| What is an Online Backup Service? |
An Online Backup Service is an Internet-based service
that allows computer users to routinely backup and recover
their important data using a secure and trusted server on
the Internet.
If you use your computer to create and save valuable data
for business or personal reasons, you should make some
type of backup of your important data to prevent a total
loss in the event of any kind of system failure or human
error. Simple data backup can be done by saving your data to
multiple locations, copying the data from its original
location to removable media, another hard drive, or another
computers hard drive on the network.
To make this task easier, specialized programs known as
Backup Software exist to aid users in regularly making a
backup copy of their data. Since some users are not
interested in managing the tasks necessary for maintaining
their
own backups, a new breed of backup software was created,
known as Online Backup Software. Online Backup software is
designed to routinely copy your important files to a
private, secure location on the Internet by securely
transmitting your data over your existing Internet
connection.
If you have a working Internet connection on your computer,
you can use BackupLive's Online Backup Service to keep
your important files safe from disaster on a daily basis.
|
| Does it make sense to use Online Backup if you have a
slow Internet connection? |
Depending on the speed of your connection and the size
of your backup, your initial backup over the Internet may
take several hours. Many people with large backup sizes and
slower Internet connections will often run their first
backup over the weekend. Once the first backup is completed,
each subsequent backup is usually a small amount of
data that can be backed up in just minutes over a slower
dialup connection.
Our software can also resume a cancelled backup, so you can
start the backup during your slow times and cancel it
during your busy times. The next time you start the backup,
it will pick up from where it was cancelled until the
entire backup is complete. However, generally, we recommend
at least 128kbps upstream. If you require an upgrade
to
your ADSL line, please contact us.
|
| What files should you select? |
Since your entire hard drive is likely to be much larger
than the amount of storage you have purchased on the backup
server, you should be selective in the files that you choose
for backup. In general, you can avoid backing up any
programs that you can reinstall from a purchased CD, such as
Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, etc.). Why pay for
storage of applications you can easily re-install? Try to focus
your selection on things like your "My Documents", "My
Pictures" or "My Music" folders and data files of your
important programs like accounting, income tax, contact
management, etc. The BackupLive software comes with
predefined filters, which allow you to automatically select
categories of files without knowing where all the files are
located. Check the online help for Filters to learn how
they can be used. If you are installing the client software
on the server, you may contact us so that we
can make sure your important data is backed up properly.
Some databases cannot be backed up at a file level.
|
| How do you delete files from the Backup server? |
In order to control how much data is stored on the
online backup server, your online backup software allows you
to view all of the data stored on the server and selectively
remove files from the server. To view the data stored
under your account, run your online backup software and
click on the folder tab labeled "Restore". In the left
windowpane, Right-Click on the Desktop icon and select "Get
Volume List from Server". This will show you each
computer that has been backed up to your account. Now you
can navigate the folders to see what data is stored on the
server. To delete files, click on the button with the Red
"X" to enable the Delete Files mode. Mark any files you wish
to delete by clicking your mouse in the empty box next to
the file(s) you wish to delete. Click the "Delete
Files Now" to issue the command to delete the selected files
from the server.
WARNING: Once a file is deleted from
the server, it can no longer be restored.
|
| Should you also have a local backup in addition to
online backup? |
It's up to you. We encourage people to do both local and
remote backup for absolute protection. Users that want an
added level of protection will perform local backups in
addition to their online backup. Local backups can allow you
to backup ALL of your files, while the online backup is a
great way to automatically store your critical files off-
site. When it comes to your important data, you can never be
too safe. Since everyone has different needs,
BackupLive sells a wide variety of backup software and
services to help you find the one that best fits your needs.
|
| What is the Personal Recovery CD/DVD? |
The Personal Recovery CD/DVD is a service that offers copies
all of your data from our servers onto CD(s) or DVD(s). This allows
you to restore the archive of your data from a CD without
requiring an Internet connection. This is great for
keeping long-term archives of your data or restoring large
amounts of data without connecting over a slow Internet
connection.
|
| What is a FastBIT backup? |
The FastBIT patching process is the core technology
behind our speedy backup service. The patching process
involves
the comparison of two different versions of the same file
and extracting the differences between the files. When the
differences are extracted from the two files, they are saved
into a new file and compressed into what is known as a
Patch. The patch file is often 85% to 99.9% smaller than the
file which the patch was extracted from originally.
In order to perform a FastBIT backup, the software has to
backup the files 3 times: the first backup is a full, the
next backup will perform an incremental, and the third
performs the first FastBIT backup.
|
| Why is FastBIT important? |
If you are an end-user, the efficiency of FastBIT will
dramatically reduce the time required to backup your data
from any network location, include slow dialup connections.
If you are the server administrator, FastBIT will minimize
your overall bandwidth utilisation for a large installed
base. FastBIT will also provide the most cost-effective
method of storing ongoing file histories for every user.
FastBIT backups can be 15 times smaller than the nearest
competitor. That means NovaNet-WEB will only need 10
Gigabytes for user data that would need up to 150 Gigabytes
of storage using competitive software for the same
amount of user data.
|
| What is the secret key? |
The secret key is a special text string used to encrypt
all data that is stored on the server. The secret key can be
changed at any time in between backups or restores. If the
secret key is forgotten or lost, the Backup Server
administrator may not be able to recover the data on the
server.
|
|
If I change my secret key, can I still restore old data?
|
When you change the secret key, the previous secret key
(and all keys before it if any) are encrypted together using
the latest secret key. This way, you need only remember the
latest key and do not have to be troubled with
remembering, potentially, many keys from past changes.
|
| What happens if I exceed my quota? |
In most cases, your account will allow you to exceed
your paid storage quota on the backup server. If you exceed
your quota, a message will pop-up on your
screen to notify you that you have exceeded your quota
and you are likely to incur an additional charge for the
additional storage used. Check your pricing plan to
determine the costs for additional storage.
|
| How often is my computer backed up? |
As often as you wish, because you set up the time and
frequency that works best for your schedule.
|
| How long does a backup take? |
The size of your backup, speed of your Internet
connection and amount of compressed data being transmitted
will
determine the length of time for the backup. Backups can be
incremental -- archiving only files that have changed
since the previous backup -- or full, to backup all of your
critical data. Cable modems, DSL and ISDN connections do
speed up the process but are not required. Your initial
backup and all full backups will take the longest because it
requires transmission of all data files in your backup set
to the offsite storage - not just the data that has
recently changed.
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