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| Recent Backup and Recovery Articles from free-backup.info X-Drive and Internet Backup Walter Stevens is a contributor at Free-backup.info -- the home of the popular Amazon S3 based online backup service -- Back2zip. This article available at http://free-backup.info/x-drive-and-internet-backup.html What is Internet Backup?Internet backup involves the backing up of your files online. Unlike traditional forms of backup, which require you to have a physical medium on which to store your backup files, such as a floppy disk, CD-R or key drive, internet backup is done completely online. You upload your files to an online server, then can download them again at any time that you desire. It functions as an extra drive on your computer without actually being on your computer, freeing up your computer space and allowing you to backup your files without worrying about diskettes, CDs or removable drives.X-Drive and Internet BackupThe x-drive is an excellent product in the world of internet backup. It serves as an online drive that can be used for storage, backup or the transmission of files. It is similar to having another drive installed on your computer, but you can access it from any computer in the world with an internet connection and requires you to physically move nothing, unlike CD-ROMs or floppy disks. X-drive is found at www.x-drive.com. The drive can hold 5 gigabytes of data. At the current time there is only one size x-drive, but this could change in the future. 5 gigabytes is quite a bit of storage, and can hold a lot of your files. Backup is a very important thing in this computer age. Great damage can be caused by a power surge, system crash or even a computer virus, resulting in the loss of your computer files. Having backups of your files is an excellent way to secure your data and make sure that no matter what harm may befall your computer, you will always have access to your important files. Using a form of internet backup such as the x-drive is a powerful way to backup your files. Physical media such as CD-ROMs or floppy disks can become damaged themselves, and you can find yourself unable to access your data even from your backups. With online storage, you know you will always be able to access your files, and you can move your files wherever you go or whenever you change computers quickly and easily.How do I Get an X-Drive for my Internet Backup?In order to purchase your x-drive, you must go to the internet address of the x-drive found at www.x-drive.com. The drive gives you 5 gigabytes of storage, which is quite a bit of storage, more than you will find on any physical backup medium. It is one of the more powerful tools for internet backup, and is fairly inexpensive costing only 10 dollars a month. For those new to internet backup or the x-drive, they also offer a free 15 day trial so that you might test their system and see if you feel that it works for you. This is an excellent offer, and can greatly assist you in your computing efforts. It is always smart to backup your computer, and the x-drive can make your backup go easier and smoother than you ever imagined.What is an Online Backup? Andrew Whitehead is a contributor at Free-backup.info -- the home of the popular Amazon S3 based software for online data backup -- Back2zip. This article can be found at http://free-backup.info/what-is-an-online-backup.html What is an Online Backup?An online backup offers an alternative to optical or tape backup solutions. While traditional methods can be very effective, they require capital to set up and staff to operate them. An online backup system avoids these problems.Online Backup Works Like ThisThe online backup provider supplies a software agent to be installed on the computer to be backed up. This busy piece of software allows the user to select the files to be backed up, manages the internet connection, encrypts and compresses the data before transferring it across the internet to a secure, remote location, and allows the user to view and restore the backed up documents.The Benefits of Online BackupOnline backups offer several advantages. The main one is the disaster recovery offered by offsite storage but there are also several advantages in terms of ease of use. No capital outlay is required for purchasing new equipment. There are no ongoing media costs or staff costs, running costs are limited to paying a monthly fee. Setup and installation is a simple matter of downloading the software, and takes only a few minutes to set up. Data recovery is equally fast, as there is no searching for the right tape or waiting for IT staff to recover lost data. The backup process itself is completely automated which ensures that it gets done, and the backed up files can then be accessed by anyone with permission, allowing file sharing with traveling colleagues, clients, or home PCs.The Limitations of Online BackupAn intrinsic characteristic of online backup is that it relies on an internet connection. For smaller data volumes a dial-up connection may be adequate, but permanent broadband connection able to handle significantly larger volumes is a necessity in most cases. Whatever type of connection is used, the initial backup will take a long time. A complete copy of the data must be encrypted, compressed, and copied. This initial copy could possibly be unrealistically long if a large amount of data is being sent over a dial up connection, although most online backup providers will allow the user to break off and