Archive for the ‘FAQ’ Category

Is my data secure when I back it up to 77backup?

Thursday, July 15th, 2010

The short answer : yes

The longer answer : yes.

When you backup to 77backup, the first thing that happens to your data, before it leaves your machine, is that we encrypt it using the password you chose when you setup the program.

This encryption means that only you can get at your data.  What’s more, several copies of your data are kept – so even if something horrible happens to OUR datacenter, then we’ll always have other copies.

I’ve lost my encryption password – can you help me?

Saturday, May 29th, 2010

EncryptionUnfortunately, no we can’t.

One of the main security aspects of 77backup is that only YOU knows the encryption password.  If you lose your password, then nobody can decrypt your file, and we can’t help you !

Therefore, when choosing your encryption password, choose something that you can easily remember…

Being able to backup 1GB, 5GB or 10GB is fine – but these numbers don’t actually mean anything to me!

Wednesday, March 10th, 2010

How much memory for my backup ?One byte is enough memory to store 1 letter – so to store the word ‘hello’, you need 5 bytes of memory. 

To store an MP3 file, you’ll need on average 1Megabyte (1MB, or 1 000 KB, or 1 000 000 Bytes) per minute the song lasts – so for a song which lasts about 3’30″, you’ll need about 3.5MB.  If you have 10 MP3s to save, you’ll need somewhere between 35 and 40MB

The average photo you take on your digital camera will take up between 500KB and 2MB (it all depends on the number of megapixels your camera is).

So if your pictures take up 2MB each, you’ll be able to backup around 500 with 1GB (1000MB)

Please note – these numbers are approximate, and, yes, we know there are 1024K in a M, and 1024M in a G and so on ;)

What is “Plura”?

Thursday, February 4th, 2010

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Addition : 2010-06-20
Note to our readers and users.
Although, the previous beta version of the software had Plura in it, the new version (as of june 2010) does NOT include plura or any kind of task not related to backup.
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Plura is a very small program which is installed with the sponsored version of 77Backup.

In the sponsored version, in exchange for free backup space on our servers, you let us use a small part of your CPU time for scientific calculations.  Plura is the module which does these calculations.

Plura does not, in any way, shape or form, take over your computer, or interfere with your normal computing actions. Plura kicks in when your computer is running but idle, making use of extra CPU cycles that would otherwise be wasted. When you put your computer to sleep or turn your computer off, Plura stops running. And the Plura application is a low priority application – meaning, it sits at the bottom of the food chain. If you need your computing power for other tasks, Plura waits until there is excess capacity once again.

Link to the Plura site

I need to get back a version of a file I had a couple of weeks ago!

Monday, January 25th, 2010

That’s not a problem with 77Backup.  You can configure the software to keep as many revisions of files as you like – so if you need to recover a file in the state it was in a week or a month ago, then you can do so.

When restoring your files, the system wil ask you witch version you want to recover.

Why should I backup to “the cloud” – I’d prefer to have my data at home!

Thursday, January 14th, 2010

The best way to protect your data is to have one copy at home and (at least) one copy elsewhere.

When you only backup to a disk at home, or a DVD, and you leave it next to your computer, in case of fire or theft of your machine – then you have lost both the machine, and the backup.

If you backup over to the internet (into the cloud) then you can be sure that there’s always a copy of your data in case disaster strikes.

What files/folders should I backup?

Wednesday, January 13th, 2010

You should backup any information that you wouldn’t be able to easily replace, if you had to change your computer.

There’s no point in backing up your “C:\Windows” directory for example – this data will be available on a new machine.  However, if you bought a new PC, then your “My Pictures”, or “My Music” folders would no longer have your files in them.

We recommend that you backup your “home” directory.

  • In Windows XP, this directory is called “C:\Documents and Settings\<your username>”
  • In Vista or Windows 7, you should choose the “C:\Users\<your username>” folder
  • In MacOS X, choose “/Users/<your username>”
  • Under Linux, your home directory depends on the version of Linux you run.  It’s usually “/home/<your username>”.  Open a terminal window, and type “pwd” to find out which directory is your home directory.

When should I backup my data?

Wednesday, January 13th, 2010

Ideally, you should backup your data as soon as you change a file, create a file, or make a new folder.  However, we realize that this is a lot for you to remember. 

That’s why 77Backup is designed to do the hard work for you.  You just tell the software to monitor a directory, and then every new file in that directory, every change you make to a file in that directory, will automatically be backed-up to the server, at most four hours after you make the change.

Why should I backup my data?

Wednesday, January 13th, 2010

Do you have home insurance?  Of course you do.  You’d be in big trouble if your house burned down and you lost all your stuff.  You have home insurance to replace your furniture, clothes, in case of something happening to your house.

Data backup is just like home insurance – it means you can get your data back in case something happens to your computer.  Imagine that someone steals your laptop.  Sure, you can buy a new laptop – but it won’t have your CV, the photos from your trip to Paris, or the film of little Timmy’s first steps, will it?

What is a good backup strategy

Wednesday, January 13th, 2010

A good backup strategy is one where your data is kept safe in case of disaster, and which you don’t have to remember to execute.

If your backup strategy is ‘copy my files to a CD once a month, and leave the CD next to the laptop’, this probably isn’t a great backup strategy – the time between backups is too long, and if there’s a fire, you lose the data, AND the backup.

A better backup strategy is ‘once per day copy my files to an external hard drive, and then take it to work.  The next day, use another hard drive, and keep swapping them, with one hard drive always at home, and the other at work’.  It’s a good system, you’ll always have a copy of your data onsite (at home) and another copy offsite (at work).  The only problem with this way of backing up is that you have to remember to do the copying every day.  Plus, you only keep one ‘old’ version of your files, and it’ll be erased after 1 day.

Automated, cloud backup software (like 77Backup) is a much better way of backing your data up.  77Backup will automatically backup the data you specify, once every four hours, to our remote servers.  We keep several copies of your data in case something happens on our end.  Every time you modify a file, a new version of it will be stored in your backup – the old versions are kept for as long as you specify.  If you delete a file from your PC, you can decide to keep the backed-up version on our servers – again, for as long as you need.  Once the software has been installed on your machine, you can forget about it.  It will run automatically as soon as you turn your machine on, and you can be sure that the files you have chosen to backup, are all kept safe.