This year to mark the occasion, we’re revisiting some tales of bullets dodged and backup victories. You’ll find no scary monsters here—no, these tales end happily. We like to call them ReStories—heartwarming sagas of folks who found a data lifeline. And we’re throwing in some tips and tricks to help you protect your data, too.
Let’s take a walk down ReStory lane.
Rising From the Ashes of the Marshall Fire Crisis
In 2021, the Marshall Fire left many in despair, but for Christopher G., it was a test of foresight. “A lifetime of memories were kept in my data, and years before this I decided to get a permanent backup solution,” Christopher shared. When disaster struck, Christopher lost his data—including his on-site backup copies—but he remembered he had an off-site backup stored in the cloud with Backblaze. He initiated a restore, and we sent hard drives with everything he needed to get his precious memories back.
Tip 1: Mitigate Risks With 3-2-1 Backups
Christopher’s story is a powerful testament to being prepared with a 3-2-1 backup strategy, which means keeping three copies of your data on two different media with one stored off-site (and preferably in the cloud). When two copies of his data were wiped out by the Marshall fire, he could rely on his third copy to restore all of the data, including years of photos and important documents.
School District Protects Data for 23,000 Students
Bethel School District had 200 servers and 125TB of data backed up by Rubrik, a backup software provider, to Amazon S3, but high costs were straining their budget—so much so that they had to shorten needed retention periods. They moved their backup copies from Amazon S3 to Backblaze B2, resulting in savings of 75%, which allowed them the budget flexibility to reinstate longer retention times and better protect their data from the threat of ransomware.
It was really a couple clicks, about five minutes worth of work, and we were pointed to Backblaze.
—Patrick Emerick, Senior Systems Engineer, Bethel School District
Tip 2: Plan for a Ransomware Attack Before It Happens
Ransomware attacks specifically targeting school districts and universities are on the rise—79% of institutions reported they were hit with ransomware in the past year. A ransomware attack is not a matter of if, but when, and that’s true whether you’re a school, university, business, or just someone who has data they care about. Take a cue from Bethel School District and take proactive measures to protect your business data from ransomware, like establishing retention periods that allow you to recover adequately in the event of an attack.
Backing Up Years of Research
The Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute at Texas A&M–Kingsville needed an endpoint backup solution to protect data on researchers’ laptops in the field and on-site, knowing researchers in the field don’t always follow protocols to the letter when it comes to saving their data. The Institute’s IT manager implemented Backblaze Computer Backup which gave him the ability to remotely manage faculty and staff backups. And he knows that, with no added fees, recoveries won’t be cost prohibitive.
Tip 3: Manage Backups Centrally
Whether you’re a remote employee or managing them, it can help to have tools like silent install, fine-grained access permissions, and management controls (at Backblaze, you can access all of these via Enterprise Control for Computer Backup). That way you can stay focused on what matters most instead of updating backup clients and fiddling with settings. Plus, you don’t have to worry about backups being accidentally deleted or tampered with.
Glenda B.’s Emotional Rescue: 20 Years of Memories Reclaimed
Losing decades of family photos can be devastating, a sentiment echoed by Glenda B.: “Several years ago my photos were all inexplicably deleted from my computer—20 years of family photos gone in an instant!” Some of them were on iCloud, but there were years of older photos that were only stored on her computer. Fortunately, she had very recently installed Backblaze Computer Backup, so all of her photos were safely backed up in the cloud. Glenda initiated a restore with Backblaze, restoring her files and her invaluable memories.
Tip 4: Sync Is Not Backup
If you’re like Glenda, your digital life is probably scattered across your computer, external hard drives, and multiple sync services from iCloud to Google Drive. Glenda’s story is an important lesson that sync is not backup. Sync services are great for sharing data and accessing it on multiple devices, but that doesn’t help you when you lose data that’s only stored on your computer or when you accidentally delete a file and don’t realize it. One of the drawbacks of using sync services as a backup is that data outside those services is vulnerable. And the fix for that vulnerability is to use a true backup service to protect all of your data.
What Happens When One-Third of Your Employees’ Machines Crash?
BELAY Solutions is a staffing company that connects organizations with virtual assistants, bookkeepers, website specialists, and social media managers. While performing scheduled system updates across BELAY’s fleet of Macs, nearly a third of the company’s machines crashed. After shipping out replacement laptops, the IT team empowered BELAY employees to use Backblaze Business Backup to recover their own data independently in a matter of minutes.
