The Virtual Storeroom Internet Backup Is a Popular Option -- But the Software Needs Work
JAKARTA, Indonesia -- In recent weeks I've written about why you need to back up the stuff on your computer, as well as what to back up, when to back it up, and how to do it. But where to back it up?
However good a backer-upper you are, if you don't back up to somewhere safe, sturdy and secure, you may be no better off than not backing up at all. Nowadays, with prices falling fast and the amount of data that we want to back up growing, hard drives are the most obvious choice. I've got a bunch of small external hard drives dotted around, one for each big project in my life -- music, photos, tech stuff -- and these are small enough to slip in a bag when I'm on the road. But with Internet connections getting faster and cheaper, another option is now catching on: backing up online.
It's important to make a distinction here. There are three kinds of online storage: sharing stuff online, storing stuff online, and backing up. Although the lines get blurred, they work differently, and getting them confused can lead to problems. Sharing the odd big file with friends or co-workers is best done by freebie services such as YouSendIt.com, which let you upload the file and then send a link to that page to the people you want to share it with. The link expires in a few days and the file is deleted.
Storing stuff online may sound like backing up online, but it is different: Storing stuff is a bit like having a mirror of your hard drive online, rather than in your computer. You, and your family, colleagues or friends can access that data wherever you or they are, so long as a good connection is available. This is useful if you don't want to lug your laptop around with you, or members of a team are working on a project and need to access the same files.
Backing up online may sound the same as storage -- in both cases you want to create a mirror of your hard drive in case things go wrong -- but it's subtly different. Online storage is great for keeping copies of your stuff so you can access it whenever and wherever you need it. But it's not very efficient when it comes to backing things up.
Think of online storage as a big warehouse. Backing up there would be the equivalent of moving all your filing cabinets across town each day. Online backup is more sophisticated, backing up online only those documents that have changed. And a good online backup service will speed up this process by backing up only the changes within an individual file, rather than the whole of the file (like photocopying the few pages in a big document that have been altered, not every page). All this will be done via software that should run quietly in the background and not slow down your computer or Internet connection.
That's not the only difference. Online storage keeps a copy of the files that are on your hard drive. But for backup, that may not be enough. What you really need are earlier versions of files, so that you can, if necessary, roll back changes you don't want to keep. Another issue that you need to think about in any kind of backing up is whether files that you are using at the time are being backed up. This may seem weird, but not all backup services actually back up what are called open, or locked, files. Say, for example, you're working in Microsoft Outlook. If you make a change to that file -- for most of us, all of our Outlook data, including emails, calendars and contacts, are part of a single file -- your backup program may not be able to get into the file to back it up until you close it. So, be sure to look for a service that can back up an open file. "It sounds geeky, but it's critical," says Ken Shaw, president and chief executive of Australia-based SOS Online Backup (which does back up open files). "People don't realize that their Outlook files are nearly always locked. Ironically, the problem affects files that are being used a lot -- the most important data."
One final thing you need to watch out for: security. Backing up online is different from backing up to an external hard drive, USB stick or DVD, in that the data is no longer physically in your hands. For your own peace of mind, you want to be sure it's password-protected. You may also want to read license agreements carefully: Mozy.com, for example, allows free storage of up to 2 gigabytes but will sift through your data -- from file names to your browsing history -- to better target you with ads. This may not be an issue for you, but it's worth thinking hard before committing to any company data so valuable that you want to back it up -- especially to companies that offer such services free.
You may want to consider backing up only to trusted friends. A new service called Backup Stream ($25 per user from
www.backupstream.com) allows you to back up files to the computer of someone else (presumably someone you know and trust) -- and vice versa. Once you've chosen which files or folders you're going to back up, the software will oversee the moving (you can opt to do the initial backup by burning your files onto a CD or DVD and then physically exchanging disks before arranging subsequent incremental backups via the Internet). This gets around the problem of entrusting your data to a company that might not respect your privacy, but it does depend on your partner's computer being connected to the Internet when you need to restore files.
Backup Stream is a great idea, but I'm not crazy about the interface, which feels klutzy and confusing. Indeed, none of the programs I tested made it easy for me, although SOS Online Backup (
www.sosonlinebackup.com) works better than most. Services like Carbonite (
www.carbonite.com) offer a simple interface, but go too far in the other direction: When I tried to cancel an overly large backup and remove folders, there was no easy way to do it.
One day this will be easier. Right now we're hostage to varying connection speeds and a slew of online storage services of varying quality. For a year, visitors to my blog (
www.loosewireblog.com) have complained about some offerings' poor service and long downtimes. Two online storage services have closed in recent months; one domain quickly switched to a porn site. There's a lesson in there somewhere.
