Good Online Cloud Backup Solution

GaryC

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Do you guys have any good and secure online cloud backup services to recommend? Especially with 2-stage verification log-ins, that'll be great. My greatest fear is losing all my graduate work 1 month before the thesis is due. Also, what happens if the cloud backup service goes bankrupt?
 
Usually if the cloud service goes bankrupt, your stuff goes poof. If you want to make sure your stuff is safe, have onsite *and* offsite backups.
 
Usually if the cloud service goes bankrupt, your stuff goes poof. If you want to make sure your stuff is safe, have onsite *and* offsite backups.

You're thinking of Megaupload, which is not a cloud backup service, Dropbox and such wouldn't just "go down". Like Google Reader they will offer you a week or so to get your stuff and get out.

Do you guys have any good and secure online cloud backup services to recommend? Especially with 2-stage verification log-ins, that'll be great. My greatest fear is losing all my graduate work 1 month before the thesis is due. Also, what happens if the cloud backup service goes bankrupt?

I've used Dropbox for ~4 years or so, never let me down, there is also Google Drive and Skydrive, advantage of those being integration into mail services. I don't think you'd need more than the 3 or 4 GB you get from dropbox and Google offers 5 out of the box last I check.

Dropbox and gmail both have 2FA as well
 
Well, I currently have personal files in my computer, which are backed-up to an internal drive. I have my research stuff on my 26Gb Dropbox drive (it's so large due to my HTC One), but 22Gb is already used up. That dropbox drive is also backed-up onto my internal drive (redundant, I know :dunno:). My research stuff is also on my uni computer, and that's obviously backed-up. I just want to be extra careful. But am I thinking too much?

I'm also anticipating a large increase in data in the near future, so Dropbox won't be enough.
 
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You're thinking of Megaupload, which is not a cloud backup service, Dropbox and such wouldn't just "go down".

Wasn't thinking of Megaupload because, as you say, it isn't. I was however thinking of Storage Networks, Atmos Online, Vaultscape, Cirtas and Iron Mountain VFS. They all closed/folded in the last few years. Some users lost data they thought had been safely saved.

Like Google Reader they will offer you a week or so to get your stuff and get out.

They don't all do that, and what if the service is only 'temporarily' unavailable when you need it (see the Amazon S3 outage from two years ago: http://m.computerworld.com/s/article/9216098/Amazon_outage_sparks_frustration_doubts_about_cloud
 
Well, I currently have personal files in my computer, which are backed-up to an internal drive. I have my research stuff on my 26Gb Dropbox drive (it's so large due to my HTC One), but 22Gb is already used up. That dropbox drive is also backed-up onto my internal drive (redundant, I know :dunno:). My research stuff is also on my uni computer, and that's obviously backed-up. I just want to be extra careful. But am I thinking too much?

I'm also anticipating a large increase in data in the near future, so Dropbox won't be enough.

Have you considered paying to dropbox to get 100/200/500GB (99/199/499 usd per year) backed up?
Link here

also backup your date to another external hd and then store it @ your mum's place (remember to do incremental backups).
 
They don't all do that, and what if the service is only 'temporarily' unavailable when you need it (see the Amazon S3 outage from two years ago: http://m.computerworld.com/s/article/9216098/Amazon_outage_sparks_frustration_doubts_about_cloud

2 years ago? That's as good as a lifetime ago, things do move in leaps in bounds even if we think it was just two years ago, if you have to dredge up that far back, it's not a great argument against the cloud, and Atmos, which was what, 3 years ago, Vaultscape closed, 2010? Iron Mountain, 2011?

No one's saying don't have offline backups, but half those companies decided not to pursue cloud storage, they didn't end up bankrupt.
 
I have crashplan, for $5.99/mo with all the storage capacity I might need. It's not the fastest but it's easy and they have a good reputation. Backblaze is another good and cheap online backup solution.
 
I have crashplan, for $5.99/mo with all the storage capacity I might need. It's not the fastest but it's easy and they have a good reputation. Backblaze is another good and cheap online backup solution.

