Q: What if we already have a tape backup system?

Using a tape backup system and a remote backup system offers the best of both worlds. Critical files, like billing, customer contact files and databases can be kept on the remote backup system. While, the tape system can be used to create a full backup of the entire system once or twice a month, instead of on a daily basis. The tapes and drive will last longer and require less maintenance. The remote backup system can provide a quick and easy way to retrieve critical files and databases without the hassle of searching through tapes.

Q: What if we already have a Zip drive?

Frankly, we believe that it is not optimal for most users should not use a zip or other removable disk media for backup. A remote backup service is completely automated and has the required file redundancy to protect important data. The only safe way to use a zip drive for backup is to have three disks and make the same backup three times. That way when one of the disk fails you are still protected.

Q: How long will a remote backup take?

Offices with high-speed internet connections should find this service comparable with tape drives. Dial up users will be able to do incremental backups in thirty to sixty minutes. The initial backup can take several nights to complete. We recommend backing up the most important files first and then selecting other files as the backup progresses. Or, the initial backup can be run over the weekend. Also, for a small charge we can come to your office and make the initial backup of your system.

Q: Onsite, Offsite - What's The Difference?

Basically, remote backups work like regular tape backups, with one important difference. Instead of sending backups to a tape drive or other media attached to the computer being backed up, a remote backup sends encrypted file data over the internet to a computer file storage system safely off-site.

This usually happens at night while your business is closed and nobody is using the computers. It's completely automatic. In fact, you may forget it's working every night.

Q: Why Are Remote Backups Considered More Beneficial?

The data is immediately stored off-site using an automated backup system. Also, only an internet connection is needed. Completely eliminating the need for expensive backup equipment and media. And, since the system is automated, manual labor is eliminated.

Q: How Secure Are Remote Backups?

Very. All files are encrypted using Blowfish encryption which is setup with their own personal encryption code which is only known by the user of the system. DES 128 bit encryption is used by the federal banking system. We use 448 bit Blowfish encryption and it has never been cracked by a hacker.

Q: What is encryption?

Encryption is basically a mathematical formula that scrambles a data file. And the only way to unscramble it is with the encryption code.

Q: How will I know that it is working?

Every night as soon as the backup completes, the server will send you an email. The email will contain information such as the time it completed, number of files, and backup size. It will also tell you the total bytes, and percentage of your quota.

Q: My computer is new, it won't break anytime soon. Why should I use this service?

The hard disk is the only component in the PC where a failure means you have a much bigger problem on your hands than merely getting replacement hardware--you have to worry about your data! For this reason, you need to make sure that you have made regular backups of your data, so when you do a failure you do not loose all of your important information. As with power supplies and some other components, MTBF for hard disks stands for mean time between failures. It gives an estimate of the quality of the drive by approximating the number of hours that will elapse between failures when a group of drives of this type are run for millions of aggregate hours under ideal conditions. It does not mean how long you should expect any particular drive to continue running. A model with a significantly larger MTBF figure can be reasonably predicted to last longer than one with a smaller value, but remember that these are just engineering estimates. Also lets not forgot that there are other reasons why you can loose your data. For example - viruses, spyware, accidental deletions. Also be aware that acts of nature can wipe out your computer and your backups, such as hurricanes, fires, and flooding. Where do you keep your backups?

Here are some statistics.