data recovery

This article is from the April edition of our business newsletter, with some updated content:

Do you work on multiple computers (home, office, maybe even a laptop too)? How do you keep your files synchronized across all those machines? There are several options for working on multiple machines: you can remotely access your office machine, you can remotely access your office network , or you can use an online service to synchronize files on all the machines you use. The first option, remotely accessing your office machine, is the simplest. Your files reside in only one place (which is hopefully being backed up) and you want to access that machine when you’re not in the office. This can be done through remote control software such as LogMeIn or GoToMyPC. Both companies offer paid versions that allow you to move files between computers, and print files from your remote machine to the printer connected to the machine that you are sitting at. LogMeIn also offers a free version that doesn’t include the file transfer or remote printing capabilities. The second option, remotely accessing your office network, is a little more complicated but is a good solution if you share a computer with other people in your office and don’t have an extra machine to remotely control, or don’t want to leave that machine on when you’re out of the office. There are several routers that offer what is called a VPN connection; this essentially lets you connect to the router from anywhere you have an Internet connection and access files as if you were in the office. The third option, synchronizing files between all your machines using an online service, is best for people that have files on several computers that they use on a daily or weekly basis and would like to have access to the correct version of all files without copying to USB drives or emailing copies around. One service in particular, Dropbox, offers 2GB of storage free or 50GB for $99.95 per year and allows you to keep your files updated across as many computers as you use. It also keeps all the old versions of your files (as long as you have storage space) so that you can go back or find deleted files. The only downside to Dropbox is that it only synchronizes a single folder that it creates when it’s installed. Another synchronization service is SpiderOak. It allows you to choose which folders you want synchronized. It also encrypts the upload and download of data, as well as the data stored on their servers. Both services allow you to share files with friends even if they are not signed up for the service. Which solution you choose depends on what your needs are and how you are currently set up. If you have questions or would like help setting up one of these solutions, feel free to contact us.

Do you backup? Should you? Backing up ensures that your information is not affected should anything happen to your computer’s hard drive. It can be as simple as copying your files to an external hard drive once a month, or you could use an online backup service that automatically backs up changed and new files every night. Let’s put it this way: If something were to happen to your computer and you lost everything on it, what files would you absolutely have to have? Professional data recovery services usually start around $1,200 and increase exponentially based on the size of your hard drive. What information on your computer would you be willing to pay that much to get back? Read the rest of this entry »