resume the backup later. Once this initial backup is complete, subsequent backups will only backup files that have been changed, making them a lot faster.Security of Online BackupsThough some may have understandable concerns about a third party holding their most valuable data, in reality online backups are very secure. Before being transferred, the backup data is encrypted to 128-bit level - military grade - making it effectively impossible for any one to intercept or decrypt the data. The user is the only person who can read it. Another common concern is about the security of the data storage center itself. These are invariably class-A facilities equipped with fire suppression, security cameras, personnel access controls, backup electricity generators, using multiple ISPs, high-end firewalls, and clustering and mirroring techniques to ensure the stored data is always available to clients. Except in exceptional cases, the storage premises will be more secure than the client's own premises.Why Do I Need to Backup My Data? Walter Stevens is a contributor at Free-backup.info -- the home of the popular tool for online backup and recovery -- Back2zip. This article can be found at http://free-backup.info/why-do-i-need-to-backup-my-data.html What is Data Backup?Data backup involves the storing of files from your computer in another location. In this way, if there is ever any loss of data on your primary machine, you still have your data in backup in order to restore those files. In the world of computers loss of data can be devastating, and while there are possibilities for recovery of data after a disaster it is far easier to restore your files from backup than to attempt to find your data on a crashed hard drive.Why do I Want to Backup My Data?Data backup is easy to do and can save you great amounts of time as well as ensure that your data is secure in the case of disaster. Data recovery is a very difficult, time consuming and expensive process, and it is not even assured that you will be able to recover your data from a system crash. Backup does not take much time, as it is easy to put your files onto another medium, and is not too expensive, depending upon what mediums you use to backup your data. There are many different options for data backup, and you will have to choose the one that is best for you.What is the Best Data Backup Option for Me?The traditional floppy disks of a few years ago have become essentially obsolete, and it is not surprising considering the limitations of that medium, and the new technologies that have become available in the meantime, such as CD-Rs, DVD-Rs, online backup and key drives. These are all very powerful tools which can hold far more data than a 3.5 inch floppy could ever dream of holding. One of the most powerful new data backup utilities is the key drive. These key-chain sized drives can hold up to a gigabyte more of data, depending upon the size purchased, and will not scratch or damage as easily as a floppy disk or even a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM. You can purchase a key drive for as little as $20, and it will plug directly into you computer and be able to be immediately be used.CD-R, DVD-R versus CD-RW, DVD-RWCD-Rs, CD-RWs, DVD-Rs and DVD-RWs are also very powerful tools for data backup. CD-Rs and DVD-Rs are very inexpensive, costing less than a dollar a disk oftentimes. However, these devices do have the limitation of only being usable once. Once your CD-R or DVD-R is finalized, it is finished. You can access data from the disk, but you cannot write any more data onto the disk. This is not the case with CD-RW and DVD-RW. CD-RW stands for CompactDisk-ReWritable, and unlike a normal CD-R they can be rewritten any number of times. However it should be pointed out that they are not as manipulable as a traditional floppy disk, where you can save and take off files very easily. Each time you want to rewrite your disk, you must rewrite the entire disk and go through the entire burning process. However, this is still an excellent way to backup your data as a CD-RW or DVD-RW can hold hundreds of thousands of megabytes, respectively. You need to backup your data, and there are many ways that you can do so.Wonderful Ways to Have a Handy Backup of Your Files James Fohl is a contributor at Free-backup.info -- the home of the best online backup software -- Back2zip. This article can be found at http://free-backup.info/wonderful-ways-to-have-a-handy-backup-of-your-files.html Wonderful Ways to Have a Handy Backup of Your FilesDo you always want to carry a handy backup copy of your website, photos or music collection? Let's face it, some users want to have the ability to have a backup copy of their files so that they can show their friends their latest photos wherever they maybe. Whether it's at an internet cafe or the local library, a lot of people wishing they had their files don't because carrying around a large CD-R just isn't very handy. Luckily, the recent years have lead to an explosion in handy little ways to allow you to always be able to carry a backup of your files. First off are the little flash memory sticks that are being produced by literally every computer company on the face of the earth. Most are smaller than a pack of Wrigley's chewing gum, but have the ability to store tons of data. Talk about handy!Handy flash memory based keychains starting at around fifteen dollars are perfect storage mediums for backup files.Starting at around fifteen dollars, a user can go out and buy a 128 megabyte memory