Why backup? Where are you? Backup using Windows

Review of the best data backup programs. Download the best free and paid programs for data backup.

Everyone knows that it is necessary to constantly back up our data. Most often, we postpone this procedure “for later” and sometimes find ourselves in a situation where valuable photos and documents are impossible or extremely expensive to restore. I suggest you spend 5 minutes reading my article and another 10 minutes installing one of 5 backup programs to set up a backup of your data to an external hard drive or the cloud. You will never regret spending 15 minutes of your life, because such a short time will guarantee the safety of your photos and important data. Undoubtedly, you can manually save the necessary data to an external drive, but why not entrust this routine procedure to a program? Moreover, many of the backup programs mentioned in the review are absolutely free.

Best Backup Software

EaseuS Todo Backup Free

Acronis True Image

Acronis products are extremely famous in our country. The program is good in everything, perhaps, except for the somewhat high price. In all other respects, it is an excellent program for careful backup of your data or operating system.

• Full backup of a disk or selected area.
• Universal Restore— the ability to restore a copy of the operating system even to a computer with a different configuration.
• Incredibly fast backup and recovery.
• You can restore the entire image or specific folders or files

Price: 1 device - 1700 rub.

R-Drive Image

R-Drive Image is a small but feature-rich program for on-the-fly disk backup. The program can restore both entire disks and individual files. You can also easily clone disks using R-Drive Image. In general, the program has many small but successful functions, but its price for the Russian market is somewhat frightening, given the dollar exchange rate.

Price: 1 device – $44.95

CrashPlan

Quite often, free backup programs have limited functionality, but not in this case. The free version of CrashPlan has everything you need to regularly create backups to a variety of media, including a unique feature that backs up your data to a specific computer on your network (for example, a friend's computer).

• Available for Windows, Mac and Linux
• Saving backups to other computers
• Saving a backup to an external drive
• Automatic daily backups
• 448-bit file encryption

Overall, a very interesting backup program that deserves attention.

Aomei Backupper

AOMEI Backupper Standard is a free data backup and recovery program that is functional and easy to use. The program contains all the necessary tools for backing up and restoring the system, disks, partitions and disk cloning. Thanks to the support of VSS technology, AOMEI Backupper can make a complete backup of your system and any data even while the OS is running, without interfering with running processes in any way.
Even though this program is at the end of the list, I recommend paying close attention to it. The program is really good, and I can’t count how many times the Universal restore function has helped me out.

P.S. Universal restore - allows you to restore and run a copy of the system on a computer with different characteristics.

Action Backup

The last place (but not in quality) in our selection is occupied by the development of domestic programmers -. The program is actively developing and has several of its own features that distinguish this product from foreign competitors. Before purchasing, you can download a 15-day trial version of the program.

Here are the main features of Action Backup:

• Easy to set up and use: the program is extremely easy to understand, especially since there are instructions in Russian on the website. After the initial setup, the utility will backup the necessary data on a schedule, relieving you of worries about data safety.
• Rich functionality: Action Backup really does a lot - it can make backups to a remote FTP server and network drives, to external hard drives, “cut” data onto optical drives, create “shadow copies”, work as a service 24/7 365 and much more!
• Unpretentious: Action Backup consumes extremely few system resources and can work even on weak machines. This is especially true for budget organizations, many of which cannot boast of a modern fleet of equipment.
• Excellent compatibility: Action Backup works perfectly on any modern version of Windows: 7, 8, 10, Server and supports 32 and 64 bit editions.

Price: from 560 to 960 rub. depending on the number of licenses purchased. You can use the program completely free for 15 days!

So, today we got acquainted with the best data recovery programs. Yes, there are only 5 of them, but why make the top 10, 20, 30 - after all, the functions of all these programs are almost similar. I recommend you the free AOMEI Backupper Standard program. If you are confused by the lack of Russian language in this program, pay attention to Acronis True Image. All the best, I hope my article helped you choose a data recovery program.

Name of operations

• Data backup (Data backup) - the process of creating a copy of data
• Data recovery is the process of restoring to the original location

Target

Backup is necessary to be able to quickly and inexpensively restore information (documents, programs, settings, etc.) if a working copy of information is lost for any reason.

In addition, related problems are solved:

• Data duplication
• Transferring data and working with shared documents

Backup system requirements

• Reliability of information storage - is ensured by the use of fault-tolerant equipment of storage systems, duplication of information and replacement of a lost copy with another in the event of the destruction of one of the copies (including as part of fault tolerance).
• Ease of operation - automation (to minimize human participation if possible: both user and administrator).
• Quick implementation - easy installation and configuration of programs, quick user training.

