Protect your files with our computer data backup solutions. Backing up your data is never more important than in this current age of malware and virus attacks, hardware failure or human error.
Data is precious, whether it be your home accounts, documents, pictures or holiday videos. Using solutions such as Dropbox, OneDrive or iCloud is the best way to protect your files. Often for as little as the cost of a coffee, your data can be safe and synchronised between your devices. QLine can guide and provide you with the best solution.
Data backup is critical to prevent loss of your important data. Data is most commonly lost when a computer hard drive fails but other causes are:
Overwriting data in error.
Malware or virus infection.
Deleting data by accident.
Failure of hardware.
To recover data from a specialist can average around £300.00. Yet, a daily data backup can cost as little as 50p per day. Many people do not think about data backups. We receive calls daily from students who have lost their exam work, companies with a corrupted server, or families who have just deleted all their treasured photographs.
Do I need off-site backup?
There are many on and off-site backup solutions, but the rise of ransomware builds a strong case for having backups off-site. Ransomware virus attacks are becoming more frequent and increasingly ingenious in attacking your PC. Whether it is a link on a website or an attachment to an email, once your computer is infected, your data is at risk of permanent loss.
Once ransomware has been installed, all your pictures, documents and other files will be encrypted. A ransom message will then appear requesting payment to unlock the files. Even if you pay the ransom, it is improbable your files will be unencrypted – you will be out of pocket and without your files. However, backup solutions can offer version history. In the event of an infection, your provider can perform a “rollback” and recover your files before the infection.
Online Data Backup Solutions
Who should I choose for an online computer backup provider?
We’ve made a list of important things your backup solution should offer:
Highest level of data encryption.
30 day versioning of data.
Custom configuration.
State of the art data centres.
Mac, Android, IOS and Windows compatibility.
0ffsite Automatic Data Backup
The most common error with backups is using a non-automated option. This is when the user manually backs up data by using a piece of software or copying the data to an external hard drive. The problem with manual backups is that you have to remember to do them. The solution is to use a program that will back up your data daily or even hourly and store this data safely off-site.
Off-site backup will give you peace of mind, knowing your data is safely stored outside of your home, can be restored whenever needed, and is done automatically.
Off-site backups cost around £10.00 per month and will often come with version backups, which means if your computer’s files are overwritten, such as in a ransomware attack, you can restore from a clean data version.
Cloud Synchronisation Software
You are probably aware of many companies that provide cloud synchronisation software. Google Drive and Dropbox are two companies that probably spring to mind. Microsoft provides a solution called SharePoint. You do not need to be a large business to use this tool.
Microsoft SharePoint uses Microsoft OneDrive to synchronise data on your computer to online cloud storage in real time. For example, when you save a new Word document to your documents folder or add some photographs from your camera, the data will immediately be synchronised (copied) to the online version. If your computer’s hard drive fails, you log in again to your OneDrive, and the data will start downloading automatically.
Cloud backups cost around £10.00 per month. There is an added advantage with Microsoft SharePoint and OneDrive compared to standard manual backup.
Because data is stored securely on the software company’s servers and is constantly synchronising, the technology allows you to have the same data on different devices. You can share your data in real time with your tablet, laptop, mobile or computer. You can even share your data with friends or relatives.
Other solutions on the market provide similar services, but here at QLine IT, we prefer Microsoft SharePoint as it ticks so many boxes. In addition, built-in security features prevent data loss. You can even back up your email account, which is ideal for small businesses and home users.
Whatever solution you choose, make your decision today. Data recovery is expensive and not always possible. Don’t lose your sensitive or personal data for £10.00 per month.
