I have a doubly useful program for you this month, it’s both a very good backup and synchronisation program.
Backups are vitally important and many of us including myself have learnt our lesson the hard way when we have lost documents and worst photographs. This usually happens because we’ve forgotten to do the backup or perhaps missed a folder altogether. Backups are always one of those things you mean to do but never get around to doing. Well there is a simple solution, an automated backup system that will backup all your documents and pictures to a secure area on the Internet. It means you will have one less chore to do.
With the program I've chosen this month there is also an added advantage that the software will also allow you to keep two computers synchronised, so if you have a desktop computer and a laptop the software will synchronise everything between the two computers meaning you always have your changes no matter where you are. All the backup data can also be accessed from another computer if you are away from home.
The software is called Sugarsync, and can be downloaded from www.sugarsync.com
You do have to sign up to be able to use the system but the good news is it's FREE and you get a huge 5GB of storage online. Please remember to use a secure password with at least eight characters and two numbers, do not forget this password as all the data being backed up will be encrypted so that nobody else can read it. If you need more than 5GB of storage then there are other plans with prices starting from five dollars per month. (see note below)
After you have signed up you will be e-mailed a message asking you to verify your e-mail address simply click the link to validate your account and you're ready to get started. You will be asked at this point if you wish to view the getting started guide, this is a very good idea as it will guide you through every single step.
You will then be asked if you wish to use express setup or advanced I would advise using express, it will then show you all the items that are going to be backed up including my documents, my pictures, my music etc. You can add other folders to be backed up by using the managed sync folders button.
Once you have a complete backup in place you can then use the synchronisation functions to synchronise all your data with another computer. You simply need to download the software again onto the other computer, fill in your e-mail address and password you originally used to sign up and click on synchronise computer button.
Please note it may take some considerable time to complete the initial backup, it’s not unusual for it to take a week or more. You can continue to use the computer normally while the backup is working.
For this to work you will need Broadband internet access, those on Satellite or dial up connection will have to continue to use CD/DVD or external hard drives to backup.
For business or those of you with extremely large amounts of data you might want to consider Carbonite, www.carbonite.com.
If you need help or have any questions about your computer please give me a call or send me an email for FREE advice. Bruce@mirax.org or Telephone 05 61 60 84 23.
Bruce Taylor.