Technologies used for backup solutions will vary depending on operating system platform and type of data that is being backed up. In a Windows environment, Veritas (www.veritas.com) software’s BackupExec is a premier solution for those who cannot afford any data loss. Veritas produces special agents to work with many leading software applications to ensure data from those applications is backed up perfectly. In a Unix environment, open source backup software such as Bacula (www.bacula.org) makes for a high-quality, low-cost solution.

In addition to software products that actually run backups, businesses must consider what type of media they want their backup stored on. Choices include secondary hard drives in same computer that is running site, tape drives, separate network storage devices and CDs or DVDs. CDs and DVDs make for great portable backups, but are limited to relatively small file sizes (roughly 700MB and 4.8GB respectively). Network storage devices can be very expensive, but can backup enormous amounts of data. Tape drives offer perhaps best balance of cost, storage capacity, portability, security and quality. Backups done to a second hard drive are easiest on budget and fastest in terms of restore time, but are vulnerable to corruption in a situation where disaster is caused by a hacker.

Choosing right backup plan for your business should be done in consultation with an experienced professional who can help you design a solution that will allow you to restore your site to full functionality as quickly as needed. While often overlooked in price-conscious shopping process, backups are critical to long-term success of any Web operation. Computers being what they are, after a certain amount of time it is a given that your backup solution will be tested. It is just a matter of when. It is best to be prepared for this day with an appropriate backup solution.

Four Things To Do When Administering Backups (potential sidebar to this article)

·Have written policy and procedures in place on how a restore from backup should be handled. In a time of crisis, this will cut down on confusion and allow process to move along more smoothly. ·Test restores from backup. This is very critical. Some complex applications might require special software agents or configurations to backup and restore properly. Make sure test restore is successfully accomplished in a time frame that would be acceptable for a real restore. If process takes too long, you may have to reconsider your backup strategy. ·Physically protect backup data from hackers and thieves. Someone getting a hold of an unencrypted backup is just as bad as someone breaking in. ·Keep copies of software that may need to be re-installed along with your backups. This includes operating systems, software applications and security patches for either of those.

Chris Kivlehan is the Marketing Manager for INetU Managed Hosting, an award-winning web hosting provider that specializes in managed dedicated hosting for businesses nationwide. www.inetu.net / chrisk@inetu.net / 610-266-7441

Passwords that are required to login to a program are considered authentication methods, where identity of person logging in is simply authenticated, or verified. But passwords are easy to figure out and anyone capable of figuring out passwords will still have access to data contained within.

So for data to truly be protected, you’ve got to go extra step and encrypt it. There are many encryption programs available today. The most sophisticated of those protect our nation’s secrets.

But for small business owner, who has minimal understanding of encryption methodologies or terminology, and wants it to stay this way, ease of use is what’s important.

Behind scenes, all encryption software uses an algorithm or some other complex mathematical processes to scramble data. Keys or strings of binary numbers (bits) are created and are what is used to mix up data. The binary numbers and data mix together and result are data that is unreadable.

When more binary numbers are used, more encryption combinations are possible. Therefore, longer strings (more binary numbers or bits) are preferred when encrypting because this makes code even more difficult to break. So it makes sense that 128-bit encryption software is more secure than 56-bit encryption software.

Data that is encrypted is safe from prying eyes which means that your business data is safe. To view data that has been encrypted, it must be decrypted.

Whether you need to protect your e-commerce website, your email, your business data or that of your clients, be sure you use encryption software.