Our work is very time intensive, so our team can’t be offline for long—you always need reliable technical assets to support virtual assistants in the field.
—Cam Cox, IT Systems Administrator, BELAY Solutions
AJ’s Tech Misadventure: Averting a Digital Disaster
Upgrading your computer’s operating system is routine until it results in an accidental wipeout, as AJ found out. “In summer 2020, I accidentally wiped my external hard drive while downloading a copy of Windows 10,” he recounts. But thanks to Backblaze, AJ could redownload everything, salvaging irreplaceable files.
Rob D.’s Professional Life: Recovering Years of Work
For Rob D., a graphic designer, losing years of work to a computer crash was catastrophic. He woke up to the “dreaded blue screen of death” and despite efforts, only scattered metadata could be salvaged. But, Backblaze came to the rescue. “As a graphic designer, YEARS of design projects were gone in a flash. Clients…were not too pleased…Enter Backblaze,” Rob said. With a new hard drive filled with his backed up data, he experienced immense relief. “Can’t quite describe the feeling of relief I felt at that moment knowing that I was going to be ok. THANK YOU Backblaze!! I’m a customer for life!”
Tip 5: Reduce Downtime With Self-Serve Backup Solutions
Even tech savvy folks like AJ, Rob D., and the staff at BELAY solutions can get flustered when they suddenly lose their data or ability to work, so an easy restore process everyone can use themselves no matter their level of IT knowledge is essential for those high-stress situations. BELAY initially chose Backblaze for its simplicity and ease of use. “I’ve been able to help someone get their data back within five minutes. I don’t think that ever would have happened using our previous tool,” said Cam Cox, IT Systems Administrator. And, Backblaze user AJ relayed that having Backblaze was “worth every penny for the rapid restore process.”
Take the World Backup Day Pledge This Year
As we celebrate World Backup Day, let’s take a moment to recognize the critical role that data backup plays in safeguarding our digital assets against unforeseen threats. Whether you’re a business owner, an IT director, or an individual user, investing in robust backup solutions is an investment in resilience and peace of mind. By embracing proactive measures and leveraging technology to fortify our defenses, we can navigate the complexities of the digital age with confidence and resilience. We encourage you to take the World Backup Day pledge, feel free to reach out to us on socials, and check back in June to see the newest results of our yearly backup survey.
We’ve gathered you together here today to address some of weirdest questions (and answers) about everyone’s favorite topic: data storage.
From the outside looking in, it’s easy to think it’s a subject that is as dry as Ben Stein in “Ferris Beuller’s Day Off”. But, given that everyday functions are increasingly moving to the internet, data storage is, in some ways, the secret backbone of modern society.
Today it’s estimated that there are over 8,000 data centers (DCs) in the world, built on a variety of storage media, connected to various networks, consuming vast amounts of power, and taking up valuable real estate. Plus, the drive technology itself brings together engineering foci affected by (driving?) everything from clean room technology to DNA research.
Fertile ground for strange, surprising questions, certainly. So, without further ado, here are some of our favorite questions about data storage.
1. Does a Hard Drive Weigh More When It’s Full?
Short answer: for all practical purposes, no. Long answer: technically yes, but it’s such a miniscule amount that you wouldn’t be able to measure it. Shout out to David Zaslavsky for doing all the math, and here’s the summary.
As Einstein famously hypothesized, e = mc2. If it’s been a while since you took physics, that formula defined is that energy is equal to mass multiplied by the speed of light squared. Since energy is defined by mass, then, we can infer that energy has a weight, even if it’s negligible.
Now, hard drives record data by magnetizing a thin film of ferromagnetic material. Basically, you’re forcing the atoms in a magnetic field to align in a different direction. And, since magnetic fields have differing amounts of energy depending on whether they’re aligned or antialigned, technically the weight does change. According to David’s math, it’d be approximately 10-14 g for a 1TB hard drive.
When you’re talking about building your own storage, my favorite research data point was one Reddit user’s opinion:
But, it’s still worth investing in ways to reduce the noise—if not for worker safety, then to reduce the environmental impact of DCs, including noise pollution. There are a wealth of studies out there connecting noise pollution to cardiovascular disease, hypertension, high stress levels, sleep disturbance, and good ol’ hearing loss in humans. In our animal friends, noise pollution can disrupt predator/prey detection and avoidance, echolocation, and interfere with reproduction and navigation.