Types of backup

Rotation schemes

Changing the working set of media during the copying process is called media rotation. For backup, a very important issue is the choice of a suitable media rotation scheme (for example, magnetic tapes).

One-time copy

The simplest scheme that does not involve media rotation. All operations are carried out manually. Before copying, the administrator sets the start time for the backup and lists the file systems or directories that need to be copied. This information can be stored in a database so that it can be used again. For one-time copying, full copying is most often used.

Simple Rotation

Simple rotation implies that a certain set of tapes is used cyclically. For example, a rotation cycle may be a week, in which case a separate media is allocated for a specific working day of the week. The disadvantage of this scheme is that it is not very suitable for maintaining an archive, since the number of media in the archive is rapidly increasing. In addition, incremental/differential recording is carried out on the same media, which leads to significant wear and tear and, as a result, increases the likelihood of failure.

"Grandfather, Father, Son"

This scheme has a hierarchical structure and involves the use of a set of three sets of media. Once a week a complete copy of the computer disks is made ( "father"), incremental (or differential) copying is carried out daily ( "son"). Additionally, once a month another full copying is carried out ( "grandfather"). The composition of the daily and weekly set is constant. Thus, compared to simple rotation, the archive contains only the monthly copies plus the latest weekly and daily copies. The disadvantage of this scheme is that only the data available at the end of the month, as well as wear and tear of the media, are included in the archive.

"Tower of Hanoi"

The scheme is intended to address some of the shortcomings of the simple rotation and Grandfather, Father, Son rotation schemes. The scheme is based on the use of several sets of media. Each set is designed for weekly copying, as in a simple rotation scheme, but without removing full copies. In other words, a separate set includes media with a full weekly copy and media with daily incremental (differential) copies. The specific problem of the Tower of Hanoi scheme is its higher complexity than other schemes.

"10 sets"

This scheme is designed for ten sets of media. The period of forty weeks is divided into ten cycles. During the cycle, each set is assigned one day of the week. After a four-week cycle, the set number is shifted by one day. In other words, if in the first cycle dial number 1 was responsible for Monday, and number 2 for Tuesday, then in the second cycle dial number 2 was responsible for Monday, and number 3 for Tuesday. This scheme allows you to evenly distribute the load, and therefore wear between all media.

The "Tower of Hanoi" and "10 sets" schemes are not used often, as many reservation systems do not support them.

Backup storage

• Streamer tape - recording backup data onto the tape drive;
• “Cloud backup” - recording backup data using cloud technology through online services of special providers;
• DVD or CD - recording backup data onto compact discs;
• HDD - recording backup data on the computer's hard drive;
• LAN - recording backup data to any machine within the local network;
• FTP - recording backup data to FTP servers;
• USB - recording backup data to any USB-compatible device (such as a flash card or external hard drive);
• ZIP, JAZ, MO - backup to ZIP, JAZ, MO floppy disks.

Methods to combat information loss

Loss of information occurs for various reasons.

Operational failures of storage media

Description: random breakdowns within the limits of failure statistics associated with negligence or exhaustion of service life. Of course, if some important information has already been lost, you can contact a specialized service - but this is not 100% reliable.

The struggle: store all information (each file) in at least two copies (with each copy on its own storage medium). For this purpose:

• RAID 1 providing recovery the most recent information. Files located on a server with RAID are more protected from damage than files stored on a local machine;
• Manual or automatic copying to another medium. For this, a version control system, a specialized backup program, or improvised tools such as a periodically launched cmd file can be used.

Natural and man-made disasters

Description: storm, earthquake, theft, fire, water pipe break - all this leads to the loss of all storage media located in a certain area.

Fight: The only way to protect against natural disasters is to keep part of the backups in another room.

Malware

Description: This category includes accidentally added software that intentionally corrupts information - viruses, worms, Trojan horses. Sometimes the fact of infection is discovered when a considerable part of the information is distorted or destroyed.

• Installation of anti-virus programs on workstations. The simplest anti-virus measures are disabling startup, isolating the local network from the Internet, etc.
• Providing centralized updates: the first copy of the antivirus receives updates directly from the Internet, and other copies are configured to the folder where the first one downloads updates; You can also configure the proxy server so that updates are cached (these are all measures to reduce traffic).
• Have copies in a place where the virus cannot reach - a dedicated server or removable media.
• If copying goes to the server: ensure that the server is protected from viruses (either install an antivirus or use an OS for which the likelihood of infection is low). Keep versions old enough for a copy to exist that has not come into contact with an infected computer.
• If copying is to removable media: store some of the media (without writing to it) long enough for a copy to exist that has not come into contact with the infected computer.

