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Backup ProgramsWhy use Backup Programs?How many times have your lost hours of work due to a power cut or due to a PC crash. And did you ever loose all your hard drive's content due to a hard drive failure? If any of this never happened to you then you might consider yourself very lucky indeed. Working as an IT manager, I have seen countless of PC crashes and hard drive failures. And when this happens only the backup program can save the day. Backup programs can be basic or complex, free or costly. How Can a Backup Program Save You Money?How much is the data stored on your computer worth? Is it worth hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of dollars or perhaps more than that? Many people never consider the real worth of the data that is stored on their hard drive. Only when disaster strucks and they loose all their data will they realize the real goldmine that was hidden in their PCs. A top backup program such as Genie Backup Manager Home (see review below) can cost as little as EUR 35.89 or US$ 52.75 . However a backup program is perhaps the single most important piece of software that you can ever install on your PC. A backup program can save days, months or even years of work work and it can save you money or your job! Are Free Backup Programs Good Enough?The most basic means of backing up your files is by copying and pasting the files from one directory to another such as from your hard disk to a USB drive, or by copying your files to a CD or DVD. This is usually enough for most computer users and for those who only want to backup a few files every few days. If you use Windows XP or Windows Vista then you can use the free Windows Backup program. Using Windows Backup is much more flexible then manually backing up files and plus that you can also schedule your backups when required. Using Windows Backup on older Windows versions (Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows ME) is a bit more complex especially when scheduling the backups. In these cases you need to create a batch file and schedule it using the Windows scheduler or the "at" command. This might be a bit complicated for some users so you might look at some free backup programs. There are various free backup programs available. Some good free backup programs that I recommend are the following: EZ Back-It up Should I Invest in a paid Backup Program?Which backup program you choose depends on your budget and on the importance of the files that you are you are trying to protect. If you keep important or confidential, financial or business files on your PC then you should invest in a backup program before considering buying any other type of software. Even if you have none of the above important files you should still back up any personal documents, software downloads, media files, email address books or any other files that you would never want to loose. Most paid backup programs not only create backups of your files to the required location but also include other features that are usually not available in free backup programs. These features include encrypting the filenames and the contents of your backup files so as to protect your files from unauthorized access. Some good backup programs also check your files for viruses before backing them up. Since backup programs can vary in price and in features I recommend trying out 3 or 4 different programs before choosing which one you like best. Some good paid backup programs that I recommend are the following: Genie Backup Manager Home v8.0 Genie Backup Manager Home v8.0 is an easy to use high performing backup program. Backing up and restoring your PC with Genie Backup Manager Home is simple and effective for novice and expert users alike with its step-by-step wizard. With Genie Backup Manager Home you can backup any file or setting on your PC including your documents, applications, Microsoft Outlook emails, photos, audio and video files and so on. Genie Backup Manager Home also enables you to scan your system for important files so that you are sure not to forget anything when backing up your PC. Genie Backup Manager Home enables you to backup your files to virtually any imaginable device including CDs/DVDs, USB sticks, FTP locations and remote network locations. Restoring your files, Outlook emails or application settings cannot be easier thanks to its intuitive interface. All in all Genie Backup Manager Home is a fantastic backup program. No wonder it won numerous awards. The only reason it does not get 10/10 in my ratings book is the inability of backing open files. If you require the open file backup option you have to go for Genie Backup Manager Professional v8.0. Genie Backup Manager Professional v8.0 can also encrypt your backups using Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), an encryption standard that is certified by the US government. Genie Backup Manager Professional v8.0 also enables you to back up your files to tape drives, as well as online using Ajax-based backup technology.
Backup4All Standard is a backup program with an intuitive explorer like interface that lets you see all files that have been backed up or that will be backed up. Backup4All lets you backup any file including your documents, pictures and Outlook Express emails. Also available is the possibility of performing full or differential backups (backs up only those files that have changed from the last full backup). You can also schedule backups or run another program after the backup job completes. Backup4All also lets you backup to CD or DVD media. Another feature worth mentioning is the ability of backing open files. The ability of backing open files is usually available in higher end and more expensive backup programs. Backup4All also comes in two other flavours. A cheaper option to the Backup4All Standard version is the Backup4All Lite version. The lite version does not let you perform differential backups like the standard version. Nor does it let you back up directly to CD or DVD. However it still contains features that are usually available in backup software twice the price like the possibility to back open files and the possibility to perform back ups that span multiple disks. Backup4All Lite only costs $19.95 (EUR 14.93) which is fairly cheap considering all these features. The most feature laden version is Backup4All Professional which is a high end backup program that includes features such as incremental backups, FTP backups, email notifications and 256 bit AES encryption.
Acronis True Image 11 Home is a backup program that allows you to make backup copies of your PC. This software does not only backup your documents, music and photos but it can also backup the operating system, the applications and your Microsoft Outlook emails. With Acronis True Image 11 you can schedule backups and perform backup jobs in the background. Acronis True Image 11 Home has some very interesting features like the possibility of performing incremental and differential backups and the possibility of booting your PC after a Windows operating system failure. In this way if your PC crashes you can restore it in minutes.
Where Should I Backup My Files?Do not backup files to the same hard disk unless it is a temporary backup. This type of backup is only helpful in case of accidental files deletions or if you want to revert back to an older version of the file. If you backup to the same hard disk and the hard disk fails then you will loose all the files including the backups. Do not backup important files to a floppy disk. Floppy disks wear out and are very limited in space and so are not reliable for backup purposes. With some USB pen drives costing a little more than a box of floppies, there is actually is no need to use floppies for backups, unless absolutely necessary. Most professional users use backup tape drives, however a backup tape drive is a bit expensive for the conventional home user. Backing up to a recordable or rewritable CD or DVD can be enough in most cases. A CD can store up to 640MB of data while a DVD can store up to 4.5GB, which is usually more than enough for most home users. Some backup programs such as the Windows XP backup do not let you backup directly to a CD or to DVD. In this case you can first backup the files to your hard disk and then copy these files to a CD or DVD. However many CD/DVD burning software such as Ahead Nero 7 Ultra Edition Defragmenters Registry Cleaners Antivirus Programs Firewalls Antispyware Programs
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