Backing Up your Files - Part 2: Nine steps to take for getting started with online backups

By Daniel Dern

Print Story | Email Story
Add to My Digital Landing

Related Articles

• Classrooms Get a Tech Edge
• Apple's Sweet Deal: Discounted Macs, Free iPods
• Twitter tackles the story of your life in 140 characters
• Amazon's Kindle ignites reader interest
• FAQ: Windows Vista

This is Part 3 of our series about online file backup services.  High-Speed Internet service makes it easy for you to use online backup services to save and protect your documents, photos and important files. 

Part 1 is How to Make Better Backups. Part 3 discusses is a sampling of Online Backup Services. We also have a video tutorial about backing up your files online.

If you have read part 1 in this series, you are ready to actually start choosing your provider and taking the steps necessary to protect your data.

Step 1. Make a copy of all your data files.

BEFORE trying any of the backup services, there are some standard precautions you should take. Your choices are to copy your files to a CD/DVD or a USB flash drive -- just in case something goes wrong. And once you make your copy, make sure to look at that backup for some of the files you know should be there so you know it worked.

Why bother? It's a standard precaution to make a backup copy before doing ANYTHING significant to your computer, since ANY new software program -- even updates and "patches" issued by Microsoft -- can freeze your computer or fry your data.

If you don't know how to do this, see if you can find a friend or family member who does, to help you.

Step 2. Organize your software IDs, "keys," and disks.

For any important software you've installed, find, if you can, the original CDs they came on, and make sure you've got the product IDs or other "activation keys." If your computer came with an "install" or "rescue" CD, find it.

Also, for any software you downloaded and bought, find and print out those keys. For example, Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Office, your anti-virus and anti-spyware tools. That should be enough information to let you re-install from any copy or download of the programs. (You should have this information all together somewhere, not on your computer, anyway.)

If you've been doing this all along, congratulations! You're more organized than 95% of your fellow home computer users.

Step 3. Figure out your backup requirements.

In order to select an online backup company, you'll have to answer a number of questions about your own needs. Start thinking about your answers to the following five questions:

Q1) How many computers do you want to back up? One? Two, perhaps a desktop and notebook? Several (all the ones your family uses)?

Q2) What type(s) of computer(s), meaning what operating system are they running? Microsoft Windows, Apple Mac (or Linux)? And what version, e.g. for Windows, XP, 2000, ME, 98 Second Edition (98SE), 98, or 95?

Q3) What information do you want to back up, and how much disk space does it add up to, very roughly? 50 megabytes? 200? 2 gigabytes? Don't worry about being too precise.

Some of the backup services' software will help you find and identify these files; some won't.

If you don't do a lot with your computer, or work mostly with small Microsoft Word and Excel files, you may not have a lot of data, and don't save most of your email, you may not have that much -- 50 to 100 megabytes.

But if you have a few hundred digital photos, and a dozen CD's worth of songs, and you might be edging up to a gigabyte, or over.

Keep in mind that a dozen or so CD's worth of music adds up to about a gigabyte.

Q4) Do you have broadband Internet access or dial-up? How often do you use your computer?

Some backup services will work with either; some will work less well with dial-up service. Also, if you're creating or changing lots of data, and have dial-up service, some backup services won't be a good choice. Also, is it connected to the Internet when you aren't using it? Do you leave your computer on, and online, overnight?

Q5) How much are you willing to spend to protect your data?

The price for basic backup service for half a gigabyte to two or three gigabytes currently ranges from free to about ten dollars a month. If you've got more data, or several computers, you could spend more. Don't assume that the more expensive ones are necessarily better, or more suited to your needs.

Step 4. Do your research and shop around.

Now that you've figured out what your requirements are for an online backup company -- what kind of computer it needs to support, what type of backup, how it charges, you can start shopping.

There are dozens of companies offering online backup service. Many also can be used for file-sharing (photos, music, video, etc.) and/or archiving (saving files you aren't keeping on your hard drive).

I'm unaware of any comprehensive list of online backup providers, but you can find many of these companies by entering "online backup" to Google or other search engines, and "online backup review" will turn up some lists and opinions of many of these companies. But you can start with <SIDEBAR 1> here with a list of providers.

Don't just go for the first company you find -- or the cheapest.

Remember, you're talking about financial records and personal information you don't want to lose -- or have stolen.

Picking an online backup provider shouldn't be a snap decision based on a little Googling plus reading what the Web site says.

"You're about to entrust this company with your checking account, credit card, and other financial data, and maybe personal family photos," points out mobile computing expert Chris De Herrera.

Also, not every company will fit your needs, in terms of what and how many computers, amount of data, or other concerns.

Here's a list of questions. Start by looking on the companies' Web sites for answers; call or email if you can't find satisfactory answers.

You should browse through as much of the Web site as possible, including pricing, any FAQs, and any 'Support' or 'Help' areas. Even if some of it doesn't make any sense to you, it's reassuring if that kind of information is posted.

Try to find three companies that meet your computer, data, budget, and other requirements.

