungle Disk account but it's not difficult. All data transfers are encrypted with 128 bit encryption and you can choose an additional layer with your own secret password that no one knows but you and that includes Amazon and Jungle Disk. If you do that, don't lose it because they can't help you. I just use regular encryption. If this sounds like a commercial for Jungle Disk, it is! I love it and wouldn't be without it at twice the price (I hope they don't read that). One thing to keep in mind is your Internet provider's upload speed. I have Comcast cable Internet that runs at 8 megabits per second for downloads and 1.5 megabits per second for uploads. So, I get really decent upload speed which is what you want when uploading to online backup services. You can check your own speed at Speakeasy Speed Test to find out what your upload speed is. If it isn't more than 256 kilobits per second you should check with your Internet provider to see if they offer a faster option. If you don't understand any of these numbers, learn more on the Understanding Upload/Download Speed page. In my mind, the ideal situation is that your entire backup happens overnight, preferably in an hour or two tops. A fast upload speed should get that done. Remember, you'll have antivirus sweeps, backups to external hard drives, disk defragging and other automated tasks so make sure there's the schedules don't walk all over each other if possible. In other words, try to schedule these things at different times of the night (or whenever you run yours). Check Jungle Disk out at JungleDisk.com, I know you won't be sorry. |
Security Tip Of The Week InfoWorld on Aug 5th, 2010, Roger A. Grimes says, "If malware were biological, the world would be in the grip of the worst pandemic in history. In 2009, more than 25 million different unique malware programs were identified, more than all the malware programs ever created in all previous years (see the annual report from Panda Labs). That's a pretty incredible statistic. Malicious programs now outnumber legitimate ones by many orders of magnitude." Wow. |
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