The good news is that there are technologies to keep data centers (relatively) quiet when they become disruptive to communities.
3. How Long Does Data Stay Where You Stored It?
As much as we love old-school media here at Backblaze, we’re keeping this conversation to digital storage—so let’s chat about how long your data storage will retain your media, unplugged, in ideal environmental conditions.
We like the way Enterprise Storage Forum put it: “Storage experts know that there are two kinds of drive in this world—those that have already failed, and those that will fail sooner or later.” Their article encompasses a pretty solid table of how long (traditional) storage media lasts.
However, with new technologies—and their consumer applications—emerging, we might see a challenge to the data storage throne. The Institute of Physics reports that data written to a glass memory crystal could remain intact for a million years, a product they’ve dubbed the “Superman crystal.” So, look out for lasers altering the optical properties of quartz at the nanoscale. (That was just too cool not to say.)
4. What’s the Most Expensive Data Center Site?
And why?
One thing we know from the Network Engineering team at Backblaze is that optimizing your connectivity (getting your data from point A to point B) to the strongest networks is no simple feat. Take this back to the real world: when you’re talking about what the internet truly is, you’re just connecting one computer to every other computer, and there are, in fact, cables involved.
The hardware infrastructure combines with population dispersion in murky ways. We’ll go ahead and admit that’s out of scope for this article. But, working backwards from the below image, let’s just say that where there are more data centers, it’s likely there are more network exchanges.
From an operational standpoint, you’d likely assume it’s a bad choice to have your data center in the middle of the most expensive real estate and power infrastructures in the world, but there are tangible benefits to joining up all those networks at a central hub and to putting them in or near population centers. We call those spaces carrier hotels.
Here’s the best definition we found:
There is no industry standard definition of a carrier hotel versus merely a data center with a meet-me room (MMR). But, generally, the term is reserved for the facilities where metro fiber carriers meet long-haul carriers—and the number of network providers numbers in the dozens. —Data Center Dynamics
Some sources go so far as to say that carrier hotels have to be in cities by definition. Either way, the result is that carrier hotels sit on some of the most expensive real estate in the world. Citing DGTL Infra from April 2023, here are the top 25 U.S. carrier hotels:
Let’s take #12 on this list, the NYC listing. According to PropertyShark, it’s worth $1.15 billion. With a b. That’s before you even get to the tech inside the building.
If you’re so inclined, flex those internet research skills and look up some of the other property values on the list. Some of them are a bit hard to find, and there are other interesting tidbits along the way. (And tell us what you find in the comments, of course.)
Bonus Question: Is It Over Already?
Look, do I want it to be over? No, never. But, the amount of weird and wonderful data storage questions that I could include in this article is infinite. Here’s a shortlist that other folks from Backblaze suggested:
How broken is too broken when it comes to restoring files from a hard drive? (This is a whole article in and of itself.)
When I send an email, how does it get to where it goes? (Check out Backblaze CEO Gleb Budman’s Bookblaze recommendation if you’re curious.)
What happens to storage drives when we’re done with them? What does recycling look like?
So, the real question is, what do you want to know? Sound off in the comments—we’ll do our best to research and answer.
If you’re responsible for protecting company data, you know that any number of things can jeopardize the data on workstations, be it human error or natural disaster. It’s your job to reduce risk, but to do that you need the ability to fine-tune your backup systems.
Backblaze Computer Backup gives you an easy, automatic, centrally-managed solution for backup. And, starting today IT administrators can take greater control of their endpoint backups—from how employees authenticate to what they can and cannot restore—with the introduction of our new Enterprise Control for Backblaze Computer Backup.
Ready to Turn the Dials?
Enterprise Control is available for enterprises with more than 20 Computer Backup licenses at an additional $2 per license. To take advantage of greater administrative control, contact a Sales representative. Learn more about how to set up Enterprise Control by visiting our technical documentation on the subject.
What’s New in Enterprise Control?
Whether you’re an IT manager or an MSP responsible for protecting business data, Enterprise Control allows you to meet your full business continuity and data security standards for workstation data and better support a hybrid and remote workforce. Here’s what you can do with Enterprise Control:
Fine-Grained Access Permissions: Manage access to group member data on a granular level for enterprise operations. This includes control over members’ ability to delete their own backups, admin’s ability to delete member backups, and admin’s permissions for restoring data on a member’s behalf.
