Free Computer Consultant-20090102 - Miss This Resolution At Your Own Peril

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Free Computer Consultant Tip-Of-The-Week for January 2, 2009
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Miss This Resolution At Your Own Peril
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Hope you had an enjoyable Holiday Season and my best wishes for
a prosperous 2009.

One way to enjoy prosperity is to avoid disaster.

This is the time of year when I typically get inundated with
student computers, home for the holidays, with problems.

One problem I invariable encounter is lost data. From downloaded
songs that were purchased with hard to replace money to senior
thesis papers.

But it's not just students who lose data. One phone call today
was a business telling me to be on alert for a phone call from
a software vendor hoping to restore data that was corrupted.

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Resolution Advice
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Forget those resolutions about losing weight. You want to lose
weight? Duct tape. Over the mouth.

No tape, you want a diet. Ok. Ready?

If it tastes good, spit it out. Then have a drink of water.

Seriously, though, here is a resolution that you will ignore only
to your own peril.

Make 2009 the year you really get a handle on backup and data
protection.

And PLEASE don't anyone tell me that there really isn't anything
on your PC that is that important.

I have heard that over and over from people who later call me
to ask what magic bullet I have that will get back their lost
whatever.

Online or remote backup is all the rage. In fact, most anything
in an online version is popular.

Now in the past I have written that online backup was not a
backup solution that I recommended. If you want the full story
you can read it here:
http://www.freecomputerconsultant.com/online-backup-service.html

Online backup services had some problems that needed to be
overcome. In time, I knew they would be - for the most part, anyway.

That time has come.

In the words of famous economist John Maynard Keynes:
"When the facts change, I change. What do you do, sir?"

1. There are now many companies that are not likely to go out of
business.
2. The data is encrypted from the time it leaves your PC. The
company holding the data cannot view it (or sell it, or whatever).
3. Broadband service continues to improve, giving you access to
your data in a timely fashion.
4. Prices have come down - to free even (keep reading).

There is still a caveat, however. If you lose your entire PC it
will take a LONG time to get all of your data back from an online
backup service.

So I still recommend a USB hard drive and Acronis True Image.

Backup your entire drive frequently with Acronis True Image.

Aand you can even let Acronis do the same thing as an online
backup service; the key here though is that the online backup
service keeps a copy of your data OFFSITE in case of:

. Fire
. Theft
. Flood
. Tornado
. you get the idea

So Ok, perhaps by now you are wondering if all online backup
services are the same or if there are some I recommend.

Glad you asked.

Two online backup services that are highly regarded are Mozy
and Carbonite. Both have free trials.

But Mozy Remote Backup offers up to 2GB for home users absolutely
free. Unlimited backup is about $50 per year.

Take a look at Mozy Remote Backup here.

Take a look at Carbonite Online Backup here.

And if you have business backup needs, these vendors have
incredible offers for you as well, including complex needs like
Microsoft Exchange databases.

I think you will like what you find. If you do, please head over to
my support forum and discuss it. If you don't like what you see,
please head over to my support forum and discuss it!

I always enjoy hearing from my readers.

Until next time...

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You can keep up with articles I write and videos I create,
for the most part, at:
http://www.AssociatedContent.com/freecomputerconsultant

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