keychain. Plug it into your computer's USB port and boom; easy access to your files. Since the memory keychains utilize the USB port for their power, users do not need to worry about carrying a power pack, or replacing batteries. The small flash memory units are extremely handy because you can literally take your backup files anywhere you go. If you are saying to yourself that 128 megabytes is simply not enough for your backup file, then continue to read on.The handy size of the keychains allow users access to gigabytes of space for their backup files.In under the size of a pack of gum, flash memory keychains exist that have the ability to store gigabytes of data. Not just megabytes, but gigabytes. Although one gigabyte units start at fifty dollars, they are extremely handy when compared with large CD-R discs.Business card sized CD-Rs are another handy media for transporting backups of your files.If you are against the whole flash media brigade for whatever reason, and wish to stay with good old CD-Rs, then business card CD-Rs are for you. Business card CD-Rs are handy little CDs that are kept in a small protective case the size of a business card. While they can easily be stored in a wallet, they have a limit of around fifty megabytes for your backup files. Also, users utilizing the handy sized CD-R discs for their backup needs should also be very cautious about using the media in their CD drives. A lot of CD burners, as well as normal CD-ROM units do not support the disc. Always check the manual of your CD-ROM drive to see if it supports business card sized CDs, otherwise you may loose your disc in the unit. While business card CD-Rs ultimately look cool, they just aren't as handy as flash based memory keychains. While the keychains are more expensive, they are more durable, have much more space for your backup needs, and are supported in a lot more computer systems than the card CD-R counterparts.Weaknesse in Computer Forensics Andrew Whitehead is a contributor at Free-backup.info -- the home of the popular Amazon S3 based software for online data backup -- Back2zip. This article can be found at http://free-backup.info/weaknesse-in-computer-forensics.html Weaknesses in Computer ForensicsWithin the field of computer forensic science, as in any relatively young discipline, there are weaknesses to be found. In computer forensics the main culprits are training, operational standards, and international standardization.Computer Forensic TrainingThere are many private organizations offering computer forensic seminars and classes. With the growth of computer crime, computer forensic training is a worthwhile investment for any organization - but who should receive it? Computer forensic evidence is very volatile, to preserve it law enforcement personnel should be trained to handle it. Network operators should also be trained, to improve their abilities in intrusion detection, and lawyers should receive some training to give a basic understanding of computer evidence.Operational Standards in Computer ForensicsComputer crime, perhaps more than any other, can be international in scope. There is a need for basic guidelines for the evidence collection process to be established worldwide. This ranges from broad principle that apply to nearly every investigation, through organizational practices so that a minimum standard of planning, performance, monitoring, recording, and reporting is maintained, to recommended procedures, software, and hardware solutions.International Standardization of Computer ForensicsDifferent countries each have their own computer forensic methods, standards, and laws. What is acceptable evidence in one country may not be in another. This is a serious problem when dealing with international crimes, as computer crime often is. The Internet may have no boundaries, but law enforcement does. Investigations that leap from server to server, from country to country, crossing many borders on the way are complicated not only by evidence handling differences, but also by political differences and legal differences. There are some countries in which the networks are owned and controlled by government agencies, who may have little or no reason to cooperate with foreign governments investigating a crime. What is considered to be hacking in the US is not considered to be a crime in other countries, protecting the individual that committed the crime. Fortunately efforts are being made to bring some standardization to procedures regarding digital evidence. The G8 group has recommended six principles for digital evidence gathering:- 1) All standard forensic and procedural principles must be applied. 2) Upon seizing digital evidence, actions taken should not alter the evidence. 3) People accessing the original digital evidence should be trained to do so. 4) All activities relating to the seizure, access, storage, or transfer of digital evidence must be completely documented. 5) Individuals are responsible for all actions taken while the digital evidence is in their possession. 6) Any agency that is responsible for seizing, accessing, storing, or transferring digital evidence is responsible for complying with these principles. This is a start in standardizing computer forensic evidence gathering procedures but there is still a long way to go. Many countries have not adopted these recommendations, and probably will not if they do not have the necessary training resources. The sting in the tail is that these are the countries that pose the greatest computer crime threat. |
