[ASKBOB] BACK IT UP! - The One-Two Punch Strategy

Published: Fri, 03/29/19

Hi , This week I've been writing about preparations for World Backup Day, which is Sunday March 31st. That's just two days away... are you ready? My article today describes a strategy I call the 'One-Two Punch' for backups. It's a combination of online and local backups that gives you optimal protection from any data disaster. Read on for the story.

BACK IT UP! - The One-Two Punch Strategy

In boxing, the "one-two punch" is a sequence of the left jab, followed by a right cross. I've borrowed the metaphor to describe my strategy for ensuring that backups are done correctly and completely. The first metaphorical punch is an online backup that protects your most important files in a secure off-site location. The second is a local backup that covers ALL of your files. The combination makes your data immune to hardware failure, viruses, natural disasters and human error.

BACKUPS: The One-Two Punch

Let's start with the left jab. Earlier this week I published a review of iDrive, the online backup service I use and recommend. If you recall, iDrive has won the PC Magazine Editor's Choice award for best backup five years in a row. It also has some unique features that no competitor has, to my knowledge.

I'll recap for you. With a single iDrive account you can back up an UNLIMITED number of Windows PCs, Macs, iPhones, iPads and Android mobile devices. Competitors Backblaze and Carbonite charge you for EACH computer, and neither of them offers backup for your mobile gadgets. With iDrive, all your important files from desktop computers, laptops, smartphones and tablets can be backed up in one secure place, neatly organized and accessible from anywhere.

iDrive's free Express Backup/Restore service is another unique feature that you can't get anywhere else. For your first backup, iDrive will send you on request a portable hard drive, you fill it up and mail it back (with free return shipping). Without the Express service, it would take about SIX WEEKS to upload two terabytes of data with a typical home internet connection. Carbonite, Backblaze, and Crashplan don't offer the Express Backup service at all. (Mozy used to offer a Data Shuttle service for $275, but was bought by Carbonite and no longer offers that.)

The iDrive Personal plan normally costs about $5/month for 2 Terabytes of online backup space. But because I think iDrive is the best cloud backup solution, I've negotiated a special deal for my readers. Sign up with this link you'll get a 90% discount on your first year of iDrive, and 5 Terabytes of storage. So your price will be just $6.95! (Compare that to Carbonite's $240/year multi-computer plan, which lacks mobile backup and Express service, and you have a knockout in the first round.)

The Right Cross - Local Backup

iDrive sounds great, right? So why do I recommend the One-Two Punch strategy? iDrive excels at making ONLINE backups of your most important files -- the ones in your Documents, Music, Pictures, Videos and Desktop folders. It's just not practical to use online backup to make a full system backup that protects EVERYTHING on your hard drive. As I mentioned above, it could take weeks to complete a full online backup of your entire hard drive, and weeks again to restore everything after a data disaster. Even with an Express Restore, you'd be out of action for several days at minimum.

That's why I recommend a LOCAL FULL BACKUP that protects EVERYTHING on your computer. My personal backup strategy (and what I recommend to you) is to make a full system backup (also called a drive image) every Sunday morning at 3 AM. I supplement that with daily incremental backups to catch any new or changed files. These local backups are stored on an external hard drive. I take that one step further, by using another program to keep three revisions of files in certain folders that I often work in.

That might sound difficult, time-consuming or expensive, but it's not. It's not, because once you have it set up, the process happens automatically. All your data is backed up, and you never have to think about it. All you need is the free backup software I recommend, and an inexpensive USB flash drive or an external hard drive.

My ebook, Everything You Need to Know About BACKUPS, provides you with the knowledge, skills and tools to get it done! Everything is explained in plain English, with no geek-speak or technobabble. You might remember I offered a special $10 discount on the BACKUPS ebook earlier this year, when I launched the 6th Edition. I'm making the ebook available at that special price, now until World Backup Day, which is Sunday March 31st.

Don't Go Down For the Count

Diamonds might be forever, but hard drives are not. The three most common causes of drive failure are factory defects, random failures, and parts that wear out. The failures due to factory defects tend to happen in the first 18 months of service. Failures due to wear out start to increase much faster after the three-year point. So backups are just a common-sense protection that all computer users need.

If you're not prepared for a hard drive data disater due to a virus, hardware failure, finger fumble... if you are confused by the terminology related to backups... then you must see my ebook Everything You Need to Know About BACKUPS, where you'll learn about backup strategies and how to protect the data in your computer, tablet, smartphone and online accounts.

I'm offering the 90% iDrive discount and $10 ebook discount as incentives to get all AskBob readers ready for World Backup Day, so please take advantage if you're not making both online and local backups as I've recommended above. Both discounts will expire at midnight on Sunday. As early as tonight -- tomorrow, for sure -- you can be implementing your own backup strategy, and know you are virtually immune to ransomware, hard drive failure, malware, and the dreaded "Oops! I think I just erased that file." Don't put this off. It's too important.

P.S. -- One further note. I want to remove all the risk here. If you purchase Everything You Need to Know About Backups, you can read it and implement my easy-to-do action steps, for ONE FULL YEAR. If you're not convinced it's worth every penny you paid for it, let me know and I will cheerfully refund your money. In fact, I'll make the same offer for the iDrive service. If at any time during the year, you're not happy with iDrive, I will personally refund your $6.95 purchase price. I would not make a guarantee like this unless I had full confidence in the quality of what is being offered. I know you'll be happy with the ebook and the iDrive service.

Let's get those backups done! -- Bob