Storing documents online

isofa

I think you need to have a multi-layered approach to backing up, if you just choose one option, such as an external backup, you won't be fully protected. And what if you leave it all at home/office, and there is a theft or fire?

Personally, this is my strategy:

1. I back everything up on an large external drive once a week or more frequently. This is a incremental encrypted backup, and only takes a few minutes.

2. For important/crucial files, I back these up more frequently on a USB memory stick.

3. I also carry an encrypted memory stick with me containing essential files, documents and e-mail archives which I update reasonably frequently.

4. I burn DVD backups (in rotation) of my working files and documents monthly - this takes a bit longer 15 to 20 minutes, as I do a full working backup of various file areas, to ensure I have a full set, rather than a potentially flaky incremental DVD set.

5. I also use Mozy's on-line backup, not for everything but for a set of very important files, things I really couldn't live without if I lost everything. This gets refreshed every couple of weeks.

6. I store a similar set of important files on another private on-line server (in addition to Mozy).


When I was at Uni, I had a hard drive error on a system, and didn't have a full backup (although had 80% of everything in various versions on ancient floppies!). But potentially I could have lost some work, I was lucky, quickly purchasing an external drive, backing it all up, wiping and reinstalled the main system and when copying all the files back, everything was fine. However since then (many years ago), backups have become part of my life!

buglawton

Belt, braces, suspenders and all!

timbim_2

Backup onto an external hard disk, stick it in a fireproof box then in a safe, and don't get it out again until backup time the next day.

brightonman123

putting stuff online means that it is possible someone else could get hold of them.. despite what security is offered..

personally i would get a (cheap nowadays?) external drive, and do a backup each day (at least), and take home with you.

superscaper

brightonman123 wrote: »

putting stuff online means that it is possible someone else could get hold of them.. despite what security is offered..

Not if you put it in a truecrypt container first, even if someone could crack the online company's encryption (not been done so far and I doubt any of us are important enough to devote entire supercomputers for years just to see our emails to our mums). Definitely recommend Truecrypt, even if you don't trust the company's not to put a backdoor in their encryption programs etc, a Truecrypt folder would be pretty much the closest thing to mathematically uncrackable at the moment, in fact there's no current known way of cracking it. We're talking such unlikely events that it's far more likely someone (or even authorities) would just break into your house and take your computer and hard drives. In fact it's probably statistically more likely you'd get your computer stolen and the backup you keep at granny's house stolen at the same time.

Lifeisbutadream

brightonman123 wrote: »

putting stuff online means that it is possible someone else could get hold of them.. despite what security is offered..

personally i would get a (cheap nowadays?) external drive, and do a backup each day (at least), and take home with you.

My office is at home and I dont really have anywhere else to store anything.

isofa

brightonman123 wrote: »

putting stuff online means that it is possible someone else could get hold of them.. despite what security is offered..

personally i would get a (cheap nowadays?) external drive, and do a backup each day (at least), and take home with you.

Anything I backup online is secured with a strongest security in a Truecrypt container, as per superscaper's post. Nothing is more secure at the moment IMO.

isofa

buglawton wrote: »

Belt, braces, suspenders and all!

Absolutely! Some of the projects I work on I just couldn't afford to lose.

You can never backup enough! :beer:

Stompa

superscaper wrote: »

Not if you put it in a truecrypt container first

Agreed, though the disadvantage is that you can't simply backup changed files, you have to backup the entire container each time.

superscaper wrote: »

a Truecrypt folder would be pretty much the closest thing to mathematically uncrackable at the moment...

Though of course that doesn't necessarily mean it will never be crackable, and once it's online it's at risk of being copied.....

superscaper

Stompa wrote: »

Though of course that doesn't necessarily mean it will never be crackable, and once it's online it's at risk of being copied.....

That's why I said at the moment but even then AFAIK with the second layer of plausible deniability I don't think there's even the maths to determine the information from noise, never mind the technology. Although if you've got data THAT sensitive that you're thinking years/decades ahead, would you really want to have any/as many backups of it anyway?