Backup to protect before major OS upgrades.

Type of backups

Local

Local backup is simply a backup kept on a local device that you maintain control of. Usually and external hard drive or memory stick. Memory sticks have gotten so large many users have begun to use these instead of drives. External drives can be mechanical – HDD or solid-state – SSD drives. SSD drives handle shock much better than traditional HDD. If you use local backups you may want to store these devices when not doing a backup in a fireproof save or bank vault.

Local backups can be as simple as copying individual files and folders to the backup device. You may also choose to use local backup software that manages the backup including how many copies and when to execute.

Large local backups can also be moved to a NAS – Network Storage System. These will range in size from about 1GB to many TB.

Cloud/Remote

Cloud backup means copying your files to a remote location usually via the WEB.

This usually will be a commercial program and storage will cost based on the amount of data being stored and sometimes a data transmission fee may be charged. Simple cloud backups may include storing individal files and folders on remote drives like Microsoft’s OneDrieve and Google’s GoogleDrive. Some well-recognized backup systems on the commercial size include Carbonite, Acronis, and Backblaze. We have used Carbonite and Backblaze for remote backups here at E2 Computers. Acronis has been used of local NAS stored backups. All of the tools have similar capabilities and different parts of the software are easy and difficult. For cost reasons, we are using Backblaze now. Backblaze does not have some of the user-friendly features we found in Carbonite. Acronis backup has many options and makes it the most complex interface, however, they have simple setups for the novice too. Under our Managed Software, we can offer Acronis managed backup but many of our clients mostly non-corporate have found this option a little more expensive than they were expecting.

Currently, Backblaze is offering a new feature called Extended Version History allowing the users to retain all versions of backups from 1 to forever. Check out this option for your backup needs.

E2computers is a paid affiliate of Backblaze.

Tags: Acronis, Backblaze, backup, Carboinite, Data Breach, E2 Computers, Malware