…How I Do Do Backups - a Good Backup Upgrade Strategy

UrBackup is a Free and Open Source software application for backing up files and systems that is popular, feature-rich, and respected industry-wide. But is it for you?

Last month, in my article Why I Don’t Back Up, I mentioned that I do not back up. Boy did I get some feedback about that! The fact is that it was not completely true – I do do backups, but not the way they are traditionally done. This is because the priority for me is that they do not interrupt my work in any way (the convenience issue I mentioned). That is also why I wrote that first article, but it has a second part.

Why convenience is so important

As I mentioned, the convenience factor, the idea that backups should not interrupt my work is the most important factor. This is because in my 25+ years of working in this industry, convenience was the primary reason that backups were not done at all.

Unfortunately, I am usually called in after disaster strikes. Computers, and especially hard drives, are mechanical devices: 140,000 hard drives fail in the US each week. Perhaps a more sobering statistic is that 60% of small businesses that lose their data will fail within 6 months, according to Small Business Trends.

Obviously, very small, home-based (mom & pop) businesses who do not have their own computer staff to manage backups are even more at risk. When I ask why they didn’t back up, it is always the convenience factor that is mentioned: running a small business is more than a full-time job and backups are at the bottom of the list of to-dos. No one believes a problem will occur until it does, either that, or they hope for the best.

So that is why I firmly believe that backing up critical business data should add as little to the work of small business owners. If it does become a burden, it simply does not happen at all. That is why I wrote my first article, to encourage small business owners to at least do replication to another drive using a simple tool – because it is simple, quick, and better than nothing.

That said, it is a first step to start the process of considering backups as part of the regular routine. It is not the end of the story.

The Drawbacks of Simple Replication

With simple replication, all the files are continually updated as changes were made. This makes it very convenient: once you set it to do this automatically, you have a regular backup. Whenever a new file is created or an existing file changed, those changes are copied to the replicated location in the background – hurray for convenience.

If a disaster should occur, say for example that the computer was to malfunction, there was a power outage, or the hard drive would crash, it might affect any files that were being worked on. In that case, the replicated data would still be safe as it would be a copy that was made before the outage. This provides decent protection against the most common types of physical computer problems.

For this to work, though, the secondary location where the replicated files are being sent would always need to remain accessible. That location is basically another drive that the user could access at any time. Therein lies the danger, because if it is always accessible, then a virus or ransomware attack could also access it at any time.

As a matter of fact, viruses and ransomware actively search for all accessible locations so that they can spread to every file. Essentially, that is the whole point of such an attack: to infect as much as possible. So, while simple replication does offer some level of protection with minimal inconvenience, it is not enough.

As a point of reference, if I had relied only on data replication on my systems the last ten years that I have been using it, I would have lost my data twice as often. This is because viruses and ransomware are that much more common than actual hardware crashes. That is right, in my experience, you are more likely to have your files infected with a virus than to lose them from a power outage or hard drive crash. I have seen many disasters, but more viruses than anything else.

Augmenting the Simple Replication Process

What I do, and what I have done for all the years that I have used replication is to do proper and effective backups of the replicated data. Replication is still the first line of protection, but it is not the entire process. Once you have replication in place, doing backups should be the next step.

As with the FreeFileSync utility that I recommended for doing the replication because it very good and completely free to use, there is also free robust backup software available. To begin with, for Windows and Mac users, each operating system has its own very basic backup software: File History (Windows) and Time Machine (MacOS). They are adequate for no-cost options.

A more robust approach is to install a separate application, especially is you need to backup both Macs and Windows PCs. There are several Free and Open Source (FOSS) options, but the one that I usually always come back to is UrBackup (see screenshot at the beginning of this article). I have installed this for several clients and for a free option, it has met all the needs.

However, because it is free, support is not exactly a phone call away. You will need to seek support from the community of users, as is the case with most Free and Open Source Software (see my previous article on FOSS). While that is perfectly acceptable for many people, it goes against the whole idea of convenience that I emphasize.

If you are in the middle of a project deadline and your hard drive fails, you need help immediately. This is typically not going to be the time that you are going to search through online forums and politely ask someone to volunteer some assistance. That is why when it comes to backups, especially for your business data, I recommend making an actual investment.

For commercial software there are many excellent applications out there, but again, there is one that I always come back to because of its effectiveness, simplicity, and support: Acronis.

