If you have photos, important emails and documents on your computer, you need to be backing them up. Everyone should understand this, but many times, companies go about it the wrong way. Natural disasters, thieves, hardware failures and security breaches can all take away your data. In most cases, recovery options are available, but they are slow and costly. Instead, online backup services can help.
Locally backing up your information is easy and inexpensive, and should be done. However, if you store the external hard drive or DVDs in the same location or locally, you could still have a problem.
Online Backup Not The Same As Cloud Storage
Most people don’t realize that cloud storage isn’t the same as backing up files through the Internet. Storage options give you regular access through mobile apps, Internet and desktop apps and usually integrates into your current OS. Cloud backups are different because they are always running in the background, uploading your data when it’s changed. You probably won’t notice anything because it’s non-intrusive. However, if you need the data that’s stored, it could be a little tricky, though not impossible.
File Restrictions
Some companies that handle backups of data will put limitations on what can be backed up. In some cases, you can manually ask the program to back up certain things, but some just aren’t supported, such as .DLL and .EXE applications.
Some companies offer back-up options for almost all files, so if you need them, consider those instead of the others.
It may not make sense to require certain things, such as .EXE files because they are installers or program launchers. However, if you have a lot of old programs that you still use, you won’t have them after you back everything up.
External Drives
Again, external drives are a necessary part of business and can help tremendously, but not all service options back them up or cover them. Many people use external drives to store documents, photos, and videos, so it can be a necessary part of backing things up. Even if you do find services that are willing to back them up, they will likely place restrictions on you.
Bandwidth Limits
Initial backups can take a long time because everything has to be backed up that’s on the computer, not counting anything else you add or change. Many companies are offering extremely low bandwidth choices so that it can take up to a year to fully back things up.