网上备份成时尚
最近几周我一直在撰写为何需要备份电脑中的文件，以及备份什么和如何备份的文章。但将文件备份到哪里呢？
不论你是一个多优秀的备份高手，如果你不能将数据备份到一个安全、稳定、可靠的地方，那么这同根本没有备份可能区别不大。如今，随着价格的快速下跌和要备份数据的增多，硬盘是最显而易见的选择。我就有不少外接式硬盘，一个硬盘储存着我生活中的主要项目：音乐、照片、科技文章，这些硬盘都很小巧，可以在外出时放在包中。但随着上网的速度越来越快，价格越来越低，现在出现了另一个选择：网上备份。
这里需要澄清的是，共有三种形式的网上储存：网上共享、网上存储和备份。尽管它们之间界限模糊，但实际上工作原理存在不同，混淆的话可能会带来问题。同朋友或同事共享一个大文件最好是由YouSendIt.com这样的免费服务站点来完成，此类网站可以让你上传文件，然后将网页的链接发给你希望共享的朋友。链接几天后会失效，文件会被删除。
在网上存储看起来就象是网上备份一样，但这不是一回事：存储文件有点像在网上，而不是你自己的电脑上给你的硬盘做了一个镜像。你本人，还有你的家人、同事和朋友无论你还是他们身处何地，都能获得这些数据，只要能够顺利地上网。如果你不想随身带着笔记本电脑，或小组中属于同一个项目的其他成员需要获得同样的文件，这样做还是很有用的。
网上备份听起来同网上存储类似，都是为硬盘建立一个镜像，以备出现问题时使用，但二者也有一点细微的差别。网上存储对于保持文件的副本，以便随时随地可以获得非常有用。但这在进行备份时却显得不是很有效率。
可以把网上存储视为一个大仓库。备份就相当于每天将你的文件柜搬到那里。网上备份更加高级，只在网上备份那些更改过的文件。良好的网上备份服务能够只备份单独文件中的更改，而不是整个文件（如同复印一大堆文件中被修改的少数几页，而不是全部复印），从而加快备份过程。所有这些都通过在后台静静运行的软件完成，而不会减慢电脑运行或上网的速度。
还不仅仅是这点区别。网上存储保存了你电脑硬盘上的文件副本。但对备份而言，这可能还不够。你真正需要的是可能是文件的早期版本，因此你能在必要时放弃你不想保留的更改。你想要在备份时考虑的另一个问题是，你目前正在使用的文件是否进行了备份。这看起来有些奇怪，但并不是所有的备份服务都能备份打开或锁定的文件。比如，你正在运行Microsoft Outlook，如果修改了文件──对我们大多数人而言，所有的Outlook数据，包括电子邮件、日历和联系方式都在一个文件中──你的备份程序在你关闭Outlook前不会备份这个文件。因此，应该寻找能备份运行中的文件的服务。澳大利亚SOS Online Backup的总裁兼首席执行长肯?肖尔(Ken Shaw)说，这看起来挺讨厌，但却至关重要。人们没有认识到他们的Outlook文件几乎总是被锁定了。具有讽刺意味的是，这个问题影响的是使用最多，而且最为重要的数据。（该公司能够备份运行的文件）。
你需要注意的最后一件事情是：安全。网上备份不同于备份到外接硬盘、U盘或DVD中，数据没有实际保存在手中。为了放心，你肯定希望能有密码保护。你也应该仔细阅读下许可协议：比如Mozy.com允许至多免费存储2G的数据，但会扫描你的数据──从文件名到你的浏览历史──以更好地对你进行广告定位。这对你来说可能不算什么问题，但如果是备份很有价值的公司数据时，就应该好好考虑一下了，尤其是对免费提供此类服务的公司就更是如此。
你还可以把信息备份到值得信赖的朋友那里。一项名叫Backup Stream（
www.backupstream.com网站上，每位用户25美元）的新服务允许你将文件备份到别人的电脑上（假定你信任这个人），反之亦然。一旦你选择了想要备份的文件和文件夹，这款软件会检查移动过程（你第一次可将文件刻录到CD或DVD中，实际交换光盘，然后再通过互联网备份新增的文件）。这避免了把数据交给不尊重你隐私权的公司的问题，但这要求在你恢复数据时，你朋友的电脑也要联在网上。
Backup Stream是个好主意，不过我对混乱繁琐的界面不感兴趣。的确，我测试的程序对我来说都不太容易，不过SOS Online Backup (
www.sosonlinebackup.com)比其它多数程序运行得更好。Carbonite (
www.carbonite.com)等程序提供了简单的界面，但在另一方面走得太远：当我试图取消过大的备份，移动走文件夹时，却发现难以做到这点。
总有一天，一切会变得更简单。现在我们无法摆脱连接速度的变化和网上存储服务质量的参差不齐。一年来，一些访问我博客(
www.loosewireblog.com)的人投诉有些产品的服务低劣，或长时间停止服务。这几个月就有两个网上存储服务关闭了；一个域名很快链接到了色情网站上。对此应该有充分的心理准备。
Jeremy Wagstaff
