Donna,
I'm getting this late so my suggestion may have already been presented by someone else.
There are many backup services but I believe you have to consider issues such as support and encryption in addition to price.
I've been dealing with DrBackup for the past few years and I find their support outstanding. You can always get help when you need it including advise and directions on how to set up backup sets. Their software is set up to run backups at a scheduled time (although you can run the backup at any time as well) and you can implement an option to confirm via email that the backup was successful. The default encryption has you to create a key so that no one other than yourself and possibly the NSA can decrypt your backup.
I suggest that whatever service you go with that you look for features like these.
Mel
----- Original Message -----
From: "Donna J. Perrone"
Date: Monday, October 20, 2008 5:38 pm
Subject: [taxchat] online backup services
To: 'TaxTalk Listserv Members', taxchat@yahoogroups.com
> Some time ago, there was a discussion about using online backup
> services. I
> spoke to my tech support guy and he sent me this blurb from
> Consumer Reports
> about Carbonite and Mozy (never heard of them).
>
> I currently backup 2 ways: on the server there are 2 drives
> where one backs
> up to the other, then all my data gets backed up to a laptop on the
> network. Since my offices are in my home, I am here day and
> night during tax
> season, so I don't have to worry about something happening in a
> buildingwhile I'm not there. I am just concerned that I have
> adequate backup
> protection for my systems.
>
> Online backup services (from Consumer Reports)
>
> Online storage services make a great secondary backup solution
> because your
> data is safe in case of burglary or damage from a fire or flood. The
> services generally provide software for file encryption and for
> schedulingautomated, incremental backups, and they typically
> store your data at
> multiple remote locations for increased security. Some sites
> even let you
> share files remotely.
>
> The downside of these services is you have to put your trust in
> a third
> party to keep your data safe, and that might make you
> uncomfortable. They're
> also the slowest of the backup methods we tested, taking
> anywhere from 10
> minutes to 12 hours to upload 1GB of data and 10 minutes to 3
> hours to
> download. In addition to the type of files and the speed of your
> PC, the
> variables that account for the huge disparity include what else
> is happening
> on your PC during the backup, the speed of your Internet
> connection, and
> network traffic both on your end and at the online service. The
> slowest by
> far was Carbonite, for both uploading and downloading.
>
> If you have a limited amount of data, you can use one of the
> free services,
> and the upload time would be more reasonable. But if you have a
> lot of data
> and are frequently adding to it, the glacial speed and the
> monthly fees can
> make this a poor long-term choice. If you have a large amount of
> digitalimage files, you might want to consider a photo-sharing
> service, which lets
> those you invite view and print photos, but uploading will still
> be slow.
>
> The data-backup service we liked best was Mozy. It offers the
> most features
> and control, scheduling backups is easy, and customer service
> was quick and
> helpful. The service is free for up to 2GB of data, and $4.95
> per month gets
> you unlimited storage. Another service, Xdrive, lets you store
> up to 5GB for
> free; $9.95 per month gets you 50GB.
>
> Does anyone have any opinions on either one of these companies, or
> suggestions?
>
> thanks,
>
> Donna
>
> Donna J. Perrone, EA
> East Haven, CT
> 203-469-4939
> 203-468-2038 fax
>
>
>
>
__._,_.___ ----- Original Message -----
From: "Donna J. Perrone"
Date: Monday, October 20, 2008 5:38 pm
Subject: [taxchat] online backup services
To: 'TaxTalk Listserv Members'
> Some time ago, there was a discussion about using online backup
> services. I
> spoke to my tech support guy and he sent me this blurb from
> Consumer Reports
> about Carbonite and Mozy (never heard of them).
>
> I currently backup 2 ways: on the server there are 2 drives
> where one backs
> up to the other, then all my data gets backed up to a laptop on the
> network. Since my offices are in my home, I am here day and
> night during tax
> season, so I don't have to worry about something happening in a
> buildingwhile I'm not there. I am just concerned that I have
> adequate backup
> protection for my systems.
>
> Online backup services (from Consumer Reports)
>
> Online storage services make a great secondary backup solution
> because your
> data is safe in case of burglary or damage from a fire or flood. The
> services generally provide software for file encryption and for
> schedulingautomated, incremental backups, and they typically
> store your data at
> multiple remote locations for increased security. Some sites
> even let you
> share files remotely.
>
> The downside of these services is you have to put your trust in
> a third
> party to keep your data safe, and that might make you
> uncomfortable. They're
> also the slowest of the backup methods we tested, taking
> anywhere from 10
> minutes to 12 hours to upload 1GB of data and 10 minutes to 3
> hours to
> download. In addition to the type of files and the speed of your
> PC, the
> variables that account for the huge disparity include what else
> is happening
> on your PC during the backup, the speed of your Internet
> connection, and
> network traffic both on your end and at the online service. The
> slowest by
> far was Carbonite, for both uploading and downloading.
>
> If you have a limited amount of data, you can use one of the
> free services,
> and the upload time would be more reasonable. But if you have a
> lot of data
> and are frequently adding to it, the glacial speed and the
> monthly fees can
> make this a poor long-term choice. If you have a large amount of
> digitalimage files, you might want to consider a photo-sharing
> service, which lets
> those you invite view and print photos, but uploading will still
> be slow.
>
> The data-backup service we liked best was Mozy. It offers the
> most features
> and control, scheduling backups is easy, and customer service
> was quick and
> helpful. The service is free for up to 2GB of data, and $4.95
> per month gets
> you unlimited storage. Another service, Xdrive, lets you store
> up to 5GB for
> free; $9.95 per month gets you 50GB.
>
> Does anyone have any opinions on either one of these companies, or
> suggestions?
>
> thanks,
>
> Donna
>
> Donna J. Perrone, EA
> East Haven, CT
> 203-469-4939
> 203-468-2038 fax
>
>
>
>
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