This is a screen-shot of the main Acronis True Image 2021 interface. As you can see it is simple and clear - enough for even the busiest Gig Worker to configure and then get back to more important business tasks.

Even when my clients absolutely do not want to purchase any backup software and are leaning to a FOSS option, I do my very best to convince them to use Acronis instead – for their peace of mind and mine. Now this is not a sales pitch for any of these products and I am not receiving any commissions from any of them. It is just what I recommend.

In either case, no matter what tool you choose, I still recommend pairing it with replication.

Using Replication with Backup Software

There is a simple and important reason why I use both replication and backup together. Granted, it takes a bit more time to manage two tools. However, for the very same reason that replication is not a complete solution on its own, it is ideal for a complete backup solution.

As I mentioned above, replication minimizes inconvenience. I never have to wait to get to work. It is always replicating in the background so I can work any time of day or in the middle of the night if I need to. I do not need to stop working because backups are scheduled, and I have the convenience of knowing my data is replicated.

The backup software only backs up the replicated data, so it also does not impact my work in any way. I can literally work 24/7/365 and never have to be interrupted. The backup software has the smarts to not be bothered by the replication, if a file is being replicated right as it is also being backed up, the software will wait until replication Is done.

Now I have all the benefits of a robust backup strategy as well as all the convenience of replication. Some of the things backup software can do that replication is not doing:

• Thorough virus/malware scanning prior to backing up

• Compressing the backup so that it occupies less space

• Encrypt the data so that it cannot easily be stolen

• Check that backed up data does not differ from the original data

• Produce detailed reports that I send to myself

Fortunately, Acronis is extremely capable and can handle these tasks that I depend on. More importantly Likewise, I have set up this structure for clients with very few problems. In my opinion using a solid backup application like UrBackup or Acronis is likely enough to ensure that business data is safe from the most common data risks they will likely encounter.

How to Properly Set Up Backups

I should mention here that most backup applications can also do replication. Likewise, most replication tools can also perform more like backup software – everyone wants to be an all-in-one solution. I would advise against using one tool for both.

This is because replication and backup have distinctly different tasks. Effective replication should be as unobtrusive as possible - it should make an exact copy of the data without any further processing of the files so that it minimally impacts your workflow.

Backup software, on the other hand, is designed to be a very thorough, and secure solution to data backup. As such, it uses more system resources and slows down the computer. It typically prefers its own system entirely to do its work. It should really be a second computer connected to the first over a network. That separation also minimizes the impact to the computer being worked on and minimizes the risk to the backed-up data.

Ideally then, replication should be from your work computer to that second system. The second system is where you would install the backup software so that it can churn through the data at its own pace without impacting your work in any way.

Now I realize that setting up an entirely separate computer for just backups is a bit beyond what most small businesses have the resources for. The fact is, it can all be done on a single system, but that will impact your work and will negate many of the benefits of the whole approach. Free or low-cost computers are easy to come by (as I have written about before)

The point is that usually, any old computer with a large hard drive or an externally attached drive will do here. It does not have to be fast or high performance because it will do what it needs to on its own time. It just needs to be a separate system for all the practical and security reasons I outlines above.

Conclusion

As I have mentioned in previous articles, backups and replication can become extremely complex and expensive. That is why small businesses seldom properly protect their data – a critical mistake that can be ruinous. That is why I want to emphasize that securing data does not need to be either complex or expensive to be extremely effective.

Just doing replication using a simple free utility is a huge step in the right direction. Adding a solid backup software application to the mix, is going to bring much needed peace of mind. Both solutions do not require much technical knowledge or a separate tech to set up. Most small business owners can do this themselves.

I realize that the whole idea of setting up two software application, not to mention an entirely second system can seem daunting. I also realize that this seems to become more of an inconvenience, the one thing I was trying to avoid. I know it seems a bit ironic, but there is a very good reason for this.

Throughout this discussion about protecting data I have been talking about the importance of changing our mindset about backups. It is not a set-it-an-forget-it solution that we put in place and then forget about. Protecting your company’s data should be thought of as an evolving process that will grow with your small business over time.

Not only is this good for your data, but it is also good to think of your entire business as an evolution towards something bigger. This is typically done in stages. Replication is an excellent first step, but it should be augmented with a solid backup solution over time.

Now that you know this, I have one more recommendation: if you do have computer staff or an outsourced service, you should speak with them about backups in the same terms: an evolving process that will grow with the business. If nothing else, it should bring about greater buy-in from your technical staff.

And if it does not, maybe it is time for a change…