Tag: back up software

What is backup really worth to you? Top 5 Backup software!

Paul

Via Wikimedia.org

We’ve all had that done to us!

In the last few months we have had this very bad ransomware called Cryptolocker, and just how many people don’t really back up their important files.   I am going to alliviate some of this by talking about a few of the ways you could prevent this from happening in the first place.

This is not going to be a why it happened sort of blog post but more to the point of which backup software works best to help keep thos jpegs, and video files save from malicious acts.   Even the best security advise can not help you if you don’t help yourself so this is not a 100% guaranttee but at least it will head you in the right direction.

  • Mozy comes with both a trial version and even a free 5 gb version.   Each of these can help you save you files.   I personally have tried the free version and love it.  Although it isn’t my current backup plan.  I’ve used it in the past and still think it is better than nothing!
  • Google Drive comes with 15 gb free space and can let you share files to other people easily and simply.  I have this one with a 100 Gb plan for 2 years due to my Acer Chromebook.  That is one of the perks of buying a Chromebook.  You get free space for two years.  It also allows me to use this as a mapped drive.  
  • Carbonite which I haven’t used for a long time, has been vetted by tons of experts.   It also has a 15 day trial for one computer unlimited space.   It has helped some people with keeping it in the cloud storage solution.
  • Dropbox is another Good service.   It allows you to share files quite easily and securely.   I haven’t used this service because I don’t need to.   I however have used it in the past and it works really well.
  • Just Cloud is the last one I would recommend visiting.  It can be used on any system and has unlimited storage.  Free Apps and multiple computer backups and shares files with friends.

On a side note, I use Always Sync with Google Drive to keep all my files sync with my laptop.   It however doesn’t need to be used with my Google Chrome. A simple 16 gb to 32 Gb SD card or USB drive can keep your files backed up on your Chromebook.   Some of these do not need to use Always Sync but in most cases unless you have a way to do an offline back up then your still vulnerable.   You can always buy a 500gb Hard Drive to a 1 Tb hard drive and then use Always Sync from time to time to keep it backed up!

You should always have more than one type of backup in case the unthinkable actually happens.   This post is to help you find out how to keep those valuable files from being ransomed and encrypted illegally.   Once a week you should plug in that drive and sync your files with the hard drive.   Do not keep it plugged in because that will not prevent the problem.   It has to be offline to prevent problems like this ransomware!

Warning Signs of Hard Drive Trouble

Paul

For every computer there comes a time when you have a problem with hardware or software. This is for those who want to learn the signs of possible fixes for having hard drive problems. Although if you know you’re hard drive is dieing then you better back it up as quickly as possible. You will of course need to get the back up software to protect your data.  If you have special drivers you will need to backup yours drivers.  If you have an OEM system then you will need to backup the Hidden Partition.

So what are the warning signs of a hard drive failure:

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  • Unexpected freezing of Windows — When Windows Locks up and you have to reboot or getting a Blue Screen of Death.   You have no choice but to restart because you can’t do anything with windows.

  • Losing data files — if you seem to see files being lost or deleted without your direct input.  It might be a sign of a computer virus or it could be a damaged hard drive.

  • Locking up during boot — this is most common when you have a hard drive failure, although if you can restart and not be a problem then just keep in mind that it might be the beginning.  The more frequent you have the lockup boot problems the more chance of the hard drive dieing.

  • Hard drive isn’t recognized in BIOS– Although this can be a old hard drive, if the bios can’t see it then the problem might be a hard drive failure, usually this is meaning you just have to replace the hard drive.  there’s isn’t much you can do with this problem, just replace the hard drive.  Most of the time it is a problem inside the Hard drive bios and you really can’t fix this, you’d have to send it off to possibly save the hard drive data.

  • Clicking, Scratching, Whirling, Grinding sounds from Hard drive — This is the most dangerous signs of hard drive failure and means you need to get your data off ASAP.  If you want to hear some of the waring sounds of a dieing hard drive click here.

Although some of these can or can not be a hard drive failure, some can be driver issure or disk defragmentation and should be check out to rule out these problems.   There can be several problems that might be easily fixed.  If you think it is a failure you might try Spinrite.  The program is made by Steve Gibson and he actually has a “Absolute Satisfaction Guarantee“.  So if it doesn’t work or your not satisfied you aren’t out any money.  I’ve used this in the past for hard drives that are dieing so I could get all the important data off before it died all together.  It is essential that if you can get it working for a short time to get a backup.

Disclaimer: Although spinrite might fix some of the problems associated with a hard drive failure, it might not fix all the problems or any problems.   So it is left up to the user to decide if it is worth it or not to buy it.   I don’t recommend this for every situation or every problem only for the off chance that it might let you get the important data off the computer before you lose it.  Use at your own risk.