How Do You Protect Your Data?

I've been thinking about how I back up my files and am aware that it leaves a lot to be desired.
I've got 18TB in my computer with photo backup to gphotos and a portable HDD for the occasional media backup. Some passwords and log in details saved to cloud services as well.

Recently got stung when my ssd died with some banking documents and job stuff on it died. I feel I'm lacking in the UPS space and worried the surge protector is going to do diddly squat in a power surge.

I'm wondering how much data ozbargainers are storing and how they protect it?

Comments

  • +4

    high worth/importance; photos, finance etc - two backups on HDD's
    everything else - one backup on HDD
    frequency of backups? when I think 'haven't done it for a while'….
    .

    • +1

      Basically what I do though the really critical/private info is encrypted on the drives and usually have a few backups on encrypted USB sticks as well that are kept "offsite".

      I don't like online solutions as you really don't know how secure your info is or if the company is suddenly going to close without warning in which case if it's your only backup you lose access to it and where's the stored data going to end up?

    • Better get on to it then!

  • +2

    Massively redundant array of disorganised SD cards. I'm dealing with more issues of duplicates than loss.

  • +1

    Unlimited online storage with Backblaze - US$60 a year

    • uploading… …

      • Luckily we thought about that in the early 2010s and have now finished our nation-wide FTTP project specifically to futureproof our network for these types of situations…. :'(

  • +3

    The "3,2,1" rule gets mentioned a lot in data subreddits

    https://www.voonami.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/3-2-1-Bac…

    • Surely this is more for business than for personal use?

      3 backups seems overkill and fairly expensive to take on as an individual. I can at least understand the other rules.

  • https://duplicacy.com/ and VPSes/NASes.

  • +2

    Raid NAS. My only concern is the house burning down, but I have automatic backups to the cloud for super important files.

    I still have the first MP3 I ever downloaded from the 90's.

    • I was thinking of putting a second NAS at my parents' house and mirroring it :)

  • +6

    I save my valuable MS Paint pictures to my ozbargain account.

    • I thought that went without saying.

  • b2 with rclone. 150GB costs us about $1.25AUD per month.

  • 750gb and zero backup

  • let me just say -
    you're kidding yourself with multiple HDDs. HDDs can seize after a long period of inactivity (there is lubricant inside for the mechanical parts). Memory cards also fail with time.

    The key risks you need to think about for data backup are:

    • Location risk - having all your storage in the one location increases the risk of you losing it all. Think house fire.
    • Longevity - HDDs die- its fine for data you want to have fast access to but hdds will eventually die. A SAN can help mitigate this risk, but it will never completely remove the risk.

    I personally use Google Drive/photos. It is a little pricey compared to Backblaze/B2, but the seemless integration with Google Photos is awesome.

    If you're using Google Drive or any other cloud systems, also make sure to keep an on-site copy of your mission critical data - just in case someone hijacks your cloud account. And don't forget to print out your one-time emergency access codes for Google and keep them somewhere safe.

    • little pricey compared to Backblaze/B2, but the seemless integration with Google Photos is awesome

      you are also giving Google permission to use the photos and data within them for revenue making purposes, e.g. targeted ads. No thanks.

  • I personally use a combination of cloud services and a NAS, as well as a couple of external hardware encrypted drives which I store in different locations and back up every month or so (not the best but better than not).

    If you have 18TB of material, it may be more cost effective to build a NAS solution with a UPS.

    Whilst I use OneDrive which has 1TB of cloud storage (comes with Office 365), this may not work well for your 18TB. If it's mainly photos/videos, you could always use Google Photos which has unlimited free storage but it applies some compression to your media and hence acts more as a last resort backup to me rather than a true backup.

Login or Join to leave a comment