Securing Your Stand Alone Or Network Node
All major operating systems include backup utilities. Certainly Windows '95 and '98 include Microsoft backup which has facilities to both compress and encrypt your data. This means that you can get more data onto your backup media (floppy disks, writeable CD's, etc.) and you can protect it from prying eyes if you lose the media.
Bearing this in mind it is amazing, then, that less than one in ten small companies don't make regular backups. Lets examine how easy it is to backup your data using your Microsoft backup software and a floppy disk drive one step at a time.
It is much simpler to do any backup if all your data is in one place or at least as few places as possible. If your data is sprinkled liberally around your hard disk you will inevitably miss a few files and, the world being what it is, those will be the ones that cannot be replaced. In this regard try and place your data in particular directories and sub-directories beneath that:
Notice that we don't place all the files into the 'My documents' directory itself but create further sub-divisions (Word Documents, Excel Documents, etc.) beneath that. This saves you having to scroll through maybe hundreds of files to find the ones you want. Further divisions allow breakdown for different people who use the machine and so on. Use meaningful filenames and don't bother using the file modified data in the name, i.e. 'last saved 1/1/01', that's available in the file data in the backup. This all makes it easier when restoring the data. Most software will allow you to set a default file location so all your files for that application will be saved in the same place when you save or exit from it. It's usually in the 'Tools/Options' or 'Preferences' section in the toolbar in Windows applications.
NB. I'm assuming you have Microsoft Backup installed. If not install it from your windows installation disks.
To start the backup click 'Start - Programs - Accessories - System tools - Backup'. The first time you run the program you may be told you do not have any backup devices if you only have a floppy disk drive. If this is the case click 'No' to indicate you don't want the program to look for backup devices, i.e. tape drives, etc. You will then be presented with the following screen:-
Click
'OK' to create a new backup job, then select 'Backup up selected
files, folders and drives' - we're not going to have enough room on
floppy disks to backup your entire hard disk - and click 'Next'.
Click the plus sign for drive 'C' to display a list of
sub-directories to choose from. The screen should look like this:-
In
the above picture I have already selected the 'My Documents'
directory (notice the plus (+) sign next to it - this means there are
further subdirectories beneath it), and am ready to click the 'Next'
button. The next question is asking, Do you wish to back up all the
files beneath this sub-directory or just those ones that have been
changed since the last time you performed a backup. I'm going to
backup all the files and that is the default so I just click 'Next'.
NB.I always choose 'All selected files' in a particular sub-directory. This allows me to keep separate backups and keep them in separate location, i.e. a couple at home - a couple at the office, etc.
I then select where to place the backup. In the following screen I have done this by changing the drive from 'C' to 'A':-
I
then choose the default settings which are to compress files to save
space and also verify that the files have been properly backed up -
From there it's simply a matter of giving the backup job a name,
(note the job name is not the same as the backup filename which is
'A:\MyBackup.qic'). I will call my backup job 'My Documents Backup'.
Click 'Start'. A 'Backup Progress' screen will be displayed while the
backup is being carried out. You may be asked to change disks if the
compressed capacity exceeds the floppy disk size.
N.B. The backup routine shown can be used to backup to any device, i.e. network drives or, more significantly, writeable/re-writeable CD's which have an uncompressed capacity of about 600Mb and typically store about 1-1.5 GB of data. Just change the 'A' to the drive letter of your writeable/re-writeable CD.
Once you have used a particular disk for backing up you may be asked if you want to overwrite the data placed on it. As long as you keep track of whether you're backup up onto a floppy or restoring from one there's no danger in doing so.
Restoring files from the backup is simply a matter of selecting 'Restore backed up files' on the opening screen when starting the application. From there you simple reverse your steps telling the program where to get the files from, (the default will be where you backed them up onto last), and which backup set to use. You can keep more than one backup set on a disk by giving them different backup filenames, i.e.'backup2.qic', 'backup3.qic', etc.
In the same way that you chose which files to backup you can also select which files to restore. The program asks you, (or you can set it in the defaults), whether to a.) overwrite files that already exist, b.) ask you first before overwriting or c.) don't overwrite at all.
You can also apply a password to the backup to better protect your data. To do this, before you start the backup select 'Job - Options - Password' on the menu system and click the Password box. Type in a password, confirm it in the box below and press 'OK'. You will then be asked for a password when backing up your data and be asked for the same password when restoring it. DON'T LOSE THIS PASSWORD.
Also, and this is most important, don't forget to test the efficacy of your backup system from time to time. This can be simply a matter of creating a test file called, say, 'test.doc', which you then delete and try and get from your backup set or it can be more sophisticated. For example you may copy all your data to a backup directory, (using windows explorer you can copy entire sub-directories and directories beneath them - not forgetting any hidden files), and then delete it, using the backup to replace.
At all times BE CAUTIOUS. You can always delete extra backups so take a couple of extra backups and then copy all the data into at least 2 directories and even other machines across a network, if available. Don't try and rush any of the above - it's not worth it.
Index Page < Previous - Next > Virus Protection
© Copyright Andrew Bennett 2006