Services save crucial data on home, small office PCs

By Doug Bedell / Staff Writer of The Dallas Morning News
Published 10-13-1998

Telling typical small office and home computer users to back up critical data is like recommending daily flossing: Most agree it's important but ignore the practice until suffering a humbling, costly crisis.

Dentists may never make flossing palatable. But a handful of software companies are now using the Internet to make computer backups practical, painless and not outlandishly expensive.

Online, off-premises storage services can take the sting out of hard disk damage caused by static, natural disasters and virulent viruses. They also make sense in light of burgeoning PC thefts, employee sabotage and modern operating system glitches.

"We're actually blessed by today's software," says Gary Sutton, chief executive officer of @Backup. Pronounced"At Backup," the company is one of three online services being marketed to small businesses and home users.

"Windows 95 now makes it possible to destroy several files at once. With the general degradation of software, online backups are starting to look less scary and more like a refuge."

The need for online backups became obvious to Mr. Sutton as he watched more than 13 million consumers two years ago begin buying up Iomega Zip and Jaz drives, removable disk storage systems.

Eventually, the number of these and tape backup systems actually outstripped the number of new PCs purchased.

"We knew something was going on there," Mr. Sutton says.

"The modern disks are nice, but they're whirling faster and faster, storing data closer and closer. When the janitor bumps the unit at night, chances of causing damage have greatly increased."

@Backup, Saf-T-Net and Intel's AnswerExpress Support Suite offer online alternatives to the stacks of floppy, Zip and Jaz disks used by millions to back up information from their computers. These new products all encrypt data on hard drives before sucking copies of selected files through your modem and into secured, giant servers. All assure privacy and security through their own backups of your backups at multiple U.S. sites.

The services also provide options for virus detection and cleansing. And, at additional cost, users can arrange to receive up to 650 megabytes of their backups on a CD. This option provides a new resource for those who have not purchased a machine to record data on a CD and are about to run out of hard drive space.

The charges are relatively affordable these days when considering the time and

money necessary to fashion secured, encrypted backups of essential data. Costs can be as low as $20 per month and generally are keyed to how much data are to be stored.

However, to store a complete mirror of your drive's contents, users must specifically ask the programs to copy system files and directories that aren't backed up automatically. When that is done, costs for storage and upload can increase dramatically. A 5.2 gigabyte hard drive about 75 percent full, for example, can cost as much as $60 per month to regularly back up.

Installing and arranging for routine hard-drive backups is almost as easy as phoning the dentist for a cleaning.

@Backup and Saf-T-Net Web sites feature a downloadable product for Windows systems that drops right on the desktop. There, users can configure the options for virus protection and set times for their modems to automatically call storage facilities and begin making copies.

Intel's suite of products is a bit trickier but a little more ambitious. The program, which soon will be available in stores, comes as a CD- ROM. AnswerExpress Support Suite carries access to the Ask Intel desk, where a technician can examine the program's snapshot of your drive and quickly offer advice on a variety of software and hardware issues. The product also has an Answer Library filled with documentation on the most widely used office and home PC products.

Users who don't use some sort of backup risk trouble. More than 90 percent of North American businesses and 33 percent of all households now rely on PCs for storage of often vital information. Statistics show a hard drive crashes once every 15 seconds. And the average cost for restoring 1 gigabyte of data from a malfunctioning hard drive can range from $400 to $1,500.

That fact, along with potential financial losses caused by down time, makes backing up data important for home users and businesses alike.

"It's kind of like maintaining your car," says Intel's Kevin Johnson, who helped develop his company's product. "You know you should, but sometimes you don't. Eventually, it jumps up to bite you.

"I've been stuck on the side of the road more times than I care to admit."

Now, if flossing were only this simple.
CHART(S): (DMN) Why PC Data Are Lost. CHART(S): (DMN)
The Lowdown On Backups.

© 1998 The Dallas Morning News All Rights Reserved

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