Advanced Single Sign-On: Enable OpenID Connect (OIDC) single sign-on (SSO) and the ability to use tools like Okta and Azure Active Directory in addition to GSuite and Microsoft. This enhances security control, allowing you to ramp up authentication practices, verifying member identity and streamlining identity management.
Group Management Controls: Prevent members from leaving a group, taking data with them, or ordering restore hard drives or snapshot hard drives without permission. You also have the option to hide the ability to update the client through the desktop app, rename or purge end user backups from the web application, and prevent Group members from updating the client app on their own.
Compliance Support: Benefits businesses who are mandated to apply greater controls given compliance, cyber insurance, or heightened recovery point objective (RPO) and recovery time objective (RTO) requirements.
Enterprise Control Gives You The Guardrails
Backblaze Computer Backup reduces IT burden with its simplicity, and consistently ranked as Wirecutter’s Best Online Cloud Backup Service. Now, we’ve wrapped that simplicity with the enterprise features larger organizations require so you can reduce risk, achieve compliance, and better support your cybersecurity and disaster recovery goals.
How to Upgrade to Enterprise Control
Enterprise Control is available for Groups with 20 or more Computer Backup licenses. To take advantage of Enterprise Control or to purchase Backblaze Computer Backup for your organization, contact your Sales representative. Or, learn more about how to implement Enterprise Control by visiting our technical documentation article.
If you have additional feature requests, please visit our Product Portal or let us know in the comments below.
Everyone has their arsenal of indispensable gadgets and apps they absolutely couldn’t live without, and we had a feeling the folks here at Backblaze would have a lot to say about the subject. We tapped the smart, savvy minds that keep our storage cloud up and running, and discovered a treasure trove of insights into the tech essentials that power their daily lives.
From budgeting apps to text editors to humble charging jacks, our staff share the tools they can’t live without. So, without further ado, let’s dig into the gear that keeps our collective gears turning:
As a Mac guy, I love my Airpod Pros and the way they work seamlessly with my iPhone, Macbook Pro, and iPad. But things get a little wonky when you try to use them outside of the Apple ecosystem. I tried many different wireless earbuds and settled on the Anker Soundcore Space A40 Earbuds. I’m a big fan of The Wirecutter by the New York Times (and they’re big fans of us) and they had these at the top of their list. I love the sound quality, noise canceling, and excellent battery life. My Airpod Pros are still my go to when I’m out of the house, but when I need a good headset at home for my PC and other non-Apple devices, these have become my go to earbuds.
You know what I hate? Getting my phone out at inopportune times. You know what I don’t mind so much? Glancing down at my Google Pixel Watch to see that the cold call I’m receiving is being answered by my phone’s call screening and I don’t have to pick it up. Whether it’s the first version or the second, I have grown accustomed to having something on my wrist that acts as an extension of my phone. True digital bliss.
I use my webcam a LOT: Zoom and Google Meet with coworkers, FaceTime with family and friends, webinars with the Backblaze community of developers and admins, and quick-start videos for the Backblaze YouTube channel. Ever since I got my PlexiCam Pro mount about a year ago, it’s been my secret weapon in every one of those interactions. It’s a transparent plexiglass webcam mount that hangs from the top edge of my monitor, allowing me to position my webcam in my eyeline, just above my focus. To anyone on the call, I appear to be looking directly into the camera.
At $85, it’s not cheap, but it’s well designed and constructed, and feels like it will last forever. Highly recommended for anyone who spends a lot of time flicking their eyes between the screen and the webcam!
Ah, the age old debate of Emacs versus Vim: the two most widely used editors for Linux operating systems. I solidly planted my flag on team Vim once I learned how to save and exit the program. 😉
I do aspire to one day having a computer that only runs Emacs because byte compiled Emacs is cool to me. Until I graduate to that level of wizardry, I stick to Neovim when I need to quickly edit something from a terminal or want to appear cool in front of my coworkers. I mostly use the Vim extension in Intellij for day-to-day modifying of code and configs. If you would like to also learn Vim, I really enjoyed playing through Vim Adventures, which is a free game that teaches you a lot of the shortcuts and movements in Vim.
