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Why should you backup your data on the Internet?

There are several reasons.

• The backup is located at a secure place for away from your computer.
• It's is easy to do.
• Free available disk space on your web site can be used for storage.
• Disk space on remote server can be used for storage.
• It's a practical backup solution for small businesses and home users.
• It's gives extra security for documents and files.

There are basically three different types of data backup you can make!

• Full Backup of the hard disk.
• Full disk image backup for fast recovery.
• Backup of specific files and folders.

Online backup of a complete hard disk is not practical to do. Although, it can be done. The size requirement and the transfer speed over the Internet makes it yet not powerful enough to do. However in the future complete backup of hard disks online will be more common. Backup over the Internet is best suited for storing limited numbers of specific files and folders.

To do this you need an FTP software which makes it possible to move files over the internet. FTP stand for "file transfer protocol" and is the most commonly used method of transferring files between computers over the Internet.

Use FTP transfer and backup to your web site or to a remote server as a safeguard of your vital data files!

Learn how at http://www.data-backup-and-storage.com/ftp-backup.html

Normally you don't need to backup all the content of your hard disk, to recreate your data.

To be able to make a full recovery of your data, make sure that you keep CD's of all your installation programs and operating system in a safe place. In addition, if you have installed software from the Internet you need to keep copies of the installation programs as backup together with the installation codes.

After you have done that, you need to identify the files and folders that are important to backup.

These are the files you use on a daily basis either in private or in your business. If you are using Windows this can be files in My Document folder and/or your Outlook email files.

These are the files you need to backup so that you can recreate your computer back to what it was if you have lost your data.

If you transfer files from your hard disk directly to the remote site you risk exposing your data to hackers. Your data are not secure from outside preying eyes.

To get full protection you should use a backup software to first create a backup file which is stored temporarily on you hard drive. This file is then transferred with an FTP program to the online server.

There are also a number of online backup services you can subscribe to for this purpose. They often use their own transfer protocol.

Online backups should be made at regular intervals. It is also a practical way to make backup if you use a laptop and are on the move, given you have access to an Internet connection, of course.

If you get a hard disk crash or if your computer gets lost, then you need to be able to recover your data back to what it was

The first step you have to take is to install the operation system and the software from the installation CD's which you have stored in a safe place.

Next step is to download the backup or backups you are keeping on the Internet.

If you store your backup on a web site or on a server you should make sure that the backup is encrypted so that nobody else is able to read it.

You must keep the server's username and password you are using as well as the password you use for encryption of the backup written down on paper in a safe place so that you can recreate your data.

Full backup can be made using other types of media such as tapes, DVD's, on different disks or on networks.

To do this you need to have access to such devices.

This will cost you money.

The memory requirement for today's computers has increased. The cost of regular backup on tapes or on DVD's is high.

If you are an entrepreneur or a home computer user, this may not be an option available for you.

What happens if your computer gets stolen?

What happen if the building you keep your computer are struck by fire and destroyed?

Laptop and mobile computer are especially prone to theft. Not only because it is easy to carry away, but also because it is easy to get money by selling.

Therefore, you need to make backup of your important data on a location that is different from where you have your computer. Internet backup of data files is an attractive and cheap solution.

Copyright 2005 Per Strandberg