Network and internet backup

If your computer is connected to a local area network, you might be able to use the network server as a backup device. Before entrusting your data to a server, check with the network administrator to make sure you are allowed to store a large amount of data on the server. Because you might not want strangers to access your data, you should store it in a password-protected, non-shared folder. You also should make sure the server will be backed up on a regular basis so that your backup data won’t be wiped out by a server crash.

Several Web sites offer fee-based backup storage space. When needed, you can simply download backup files from the Web site to your hard disk. These sites are practical for backups of your data files, but space limitations and download times make them impractical for a full-system backup. Experts suggest that you should not rely on a Web site as your only method of backup. If a site goes out of business or is the target of a Denial of Service attack, your backup data might not be accessible.

Backup software

To make a backup, you can use backup software — a set of utility programs designed to back up and restore files. Backup software usually includes options that make it easy to schedule periodic backups, define a set of files that you want to regularly back up, and automate the restoration process.

Backup software differs from most copy routines because it typically compresses all the files for a backup and places them in one large file. Under the direction of backup software, this file can spread across multiple tapes if necessary. The file is indexed so that individual files can be located, uncompressed, and restored.