I use CrashPlan as well as their software allows me to backup to an external hard drive at the same time. I back up to my NAS in case of drive failure (quick and easy restores as I don't have to download it) and to CrashPlan's cloud incase of fire.

It's cheaper if you buy longer term (I bought like 4 years at once and got it for only a couple dollars a month).

also backup your date to another external hd and then store it @ your mum's place (remember to do incremental backups).

I wouldn't recommend this. Your backups are going to be so old and out of date that they won't be worth it.

Better to do daily dual backups: on-site incase of hardware failure and off-site incase of fire.
 
2 years ago? That's as good as a lifetime ago, things do move in leaps in bounds even if we think it was just two years ago, if you have to dredge up that far back, it's not a great argument against the cloud, and Atmos, which was what, 3 years ago, Vaultscape closed, 2010? Iron Mountain, 2011?

No one's saying don't have offline backups, but half those companies decided not to pursue cloud storage, they didn't end up bankrupt.

The point isn't that they went bankrupt but that they went offline and several took their users' data with them. And that even continuing services can have outages at inconvenient times. If you're concerned about the data, cloud should only be part of your backup strategy. You need onsite, rotating offsite and optionally cloud if you want to hang on to your data *and* always be able to restore it (i.e., you have a need to restore it at a time-critical juncture.)
 
Why can't I do daily back-ups locally and to the router at my mom's place?
 
Why can't I do daily back-ups locally and to the router at my mom's place?

No reason you can't or shouldn't, provided your security is up to snuff. Though with something that's critical, I might look into hourly local/onsite backups and daily offsite.
 
It's usually a cost versus Requirement issue - Let us call it Disaster Recovery, 'Hot start' (re-starting from the last completed transaction and being ready almost at once - automatically) is usually expensive, warm start (Going back to the last media back up then applying the log files to get you to the position to the hot start - but it takes time and can be inherently risky EG loss of the log file records) less so and cheapest is recover to last check point held on off line media.
 
I have crashplan, for $5.99/mo with all the storage capacity I might need. It's not the fastest but it's easy and they have a good reputation. Backblaze is another good and cheap online backup solution.
I've used both of them.

Backblaze even for a couple years. But i dumped them because their software sucks so hard.
Crashplan's software is a lot better and offers way more choices and possibilities, but it's awfully slow to do a first initial backup.

Considering both options, i'd go with crashplan.
 
"Much to learn you still have"

"Much to learn you still have"

"You're thinking of Megaupload, which is not a cloud backup service, Dropbox and such wouldn't just "go down". Like Google Reader they will offer you a week or so to get your stuff and get out."


"2 years ago? That's as good as a lifetime ago, things do move in leaps in bounds even if we think it was just two years ago, if you have to dredge up that far back, it's not a great argument against the cloud, and Atmos, which was what, 3 years ago, Vaultscape closed, 2010? Iron Mountain, 2011?
No one's saying don't have offline backups, but half those companies decided not to pursue cloud storage, they didn't end up bankrupt.


Blayde: "much to learn you still have" (Wisdom of Yoda)

Your lifetime may be 2 years (as stated), but those of us older, wiser, and still with the scars of lost data, are not so casual about entrusting storage of things of value to entities that come and go, for all of the reasons mentioned, and plenty more besides.

When it comes to data, keep it where you can get it.
When it comes to everything else, get it where you can ;-)
 
Do you guys have any good and secure online cloud backup services to recommend? Especially with 2-stage verification log-ins, that'll be great. My greatest fear is losing all my graduate work 1 month before the thesis is due. Also, what happens if the cloud backup service goes bankrupt?

If the cloud service goes bankrupt, you still have a local copy.

FWIW, I use Carbonite. Unlimited storage, but only for your "internal drive". Not sure what counts as internal or not, but both internal drives in my iMac can be backed up. No idea what would happen if you had a PC rig with many drives.

And I recommend three backups on two different types of media if you want to be really sure. Like a local external drive and a cloud service.
 
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