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One of the concerns of many people who consider performing online backups is the matter of security. You are uploading sensitive stuff to a foreign site. Can anyone from within read this stuff? And what if the site is hacked and white collar thieves living in some foreign country get hold of the data? What would happen?

One solution is to protect each and every document using a password. Many programs have such a capability built in.  For many one, two or three person organisations this solution could work; the people would password protect every file using a phrase that is shared amongst colleagues. As the number of employees increase, guaranteeing that everyone is obeying the rules makes this solution one that is too problematic. Besides certain file types cannot be password protected.

The script I am sharing is one that addresses this problem. It makes use of the commercial product WinRar to archive an entire directory (including subdirectories) into a RAR file. The RAR file name is user definable and is placed in a folder under C:\RSB. The RAR archive is password protected using a password passed to the script. The script is called rsb.cmd.

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Very recently, I read an article by W. Curtis Preston (at SearchDataBackup.com) about remote online backup services. As this blog, deals with data backups I would like to comment about some points. W. Curtis Preston is an executive editor at TechTarget and independent backup expert. 

Preston starts his article by pointing out the major setback of remote online backups that is the first full backup execution time and mentions the seating option. The seating option is when a service provider offers the customer to shift a complete set of all data through a physical means such as, removable drives. In addition, he mentions the long backup time that the initial full backup job would take and the bandwidth limitations associated with large uploads of data. This is true and I would consider these factors as the only limitations of remote online backups as we stressed out in our previous articles – click here for more articles - In fact, we both agree that home users and SMBs are the ideal customers of these services.

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Data deduplication is a data backup process that eliminates duplicated data. At first thought, one may think that the word deduplication means the negation of duplication! Although, this is what happens in data deduplication that connotation is not the right one! Actually, the word deduplication means the division of that which is one whole into two or more pieces. In fact, the data deduplication mechanism divides data into blocks or chunks of bits in order to eliminate the redundant pieces within data.

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A remote or online backup solution is the way forward for off-site data protection. Due to regulatory compliance some corporations are holding back from going to this direction, however, much work is being made in this area and soon we have providers that will provide such conformity. On the other hand, the majority of SMBs that have no specific regulatory requirements and certainly most households should consider this platform as their main off-site backup solution.

Nevertheless, SMBs and households should not forget to backup their data locally first and then use a remote storage location as a second means of protection - my advice is:

 

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Are online backup and recovery solutions cheaper than the counterpart traditional solutions? Before I deal with this argument I would like to point out a few points: – online backups provide an offsite disaster recovery solution, you can access your data from anywhere given that you have an internet connection and additionally, you will be enjoying the expertise and the scalability of big vendors.

Online backups offer cheaper costs per GB for the same functionality because you only pay for what you use. :) The costs include the storage used, bandwidth consumed and other related services. Data security is based on the latest encryption algorithms and adequate auditing features would place the end-user’s mind at rest!

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With today’s inexpensive and large-sized disk drives, disk-to-disk backups have become the default choice for many SMBs! However, off-site backup procedures require the use of tapes and hence, the use of related peripherals such as tape drives. Traditional backup methodologies bring along the need for more storage space and a sharp increase in operational costs! Although, data archives and off-site backups have their advantages, and are a must when meeting compliance regulations they must adhere to more rigid safeguards such as, encryption mechanisms and safe storage. Adequate drills need to be put in place to test recovery procedures on regular basis. Traditional methods create data duplication. To eliminate duplication of data, various methods and applications were created which are known as data de-duplication. Data de-duplication improves data protection, increases the speed of service, and reduces costs.

Why online backups are the way forward – because they provide:

1. User friendly backup/restore applications
2. Native off-site and archival services
3. Reduce secondary storage requirements through data de-duplication concepts
4. Intelligent data transfer methods through hashing algorithms
5. Safe – same data protection means such as, encrypted storage and connection
6. Scalability for future growth
7. Cheaper TCO (total cost of ownership)
8. Introduce pay-per-use concepts
9. Data retrieval anywhere-anytime concepts

The following are a couple of flash animations to demonstrate how online backups function. I’ll add more animations to cover different scenarios soon.

RSync: The first time a file is transfered

RSync: What happens when the source file changes.

You may not know Sgt Troy Dally; you probably never attended Pastor Michael Guisande sermons; Cassie Bond is probably not listed as a friend on your Facebook, MySpace or Hi5 page and 21 year old Mark Leatham rings no bell. These are four people who have had their computer stolen. Troy’s laptop computer and external hard disk were in a backpack that went missing; Pastor Guisande’s computer was stolen from his church; Cassie and Mark suffered a similar predicament.

These people did not have any military sensitive information on their computers; they didn’t even have the personal details of members of their local soccer club or church choir. They didn’t make the headlines because the value of their desktop or notebook computer was gynormous. Pastor Michael lost 20 years of sermons;  Troy’s laptop and external hard disk contained photos he had taken while serving in Iran as well as digital images of his house which burned down while he was away in Iran; Cassie’s home computer held the last photos she had taken of her dad before he died; Mark’s notebook contained the last photos of his mum who died after suffering from a rare degenerative condition called Pompe disease.

It’s not the cost of replacing the computer that bothers these people; some have even stated that they would be happy to get the contents of their computer back and have promised that if someone hands them a DVD or the notebook’s hard disk with their personal stuff they would not ask any questions. Their personal stuff is worthless to anyone else. Cassie summed it up by stating that “It’s really distressing to know that someone could just wipe all that off and sell it for money”.

These are four of the hundreds of computer thefts that take place every day of the year. These people don’t live in a bad neighborhood; they come from Australia, England, United States, and every country that has computers and crime. Had these people had a Remote Backup solution they would not have found it necessary to become one of the pages of a newspaper. A Remote Backup account allows you to backup your important files over the internet at lightening speed. The number of backups one can take is unlimited. Irrespective of whatever happens to the computer sitting in your backpack or on a desk at home, your data will never cease to exist. Remote Backups turn a disaster into a minor inconvenience.

In a connected world Remote Backups are something we cannot live without.