Conduct a mental experiment: imagine that you have lost the information that you use in your work: an accounting computer, a customer database, a website with years of accumulated information. What is the estimated economic impact this loss could cause you?

What can cause data loss? There are quite a few reasons: a ransomware virus encrypted all data, a technical failure occurred, hard drives failed, or the computer with the information was stolen.

Also, do not think that the information held by your hosting provider is completely protected. The hosting provider may have exactly the same problems.

It is clear that if you had a backup copy, the damage would be significantly less. Moreover, the newer the copy, the less damage.

Conclusion: a backup copy will allow you to significantly reduce economic losses.

Backup is a process

It is important to understand that backup is primarily a work process, not a technological one. There are two roles in this workflow.

1. Backup creator:

• organizes the process of creating and storing backup copies;
• creates instructions for creating and restoring information from backup copies;
• creates instructions for creating backup copies;
• reports to the person responsible for storing backup copies.

2. Backup keeper:

• is responsible for the safety of backup copies (has passwords for storage locations);
• Conducts periodic verification of recovery from backup copies;
• periodically personally creates backup copies according to instructions.

Unfortunately, often the executor and the person responsible for storage are the same person. This is incorrect and increases the risk of data loss.

Firstly, it is always better to divide such responsible work between several people to reduce the human factor - illness, vacation, dismissal, conflict situations.

Secondly, in the role of creator, by definition, it is impossible to check the process, since it will be part of the work on organizing the process.

That is why a separate role is needed to control the created backup process. Simply put, you need a “clean” look from an outsider to prevent mistakes.

It is worth appointing managers as backup custodians, and not just ordinary employees, since usually the manager is the most interested person in this process.

It's worth noting that the backup creator can double as the backup custodian, provided there are other custodians.

Where to store backups

It is important that the backup custodian has access and ongoing control over where the copies are stored. It's also a good idea to have several different backup storage locations so you don't put all your eggs in one basket.

Often backups are stored in the same place as the data that needs to be saved. This is an unreliable storage method, as data may be lost if the storage medium is damaged.

It is very good to occasionally save all information on non-rewritable media, such as optical discs (CD, DVD) or file systems without erase and rewrite mode. They, in turn, can be located in cloud storage.

But this does not exclude the importance of storing information on rewritable media without constant access to the Internet. For example, on hard drives in a safe.

In addition, information can be stored in cloud storage services such as Dropbox.

The importance of encrypting backups

It is important to store your backups in a safe, encrypted location. If you do not use encryption, then all your data, especially databases, can be completely “leaked” onto the Internet.

In the event of a database “leak,” you must immediately change passwords, since “leaked” passwords can be easily obtained from the database.

It is acceptable to store data in encrypted form in cloud storage. But the encryption algorithm must be strong enough. If information is of great value over a long period of time, then this method should be abandoned in favor of local storage in reliable places. We must remember that information leaks also occur from cloud storage.

How often should you make backups?

• once every six months, a year - make copies on non-rewritable media and for storage in a safe;
• at any time, but more often than once every six months - on your resources responsible for storing backup copies;
• once a day/week - directly on the server itself or in cloud storage using automatic backup copies.

Recovery instructions

Why is it important to have a proven instruction in case you need to recover from a failure? Imagine the situation: you had a failure, and the person who was in charge of the backup went on vacation and there is no contact with him. What will you do?

If you have worked out instructions according to which you periodically conduct exercises, then such problems should not arise. It is also important to periodically conduct exercises on restoring data from backups.

Data backup is one of the most important operations that any PC user needs to perform. Data backup can be done either manually or using special programs. You will learn basic methods and recommendations for backing up data in this article.

What is data backup

– the process of creating copies of important information that are stored on other data storage devices (flash drive, hard drive, DVD, cloud service, etc.). Data backup is a very important operation that any user must perform after a certain period of time.

Why do you need data backup?

Each user stores different information on their computer. Almost every user has important information stored on their computer, the loss of which can, at a minimum, upset the user (personal photos, music collection, work documents, etc.).

Unfortunately, information cannot be stored absolutely securely on a computer. Hardware failure (hard drive) or a virus attack, or even carelessness of the user himself (accidentally deleting information) can lead to the loss of important data. To protect important information, you need to back up your data.

Backing up files and information will allow you to protect this data in the event of a failure of the main storage medium (for example, a computer hard drive) or a virus attack.

