For Immediate Release
10 Things You Need To Ask Your Online Backup Provider
New York, November 29, 2006 —There are many online data backup vendors available on the internet. However, not all providers were created equal. Many offer robust, sophisticated backup tools suitable for protecting vital business or personal data from disaster. Unfortunately, there are also a large number of lower cost solutions where corners have been cut, or features skipped in favor of economy.
Before you trust an online backup service with your critical personal data, it is important to understand what features are available and how important these are to you.
1. How secure is your data?
Even though most services use encryption to protect your data as it traverses the Internet, many do not use encryption when they store your data on their servers.
With Data Deposit Box, each file is 448 bit encrypted before it leaves your PC (your online banking only uses 128 bit). Your encryption key is unique to you. Only you have the ability to access your data.
2. Is the software easy to install?
Most online backup tools were designed to be used by expert IT administrators who have an intimate knowledge of Windows.
No special skills are required to back up your PC with Data Deposit Box. When you download and run the software, it will automatically determine where things like your Outlook email, My Documents, and Favorites are located.
3. Is the backup continuous?
Even if your service has a scheduled backup agent that runs weekly, how much data will you lose since the last time it ran?
Data Deposit Box uses a continuous online backup process where your files are backed up automatically as soon as they change. This means that if you close a Word document at 2pm on Tuesday, that file will back up at 2:01pm Tuesday.
4. Does it store multiple versions?
To keep storage costs down, a lot of backup services keep only one copy of each file. What would happen if some of your critical files get corrupted by a virus and you don't notice until after your next backup?
Data Deposit Box keeps multiple versions of your files. If a file gets corrupted, or if you just need an earlier version of a file, you simply go online and download whichever version you need.
5. Does it backup changes or just whole files?
Backup services without versioning features need to back up the whole file each time it changes. But backing up your whole mail file every time you get new mail is unworkable and can take hours. Some services deal with this issue by backing up only weekly or at night, or by not backing up your email at all.
With Data Deposit Box, once you have a file backed up once, the software will detect and extract only the data that changes for backup - in a matter of seconds.
6. What happens if the backup gets interrupted?
Many online backup tools work just like old tape backup software. They look for all the files that need to be backed up, and then transfer everything as one huge blob of data. If your connection gets interrupted, many backups will fail and you will have to start over.
Data Deposit Box was designed to be interruptible. If your connection gets interrupted, the backup will simply pause until the connection comes back. Then it will continue your backup from where it left off.
7. Will they delete your files without asking?
Some backup services keep costs down by automatically deleting files that are no longer on your PC, but accidental deletion (human error) is one of the biggest reasons why people lose files.
Data Deposit Box will never delete your files automatically. Moreover, with Data Deposit Box you can run a Clean-Up wizard that will reconcile the files on your PC with your online backup and suggest things you may wish to delete.
8. Can you back up multiple PCs, servers, or networks without extra cost?
Most online backup plans are based on a single PC. If they say you can back up your PC for $10/month, they really mean you can back up that one PC for $10/month. They may also require a more expensive plan for a server, or they may not allow you to back up network shares or external hard drives.
With Data Deposit Box you can install the software on as many computers as you need. You can back up PCs, laptops, servers, hard disks (even external), network drives, even USB memory keys. In all cases you just pay $2/GB for the storage you actually use. For example, if you back up 1GB from one PC, that will cost $2 per month. If you back up 1GB shared among 5 computers, it will still cost just $2 per month.
9. Is the rate plan excessively complex?
Most online backup plans are based on set "buckets" or storage. If you pay $10 per month you can perhaps store up to 1GB. When you try to back up 1.001GB, the backup will fail and you will have to either delete some data or upgrade your plan.
With Data Deposit Box you are charged based on how much storage you actually use. If you suddenly need to back up a bit more data, then next month you will be charged a bit more for it. The number of PCs is not important. You only pay for what you actually use.
10. Will you be able to access your data remotely?
Once you have backed up your data, how easy is it to access? Some of the lower cost services will only allow you to access your files from the PC that backed them up.
Data Deposit Box allows you to access your data remotely with any web browser. If you are in a client meeting and suddenly need a file from your PC, simply log into your Data Deposit Box from your client's web browser and download the file you need. Data Deposit Box even allows you to selectively share files or folders with others. Simply select the data to share and assign a password. Then you can share that data by emailing secure web links.
About Data Deposit Box™:
Data Deposit Box™ is an easy to use online backup solution enabling everyday PC users to backup, restore, and share information online. Data Deposit Box™ was designed to be used by everyday computer users without the benefit of an IT support staff.
The Data Deposit Box™ service is sold through Resellers and Channel Partners in addition to being offered direct to the public. Partners such as Internet Service Providers, Value Added Resellers and PC Consultants are able to bring a fully brandable turn-key online backup service to market quickly with a minimal capital investment. For more information about the Data Deposit Box™ Partner Program, please visit http://www.datadepositbox.com.
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For more information please contact:
Tim Jewell
Media Relations
