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by: DanMiller
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The process of backing up one's computer data is a process that, like other forms of insurance, may seem too mundane or unnecessary to bother with - until disaster strikes and it is too late. Years ago, computer data backup software and solutions consisted of some form of external physical media, such as a CD, zip drive, DVD, external hard drive, or tape drive, plus automating software running on the computer.

If you're in the market for a backup solution, consider more modern broadband internet connections and affordable hard drive space to meet your online backup needs. Many online backup services offer plenty of additional space including disaster recovery. The advantage of these services is that the user doesn't need to purchase additional external storage, but rather continue paying for the service on an ongoing basis just like an internet service provider.

Another advantage is that the software client's footprint is often lighter and less taxing on one's computer than running a traditional backup program. One disadvantage, however, is that the speed of the backup process is limited to bandwidth, which can make large backups very time consuming compared to more traditional external physical media. The process may be interrupted by a failed internet connection.

Many of these services provide a free trial, and fees start at about five dollars per month for a regular subscription, on up to hundreds of dollars per year for enterprise subscriptions. Presently, available storage space starts around one gigabyte, on up to unlimited space. Unlike with external media, the user can simply purchase more storage space as needed.

Some services are geared more towards the Windows operating system, or more towards the Mac operating system. As such, one can expect the restoration of their data to be a smoother process from certain services than others. Many of the online backup services also include various additional functionality, such as photo sharing through the creation of online slide shows, file sharing, and data encryption during the upload process, the download process, as well as for the data storage itself.

Internal hard drives have an inherent failure rate, and there are many ways a hard drive can be compromised, or the data it contains stolen along with the computer. So no matter the service one chooses, having a functional and regular data backup routine in place is critical in the event of such an emergency.

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If you want to explore all the online backup solutions currently available, please visit Backup All Data. You can even try the Backup Software for free.

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