What types of backups are there?

Many users think that you can make a backup from several folders or from several files, but in fact there are a few more types of backups.

What backups can you make:

Operating system backup

A very useful thing that many, even experienced users, neglect. You only need to install the operating system, drivers and necessary programs once. Then a backup copy of the configured operating system is made, and if something happens (a virus attack or simply cluttering the system), then you need to spend 10-15 minutes restoring the backup copy, instead of spending more than one hour on a new installation and configuration of the system.

As a rule, special Windows programs or tools are used to backup the operating system.

Backup copy of the disk (partition on the hard drive)

Let's say that you have a hard drive partition (for example, drive “E”). It stores your music and photos. All this data is important to you and losing it is unacceptable.

You can make a backup copy of this entire disk and if data loss occurs, you can restore everything as it was.

Disk backup can be done either using special programs or manually.

Backup individual files and folders

The most common backup method. Basically, users store photos on one disk, documents on another, and their favorite music on a third. In addition, these disks may store not very important information, the backup copy of which is not necessary.

In this case, only a backup copy of these same files and folders is made from different disks, and not a copy of the entire disk, much less the entire computer hard drive.

Typically, the user does such a backup manually, although special programs or Windows tools can be used.

One such utility is the backup program Exiland Backup, which is very easy to learn, but at the same time has great capabilities. It will take care of automatically creating backup copies of the most important data, archiving them in ZIP, and saving the archives to various media: local, removable, network drives or FTP servers. In addition, the program supports another type of copying - folder synchronization (mirroring), which makes it possible to create an exact copy of the original folder.

As practice shows, it is better to automate the backup process in order to eliminate such human factors as forgetfulness.

Backup using Windows

The Windows 7 operating system has tools for creating a backup copy of both the system itself and certain data.

To go to Windows backup tools, open the Control Panel, then “System and Security” and “Backup and Restore”.

You will be asked to configure data archiving (specify where copies will be stored and what to archive). In addition, you can create an image of the operating system and configure the frequency of backups, as well as create a disk for backup system recovery.

Data backup programs

There are a number of programs that will help you quickly and easily set up backup of all necessary data.

Acronis True Image Home

AcronisTrueImageHome is a leader among backup programs. It has all the necessary functions and capabilities for backup, ranging from a single folder to an entire disk or operating system.

The program has a very simple and intuitive interface. Working with her is easy and pleasant. The only minutes of Acronis True Image Home – paid program. For it you will have to pay a little less than two thousand rubles or download a pirated version (this is a matter of your conscience).

Using Acronis True Image, you can save specific data (files and folders), entire disk partitions, or create an image of a partition with the operating system, all programs and configuration. All these actions can be configured to run automatically and periodically.

Even if your operating system is severely damaged and cannot boot, you can boot Acronis True Image from a flash drive or any media and restore the backup copy.

Acronis True Image backups can be transferred to any digital storage medium, and even if you cannot load a backup from your hard drive, you can load it from a flash drive or DVD.

In general, I recommend this program as the best paid option for setting up data backup. But there are also free analogues of Acronis True Image, although they do not reach the functionality of Acronis.

Free analogues of Acronis True Image

As free analogues of Acronis True Image, you can use:

• Clonezilla
• Comodo Backup
• Cobian Backup

All programs cope with the task of backing up data, but each is, to one degree or another, inferior to the paid Acronis True Image. Each user requires a certain type of backup and one will only need, for example, Cobian Backup, while another needs the full functionality of Acronis True Image.

Just test these programs and determine which one is more suitable for your purposes.

Manual backups

Not all users need to backup the operating system (although this is convenient) or the entire disk. It is enough just to copy important data to other media once a week or month (depending on the frequency of updating/changing information). For example, copy personal photos after each trip on vacation or vacation, and copy the quarterly report once every 3 months.

When making a backup, be sure to use the tips for backing up your data.

Regardless of how and what you back up, be sure to use these recommendations.

Periodicity

Make backups periodically. Depending on the type of data, you can make backups after a period of time (every week, month, etc.) or by event (new photos appearing or a report change.)

If you do not monitor the frequency, then in the event of data loss, you will restore the old version of the backup, which will not contain the recently changed data.

Many copies

The more copies you make, the more likely it is that you will be able to recover lost information.

Backup protection

You are making a copy of important data and you need to protect it from strangers. If you make a backup copy of private photos, they should never be opened by other people.

It is best to combine encryption and password protection of data. You can create an encrypted container to store any type of data or create a password-protected archive.

