What is an Online Backup Service?

An online back-up service is an Internet-based system that allows computer users to routinely back-up and recover their important data using a secure and trusted server on the Internet.

If you use your computer to create and save valuable data for business or personal reasons, you should make some type of back-up of your important data to prevent a total loss in the event of any kind of system failure or human error. Simple data back-up can save your data to multiple locations, copying the data from its original location to removable media, another hard drive, or another computer hard drive on your network.

To make this task easier, specialized programs like BACKUP from Accurate Data Storage exist to aid users in regularly making a back-up copy of their data. Since some users are not interested in managing the tasks necessary for maintaining their own backups, a new breed of back-up software was created that uses a secure Internet connection to transfer, copy and store files. Online back-up software is designed to routinely copy your important files to a private, secure location on the Internet by securely transmitting your data over your existing Internet connection.

If you have a working Internet connection on your computer, you can use the Accurate Data BACKUP service to keep your important files safe from disaster on a daily basis.

Can I test the software before I sign-up?

Absolutely! You can download a FREE 30 day trial of BACKUP service, or you can send an e-mail to our sales department at info@accuratedatastorage.com to discuss which of our packages are right for you.

Is it possible to download a demo version of the Exchange or SQL plugin for BACKUP??

The Exchange and SQL plug-ins are actually included in the demo client when you download the client. There is nothing more to install on the client machine besides the BACKUP client software. The plug-ins are initially installed with a 30-day demo license.

Does it make sense to use BACKUP if you have a slow Internet connection?

Depending on the speed of your connection and the size of your files, your initial back-up over the Internet may take several hours. Many people with large back-up sizes and slower Internet connections will often run their first back-up over the weekend. Once the first back-up is completed, each subsequent back-up can be backed up in minutes over a slower dial-up connection.

Our BACKUP software can also resume a canceled back-up, so you can start the back-up during your slow times and cancel it during your busy times. The next time you start the back-up, it will pick up from where it was canceled until the entire back-up is complete.

What files should I select?

Since your entire hard drive is likely to be much larger than the amount of storage you have purchased on the back-up server, you should be selective in the files that you choose for back-up. In general, you can avoid backing up any programs that you can reinstall from a purchased CD, such as Microsoft Office® (Word, Excel, etc.). Why pay for storage for “stuff” you can easily re-install? Try to focus your selection on things like your “My Documents”, “My Pictures” or “My Music” folders and data files of your important programs like accounting, income tax, contact management, etc. Your online back-up software comes with predefined filters, which allow you to automatically select categories of files without knowing where all the files are located. See the BACKUP software “Help” section on “Filters” to learn how they can be used.

How do I delete files from the BACKUP server?

In order to control how much data is stored on the online backup server, your online back-up software allows you to view all of the data stored on the server and selectively remove files from the server. To view the data stored under your account, run your online back-up software and click on the folder tab labeled “Restore.” In the left windowpane, Right-Click on the Desktop icon and select “Get Volume List from Server”. This will show you each computer that has been backed up to your account. Now you can navigate the folders to see what data is stored on the server. To delete files, click on the button with the Red “X” to enable the Delete Files mode. Mark any files you wish to delete by clicking your mouse in the empty box next to the file(s) you wish to delete. Click the “Delete Files Now” to issue the command to delete the selected files from the server. ** WARNING: Once a file is deleted from the server, it can no longer be restored.

Should I also have a local backup in addition to online back-up?

It’s up to you. We encourage people to do both local and remote back-up for absolute protection. Users that want an added level of protection will perform local back-ups in addition to their online back-up. Local back-ups can allow you to back-up ALL of your files, while the online back-up is a great way to automatically store your critical files off-site. When it comes to your important data, you can never be too safe.

What is the Personal Recovery CD?

The Personal Recovery CD is a service that offers copies all of your data from Accurate Data Storage servers onto CD(s) or DVD(s). This allows you to restore the archive of your data from a CD without requiring an Internet connection. This is great for keeping long-term archives of your data or restoring large amounts of data without connecting over a slow Internet connection.

What do I do if there is trouble connecting to the server or performing a back-up?

Contact the Accurate Data Storage technical support department for assistance during normal business hours (9am – 5pm EST). You can also view the technical support section of our Web site for some helpful information.

Can I back-up open and locked files with the BACKUP client software?

In the case of many back-up software programs, files and databases that are in use during the back-up may not get backed up successfully because they are locked to prevent any other program from altering the data. To solve this problem, BACKUP can be used with the optional SQL and Exchange Plug-ins to make sure that these open and locked database files get backed up successfully. Additionally, we now provide Open File Backup Protection which takes advantage of Microsoft’s VSS Option. This ensures open files are not skipped.

What is a FastBIT back-up?

The FastBIT patching process is the core technology behind our speedy back-up service. The patching process involves the comparison of two different versions of the same file and extracting the differences between the files. When the differences are extracted from the two files, they are saved into a new file and compressed into what is known as a Patch. The patch file is often 85% to 99.9% smaller than the file which the patch was extracted from originally.

In order to perform a FastBIT back-up, the software has to back-up the files 3 times: the first backup is a full, the next back-up will perform an incremental, and the third performs the first FastBIT back-up.

Why is FastBIT important?

If you are an end-user, the efficiency of FastBIT will dramatically reduce the time required to back-up your data from any network location, include slow dial up connections.

If you are the server administrator, FastBIT will minimize your overall bandwidth utilization for a large installed base. FastBIT will also provide the most cost-effective method of storing ongoing file histories for every user. FastBIT back-ups can be 15 times smaller than the nearest competitor. That means NovaNet-WEB will only need 10 Gigabytes for user data that would need up to 150 Gigabytes of storage using competitive software for the same amount of user data.

What platforms does the BACKUP client support?

BACKUP software can be installed on any Windows 98SE, Me, NT, 2000, 2003 (.NET), XP or Vista computer. The BACKUP Client software communicates to servers using the TCP/IP protocol.

Can I back-up other platforms with my BACKUP client software?

BACKUP software will only run natively on Windows 98SE, Me, NT 4.0, 2000, 2003 (.NET), XP, Vista and Windows 7.  If you want to back-up computers with other operating systems, it is possible. Here’s how… Since BackUp Vault Client supports mapped network drives and the Network Neighborhood, it can backup data from any computer that is accessible via the network. A single BACKUP Client can back-up the local computer and any number of local or remote network computers using BACKUP’s powerful user interface.

What is the “secret key”?

The secret key is a special text string used to encrypt all data that is stored on the server. The secret key can be changed at any time in between backups or restores. If the secret key is forgotten or lost, the administrator may not be able to recover the data on the server.

If I change my secret key can I still restore old data?

When you change the secret key, the previous secret key — and all keys before it, if any — are encrypted together using the latest secret key. This way, you need only remember the latest key and do not have to be troubled with remembering, potentially, many keys from past changes.

What Happens if I exceed my disk quota?

You can still continue your normal backup process. We’ll simply bill you for the additional space used the following month.