Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning we get a small commission if you make a purchase through our links, at no cost to you. For more information, please visit our Disclaimer Page.
An online data backup solution is an excellent way to protect your valuable data. Online backup solutions are safe and secure ensuring your data will never be compromised and it will always be available when it is needed. Online solutions eliminate the need to purchase new hardware and are often cheaper in the end. Most people do not foresee the need for a backup solution until it is too late. Too many things can happen in the computing environment that could make you wish you had a solid backup of all of your data stored in a safe secure place.
Entire computer systems and all of the peripherals including external hard drives have been wiped out with a single lightning strike or power surge. What happens to your data when that happens is a very unforeseeable event but your data is lost just the same. A UPS or Surge Suppressor could help diffuse the power surge but what if it doesn’t?
An online backup solution eliminates the need to buy and maintain external hard drives or tape drives. Depending on the amount of data you need to back up, an online backup situation may not be a viable alternative but for the majority of individuals and businesses alike, the solution is perfect. There are many reasons you may be glad you had your data backed up with an online backup solution.
Table of Contents
Computers Crash
That is probably the number one reason to have your data backed up. Many things can happen to make a computer crash and lose all of your data along with the crash. Hard drives are only hardware and hardware does not last forever. You could try to boot up your computer one day and get a multitude of error messages saying your drive is no longer available. If you are a Windows user, you have probably experienced some sort of a crash. Windows has come a long ways but it can still become unstable enough to lose your data rather quickly.
Online Backup Solutions are Safe and Secure
The safety and security of your data is a very important issue. There was a time in the Internet age where the security of your data traveling over the Internet was questionable to say the least. A good online backup solution will encrypt your data before and while it travels through cyberspace. Some programs secure your data with 448-bit Blowfish encryption with 128-bit SSL support to keep your data safe during transport. It doesn’t get much more secure than that! Read More about Online Backup Security.
Automatic Backup
An online backup solution usually gives you a choice of a full or incremental backup of your data. For the first backup, you would want to do a full backup of all of your important files. Thereafter, you would choose to do an incremental backup so every time your data is changed, the software will automatically back it up at a time you specify.
Disaster Strikes
Depending on where you live, there is always the chance for some sort of natural disaster like flooding, hurricanes or tornadoes. When disaster occurs you probably wouldn’t have time to grab your computer and bring it to safety you will be thinking of saving yourself and your family. With an online backup solution in place, you know your data is secure somewhere a long ways away from the disaster so you can recover it at a later time. Even a not so natural disaster such as a fire would completely destroy everything stored on your computer and external drives. If you have really important data or sentimental pictures that you don’t want to lose, you should seriously consider backing up those files online to keep them safe and secure.
Here are some Recommended Online Backup Solutions:
Carbonite offers unlimited storage with their Personal plans so you will never need to upgrade your plan to get more space. There are three plans available; Basic, Plus and Prime each with a variety of features to suit your needs. The Basic plan covers all of your essential files stored on the computer. The Plus plan is a complete backup solution that allows you to backup your files to the cloud plus Mirror the Operating System files on a local external drive. The Prime plan does all of the above plus includes automatic video backup and in case of a disaster, all of you files can be shipped to you anywhere in the US. Hey you never know what could happen right? See our review of Carbonite or Learn more about the service here.
SugarSync takes the online backup solution to a new level. SugarSync is the only cloud backup solution that allows you to backup, sync and share files across an unlimited number of computers. That means you can access, edit and share any of your files from any PC – and whatever changes you make will automatically replicate across all your computers. SugarSync automatically synchronizes any photos you take on your mobile phone right to your computer. You can store documents, photos, music, video files – and once you are synced, you can access them from any web browser or smartphone. You can even share photo albums and stream entire music collections directly from the Internet. See our Review of the SugarSync Online Backup Solution. SugarSync is also available for business users to take advantage of the many file sharing, backup and collaboration tools available to keep productivity at a maximum and data loss to a minimum.
SOS Online Backup is one of the largest worldwide providers of online backup for consumers, small and medium businesses and IT/managed service providers. SOS Online Backup delivers simple yet powerful online backup that has become the industry’s top award winner, including Laptop Magazine’s Editor’s Choice and PC Magazine’s Editor’s Choice Award since 2006. The SOS Online Backup solution utilizes 11 data centers across multiple continents to keep your data replicated for added security. Also has an iPhone and BlackBerry App, File sharing, Web Access to your files and a built-in local backup option. See our review of SOS.
Norton Online Backup stores your files online so you can retrieve them anytime, anywhere using any computer connected to the Internet. You can get your files back fast whether you are at home, in the office, or on the road. Norton works with both Windows and Mac computers lets you search backup sets for specific files by keyword, simplifies file sharing and saves older versions of your backed up files. A trusted service by a trusted name.