Backup storage

Do not store backup copies, even on different media, in the same place (box or closet) or in the same apartment (if a fire occurs, all copies will be destroyed).

Take one copy to work and put it in your safe or locked box and also upload a backup copy to the cloud. You can even give the media to a friend for safekeeping, but in any case, do not forget to protect the copy from unauthorized access.

Conclusion

Creating a backup copy of your data is a very important procedure. It is necessary for any user. As you can see, creating a backup is not that difficult, and you can even set up automatic creation of backups, which will make your work easier. It’s up to you to decide exactly how to back up your data, but most importantly, don’t forget to do it and use the recommendations from this article.

If you are still new to using iPhone, then you definitely need to know what a backup is and how to use it.

Navigation

If you have just recently started using your iPhone, we recommend that you constantly back up the data stored on it. This operation will not take you much time, and if you automate it, it will not burden you with anything at all. Thanks to manufacturers' technologies, you can create a copy even without the personal participation of the smartphone owner.

Backup is an excellent option for saving personal data.

No one in our lives can be insured against theft, loss or intentional damage to an expensive phone. And in the absence of a copy, in addition to regrets about the loss, there is also grief from the loss of a photo, contacts or other important information. It’s better to play it safe once again and restore everything if necessary.

By the way, a backup copy is also necessary in case of unsuccessful updates, when the only solution is to completely reset the smartphone settings. In this case, everything is deleted, and the backup helps to recover. A backup copy is also useful when transferring data to a new phone from an old one.

As a rule, the iPhone uses two services - proprietary iCloud storage and iTunes. They allow you to easily create copies of all necessary and important resources.

iCloud general information

Among the advantages of this resource, convenient use stands out, since to copy you just need to turn on Wi-fi, and everything else will be done automatically. And so on every day. Therefore, with its help you will always have an up-to-date database. This is very convenient, since restoration can be carried out from any place where there is a connection to a wireless network and without additional devices and wires.

• The iCloud option is enabled in the device settings.
• Further in the section "Backups" Click on the offer to create a backup copy.

• You just need to connect once and the device will always copy the data on its own. As a rule, this happens in the evenings, when the phone is charging and Wi-Fi is turned on, since the RAM is least loaded at this moment and the operation goes much faster and with better quality. The data is saved in your personal “cloud”, to which only you have access.
• As the cloud fills up, the system will erase all unnecessary data, as well as old databases. This is due to the cloud size limitation provided by Apple. Initially, you receive a resource that has 5 GB of memory. If you use more than this limit, you will have to pay an additional fee.
• As a rule, the last three copies are saved to the cloud. They contain personal settings, correspondence and messages. By the way, if you don’t make new copies for 180 days, Apple will erase the old ones due to lack of demand and it will be impossible to recover data from them.

Video: How to backup iPhone or iPad?

iTunes

This program is suitable for those who are used to storing personal data only on a PC or removable storage device. Before connecting, you must first install the latest version of the program so that there are no problems with recognition in the future.

• Connect your smartphone to your PC
• In the app, tap on your device and tap on "Review"
• Find "Backups"
• Select the option to perform the operation manually and enable copying

If you need to clean up your computer's memory and get rid of old copies, then through the settings find "Devices", select data and click on "Delete".

In order not to forget about the need to create another copy, create a small reminder on any of your devices.

Setting a password

It is best to set a password on the backup so that no attacker can access your files. To do this, when creating a backup, make a checkmark opposite "Backup Encryption" in the tab "Review".

Write it somewhere so you don't lose it, because now the password will be asked every time you copy.

How to use copies?

• First of all, all software must be updated to the latest version.
• Select "Reset" in the main settings and activate deletion through the item "Erase iPhone".

• Next, the assistant will launch and you will be asked to select a save location.
• Do you need an item "Recover from iCloud", specify the backup file and enter authorization data.

If you decide to restore via iTunes, then connect the smartphone to the PC to which the data was downloaded.

By the way, be sure to disable the function first "Find iPhone".

Now you can choose one of the appropriate methods:

• Select "File" — "Devices" and click on restore.

• Or go to the section "Backups", where there is a similar point "Recovery from a copy".

In conclusion, it is worth saying that the best combination is to use all services at once. Daily iCloud backup will allow you to save small current information, and large files can be created at least once a month using iTunes and stored on a PC or flash drive. In the future, if necessary, this will allow you to obtain complete lost data.

You can find out how to properly set up a new iPhone.

Video: iPhone, iPad backup - what is it? And is it worth restoring?