| Backup software a lifesaver |
| Written by Henry Johnson | |
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The blue screen of death need not be a cataclysmic event for your personal or business files if you pick the correct backup software to ensure the safety and integrity of your computer. In general terms, backup software is a computer program used to create an extra copy of a file, data, database, system or server. The backup software allows users to make a carbon copy of all data contained in the previous source of the data. This software must also be used to recover the stored data or system if bad weather or other events cause a computer meltdown or other catastrophic event. Backup software programs can have several key features that make them each more capable of protecting important data. For starters, voluming affords the ability to shrink down and split backup data into bite-sized portions for storage on smaller, portable media such as CDs or flash drives. In the past, CDs were the media of choice because CDs were easy to carry around and pretty cheap compared to other media such as hard drives or servers. However, recent advances in hard drive capacity and a corresponding decrease in prices have made begun to send voluming the way of the dinosaurs. The introduction of small, portable, durable USB drives to the market, and a leap in broadband capacity has provided much better and more efficient means of moving backup data off-site. Compressing data is another key component of backing up software . There's no such thing as a free lunch, and there's also no such thing as free hard drive space, so compressing the data to reduce its size will allow for less drive space usage, thus saving the user money he or she may have had to spend on a big fancy hard drive. When data is backed up, its often backed up to a physical site far away from the site of the original source of data. This physical safety measure affords more security against hacker attacks and industrial espionage. Some countries such as Sealand offer data havens, secure places free from government snooping which can be availed by back up services. According to software guru David Deprice, the following backup software offerings are solid picks. Vision Backup 10 Enterprise is an advanced and easy-to-use backup software solution, designed for regular, scheduled backup of your most important data. Users can add to Vision Backup's already solid functionality by adding extra applications. GBM Pro is an excellent choice for computer users of all levels of sophistication. Newbie users will find it simple to make their first backup job in just a few minutes after installing the software, thanks to its user-friendly wizard-based interface, while more advanced users will enjoy the backup software's many options and features. Handy Backup is an extremely user-friendly program designed to periodically backup of your most important data to just about any type of storage media. Handy Backup can be used to make a spare copy of any vital data that's on your system. Special add-ons are also provided to easily allow the backup of MS Outlook, system registry and ICQ files. Restoring your files is as simple as clicking a mouse button, but there are also a number of advanced options available for use. Handy Backup can be also utilized to synchronize files between two devices on a network. Any of these backup services offers solid protection and security for your critical files and systems. Having good backup software is like having a good insurance policy, you hope you never need it, but thank God it's there if you do. |
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