How to use Net as hard disk
19 Jan 2008, 1546 hrs IST,IANS
NEW DELHI: Backing up data is no fun.
Often, comfort wins over practicality and backups are a casualty. One way to
ensure that backups are made regularly is to set up services that store the data
online.
“The fact that data can be stored online is a great
advantage,” explains Michael Knott, senior editor at the online magazine
Netzwelt.de. Users can access their stored data from any Internet-connected
computer.
“The danger that DVDs or hard drives back at home
will become unusable through wear, fire or water damage is eliminated,”
adds Jaroslav Smycek, a computer expert at the Consumer Central for Lower
Saxony, Germany.
No specialised technical knowledge is needed. The
setup runs smoothly: the backup services generally offer software that
automatically transfers the data from the home computer to the servers of the
service provider.
“You can specify which files should be
backed up at what intervals,” Knott says.
Online backups
sometimes cost nothing. Xdrive, a service owned by AOL, offers 5 GB of free
storage space. Mozy offers 2 GB for nothing. The US-based services are available
for everyone.
German users who prefer service in their own language
can try Azillo or the Swiss service MyDrive. The free storage options are either
ad financed or serve to draw attention to other services.
Some
services offer more extensive choices but cost money from the start.
Holland-based Carbonite charges almost $50 per year for its online backup or
just under $90 for two years -- although with unlimited storage space.
Apple fans can buy a Mac account to receive 10 GB of Web storage for
backups, homepages and emails, at a cost of around $100 per
year.
Storage capacity is not the only factor, however. Another key
concern is how data is uploaded and downloaded. Most services include limits on
transfer volumes.
“Assurances of the availability of the data
in the event that your home hard drive crashes should be reviewed in each
service's general terms and agreements,” says Marit Hansen, a technology
expert at the Independent State Centre for Data Protection Schleswig-Holstein in
Kiel.
She says using an online backup service is an issue of trust:
“Users have no way to check how securely data is stored by the
provider.”
It's advisable to stay away from websites still in
beta status, because during the test phases they cannot guarantee the security
of the data.
“While there are no long-time companies in this
young field, it's still generally a good idea to go for the providers who have
repeatedly done well in tests,” Knott recommends. That includes Xdrive,
Mozy, or Carbonite.
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