Q1) Does the service meet your computer requirements?

• Will its software run on your operating system and version?
• Does it support the Web browser(s) you prefer to use?
• How many computers can you have under one account (if you have more than one computer)?
• Can you back up data on external storage (USB drives, external hard drives, network drives, etc)
• Will the backup work through your firewall (the software one on your computer, and/or your broadband router?

Q2) What is the price?

• What's the monthly/yearly minimum, for the amount of data you expect to backup?
• What are rates if you go over your quota (how much more per month)? Is there a contractual commitment?
• What happens if your paid subscription runs out? Will it hang onto your data, and for how long? Will you have to renew, in order to regain access to your files?

Q3) What are the details about what and how it does backups?

• Can the software do 'continuous' backups -- saving changes to a file each time you create or change one -- or does it only do backups at scheduled times?

• Does it do "versioning"? For example, if you make changes to your checkbook everyday, can you recover the version of the file from a week ago?

• Does it hang onto copies of files when you delete them from your computer? If so, for how long -- a week or a month?

• How easy is it to specify -- and change -- what files you want backed up? Can you specify "Don't back up these files or folders"?

• Does it support backup of Microsoft Outlook .PST files, or the "Microsoft BackupNow!" plugin to backup directly from MS Office applications? (assuming you use Outlook or Office, of course)

• Is the service backing up the entire file each time it changes, or just the changes? (For a big file, like your Outlook .PST file, it's an important distinction -- especially if you're on a dial-up connection.)

• Will the program, or the saving process, slow down your computer, or your Internet connection, or otherwise interfere with you actively working on your computer?

• Can you tell, by looking at Windows Explorer, what files have been backed up?

Q4) What kind of security (privacy) does it offer on your files -- and on the process of transferring your files? (Hint: Look for 'SSL connection' in their 'how our software connects' information.) What happens if you forget or lose your encryption "key" -- is your data forever locked up? Or does the service make a copy of the key?

Q5) Can you access your files from a different computer? Can you access your account and files from a Web browser, to retrieve files? What browser(s) and features(s) does it require, e.g. ActiveX, JavaScript, Java, cookies?

Q7) Can the backup software work at dial-up speeds? (Remember, even if you have broadband where you are, you may be traveling to places that don't.) If a backup is interrupted, does their software resume from where it left off, or have to start over? This is especially important for dial-up users.

Q8) Does it have a privacy policy (e.g., guaranteeing no one will look at the content of your files).

Yes, this is a lot of research on your part -- but remember, you're planning to trust this company to keep your data reliably and securely.

Step 5. Pick your provider and sign up for a trial account.

Believe it or not, you've done the hard parts, and are nearly done. The rest
should be easy. After all your research, you should have identified two or three companies that will fit your needs. So try one out to make sure the software really works with your computer, that you can figure out how to use it, and that you can recover files. Create a trial account (many providers offer free accounts for 30 days), download and install any software onto your computer, and do the following tasks:

• Identify files to be backed up. You might create a TEST directory, and save some files to it from the Internet -- some web pages, some pictures, etc.

• Create a text file, with NOTEPAD or WORDPAD. (Copy a recipe or news story from the web, for example). Print this file out.

• Do a backup on this TEST directory.

• After the backup has been done, delete one of the files from the TEST directory. (Write down the name of the file you've deleted.)

• Use the backup company's program or Web site to get to your account, and see if you can find, and retrieve, the file.

Step 6. Try a different provider if any of the above isn't to your liking.

Repeat step 5 with another trial account if you are finding it difficult to use the service you initially selected. Remember to delete the software from the first provider before you download something from another one.

Step 7. Setup your online backup for real.

Now that you are done choosing providers, follow the software's directions for identifying what files and folders you want backed up, which typically are:

• Decide what files/folders you want backed up, e.g. your Windows Desktop and "My Documents." (Some services' software will have 'wizards' to help you find these files, e.g. where your email is stored.)

• Decide when/how often you want backups done (unless it's 'continuous' backup.

Step 8. Start the initial backup.

Note: The first one may take an hour, even several hours, depending on how much data you're protecting, and other factors.

Once you've done this, you're done, in principle -- your computer(s) should be backing up your files, automatically.

However: after about a week, reconfirm the backup service is doing backups.
Repeat the "delete and recover" test. If the service is doing
"versioning," also see if you can recover an older version of a file you've changed during the week.

Step 9. Take time for some additional protection.

You are almost done. However, you should strongly consider still doing your own backups every so often -- weekly, monthly or quarterly -- to a CD or DVD, and putting that in your safety deposit box, or at a friend's house. Better a little too safe than very sorry!

After all, suppose your Online Backup Provider goes out of business, or is hit by a meteor? Or if your Internet connection goes down, and you need to recover a file? You might want to consider just burning a few CDs, as you did in step 1.

And that's it! You are now fully protected! Welcome to that small, exclusive club of computer owners.

Here are a sampling of various online backup providers in part 3.

This is Part 2 of our series about online file backup services.