Continuing the discussion in favor of Vim, specifically Neovim. You only have to learn the keybindings once. There is a fantastic set of plugins to customize it to your heart’s content—Visual Studio Code has VSCodeVim, Intellij has IdeaVim, for example. Then you don’t have to relearn keybindings while switching between languages, projects, and code.
Tmux the terminal multiplexer: like Vim, it may have a steep learning curve but once you learn it you can’t live without it. The tmux wiki has some great getting started guides. I strongly recommend remapping the leader key (mine is Caps + A, or Caps Lock + A on Windows keyboards). You can set up customized tmux scripts to re-create all your environments (one session for server code, another for a different codebase, another for your notes, and so on). Each session then has multiple windows which you can create, split, and close quickly, no need to leave your keyboard.
For web technologies, learn the toolset available in the browser developer tools. Remember to preserve logs filter to specific responses so you won’t be overwhelmed looking at messages.
Stepping away from the browser and back into the terminal, learn Curl and ag or rg. For every “old” unix command there’s likely a modern replacement that’s 100s of times faster with much more customization available.
But there’s always the middle ground for situations where you may need to initiate a complex series of browser–webapp interactions and you need to modify or test something quickly. To do this, learn how to use Burp. In the long run it’s well worth it. It makes it a breeze to modify data between the browser and your app.
Last tip: for native code, just learn how to use the debugger.
One power adapter to rule them all: the Anker 715 Charger (Nano II 65W). This one little power adapter can power my personal laptop, work laptop, headphones, and more. With one cable, one small charger cube, and a few small USB end adapters, I can charge everything.
A Roku. I use it at home for streaming apps, but I also carry one in my travel bag. There’s nothing worse than flipping through basic cable channels in a hotel when you’re traveling. Wait, yes there is—signing in to Netflix on the hotel TV and forgetting to sign out. If I travel with it, I just plug it in and I’m already signed in to all my apps.
I got tired of locking myself out of my own house and forgetting who I gave spare keys to, so I really appreciate this Yale Lock with Nest Connect. It works with the Nest cameras that I mostly use to see whether the UPS or DoorDash delivery person has the nerve to ring my doorbell. (Drop it and run, people!)
It’s secure and easy-to-use; no more locking myself out of my own house in the middle of winter. I can give a code to a friend so they can feed my cats while I’m away, or create temporary passcodes so I don’t have to wait around for the cable guy.
I have a hard time turning my brain off at night, so I used to pop in earbuds to listen to something soothing (not comfortable at all!). Then I got this Cozyband as a gift and became 100% addicted to it. I CAN fall asleep without it, but I don’t do it willingly. It’s also good for working out if you hate sweaty earbuds slipping out all the time.
It gets cold in my home, and I don’t necessarily want to heat the whole place when it’s just me. A good old fashioned heated blanket does the trick. All the tech in the world won’t help you when you’re shivering.
As a working mom with two boys, I am always on the go. Both of my boys are now playing for AAA travel teams. I try my best to keep up with all their games, and LiveBarn is how I stay connected to them. It allows me to pull up a live feed or on-demand video of the game. Last weekend was a great example: they were playing at two different rinks across town. I was able to pull up one game on LiveBarn on my phone, and watch both games literally at the same time. When my older son came home and asked me if I saw his goal, I was able to say, “I heard Coach yell, ‘Nice shot, Newy!’”
My life changed when I adopted a password manager years ago. Before I went back to full-time corporate life in 2020, I freelanced quite a bit—which means an endless series of logins and passwords, depending on how you’re engaging with your clients. And, while I enjoy making up 13–15 character passphrases with a mix of upper and lowercase letters, at least one symbol with some outlawed symbols (but different ones on each site), and then remembering which ones I’ve used for which accounts without reusing them… Oh wait, I actually really don’t like that. I’d rather have a password manager like Bitwarden that can generate passwords, follows me device to device, and allows me to enable biometric controls. And, spoiler alert for any of my family members who diligently read my work (I’m sure): This year the whole family is getting a subscription as a gift, and I can centrally manage it for my non-tech-inclined family members.
I’m not going into the story of how I got hooked on this app, but I will tell you that CENTR’s meal planning tool is a life saver. You can set a crazy variety of dietary needs, select your meals and portions for a week, and it spits out a perfectly organized shopping list. Then, when you want to make a meal, you just pop into the app and it tells you exactly how to look like you know what you’re doing in the kitchen. It’s sort of pricey, but the amount of money I save by not ordering in or wasting food that I bought without a plan more than makes up for it.
