miekiemoes' Blog: Backup your data frequently!

Monday, July 7, 2008

Backup your data frequently!

I've already discussed the backup option in Windows Vista previously - However, I'm still amazed that many people don't backup their important data at all, including companies.
A Dutch company contacted me today and asked my advice about a file infector which infected 6 of the 10 computers present there. They have tried several Antivirus Scanners and none of them could properly disinfect the files. Some files were properly disinfected, other files were corrupted after disinfection and some files couldn't be disinfected at all.
2 of the 6 infected computers couldn't load Windows anymore because of the malware present and the damage it already caused.
So I recommended them to format and reinstall Windows - After all, this is still the fastest and safest solution, ESPECIALLY since these computers are used for work.
There was one big problem.... there were no backups present. All the important data, documents and programs they used were never backed up.. ever! This is not the first time that I've helped someone with a company owned computer, crippled with malware, and no backups ever being made.
That's why I can't stress enough how important it is that you backup your data frequently. As a matter of fact, not only companies, but everyone should invest in Backup Software and backup frequently.

There are 2 types of backup software. File Backup Software and Disk Imaging Software.

File Backup Software is designed to backup important files and folders on your computer such as documents, some programs, emails, pictures, music, etc.. Most of the File Backup Software has an option to backup your data automatically.
The File Backup Software I recommend are:

* Handy Backup
* Genie-Soft Backup Manager
* Double Image
* BackupNow!
* Acebackup

Disk Imaging Software is designed to be a complete system recovery solution. This one creates an exact copy of your hard disk, including programs installed, registry, all computer data etc. So in case of disk failure, you can restore it with the image you backed up.
Disk Imaging Software I recommend are:

* Acronis True Image
* Norton Ghost
* Paragon Drive Backup
* NovaBackup

Don't wait until it's too late, backup your data today!

Comments (3)

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Blackbird / Stanley · 872 weeks ago

I even don't use special software for it. Just copy/paste the files on an USB-stick, and there's your back-up. Just as you know Miekie, some peeple say that it's too much work to back-up. Just as I said, copy/paste the files to an USB-stick... I don't think that's too much work, or is it?

2 replies · active 364 weeks ago

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miekiemoes 47p · 872 weeks ago

This all depends what backup option you prefer. Disk imaging or backing up single files. For the second option, you can indeed do it manually and copy/paste files to a flashdrive/cd/whatever. But people still prefer file backup software since you can shedule it to do it automatically. The same as for disk imaging software btw.

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Blackbird / Stanley · 872 weeks ago

Yes, that's right. But as a particular person I think you don't need to make images... That's more something for companies (to my opinion).
I think a USB/CD etc is enough for a particular.

But what I only wanted to say is that people don't want to spend time for creating backups: "It's not needed" (Mij overkomt het niet, in Dutch).
People should know what you're saying in this article: When you don't make backups, there could be disasters when you get malware...