Hoping on the app train here. The one I can’t live without is definitely YNAB. I’m trying to get better at budgeting ahead (and get my husband and I on the same page—haha!) and I like their philosophical approach to a typically boring subject.
I don’t have a favorite tech thing. I certainly use lots of them, but I would not be lost without them because I was raised without any of the current tech. I know how to tie my shoes without watching a Youtube video. Just sayin’.
Thanks, Andy
Leave it to Andy to send us off with a reminder to put the tech down sometimes, as we hope you all get a chance to do this holiday season. But, we also want to know: what’s the tech that you can’t live without? Let us know in the comments.
What better time for a reminder to back up your data than after a serious data loss event? If you are concerned about the safety of your Google Drive data after the reports of unexplained data loss by Google Drive users last week, then read on to learn how to download and back up your Google Drive.
More than one billion businesses and individuals use Google Drive according to, well, a quick search on Google. If most of those one billion people are like me, they save pretty much everything there.
Whether the data is professional or personal, the end result is a lot of important files that aren’t necessarily backed up anywhere. Maybe your school is closing your account and you need to move all of your data somewhere else. Maybe your account gets attacked by cybercriminals. Or maybe Google goes down or loses your data. In order to protect your important Google Drive files, you need to understand how to go about downloading and backing up your account.
In this post, you’ll learn some simple steps to achieve that, including how to download your Google Drive, how to back up your computer, and how to back up your Google Drive.
We’ve gathered a handful of guides to help you protect social content across many different platforms. We’re working on developing this list—please comment below if you’d like to see another platform covered.
Most people have multiple email accounts, so first it is important to make sure you are logged in to the correct Google Account before you start this process.
Once you’re signed in, you will want to go to Google Drive: drive.google.com. From there, you can download individual files if you don’t have that many or do a bulk download.
To download individual files:
Hold shift while you select all of your files.
Right click and select download.
To do a bulk download:
Go to your account at myaccount.google.com.
Go to Data & privacy.
Scroll down to the section of the page titled “Download or delete your data” and click “Download your data.” This allows you to download all of the data in your Google account (not just Google Drive) via Google Takeout.
Select Google Drive (and whatever other services you might want to download data from).
You then have a few options to select:
Multiple formats: Here you can tell Google the formats of the files you want to download. For example, if you want to download documents as .docx files or as PDFs.
Advanced settings: Here you can tell Google to download additional data, including previous versions and the names of your folders.
All Drive data included: Here you can select all data, or deselect specific folders if you want to.
Scroll down to the bottom and click on Next Step.
You’ll be prompted to specify your delivery method. Select Send download link via email.
You can then specify your frequency. You can select a single export or an export every two months for a year. For our purposes, you can select a single export. (We’ll talk about options for backing up your data more frequently later.)
Specify the file type and the file size you want to export.
You can choose to have these files sent as a .zip file or a .tgz (tar) file. The main difference between the two options is that a .zip file compresses every file independently in the archive, but a .tgz file compresses the archive as a whole.
The file size tells Google when to split your data into a separate file. Depending on the size of your data, Google may send you multiple emails with different sizes of files.
Click Create export.
When most people think about downloading the data they store in Google Drive, they’re thinking about the documents, photos, and other larger files they work with, but (as Google Takeout makes clear) you have a lot more data stored with Google outside of Drive.
Here’s why you might choose to export everything:
To have a copy of bookmarked websites.
To have a copy of emails that may contain files you’ve lost over time.
To have a copy of important voicemails from loved ones in Google’s Voice product that you want to keep forever.
Also, when you download all of your data it is a good reminder of what information Google has of yours.
After you click Create export, you’ll get an email in a few minutes, hours, or a couple of days, depending on the size of your data, informing you that your Google data is ready to download.
How to Back Up Your Computer
You now have your Google Drive data out of the Google Cloud and on your computer. Next, you’ll want to make sure it’s backed up. Your computer can fail just like Google, so simply downloading it isn’t enough. Protecting your newly downloaded Google data with a good cloud backup strategy should be the next thing you do.
Make sure to have at least three copies of your data: two local including one on your desktop and one on a different storage medium, like a hard drive. Then, you should have one off-site, and these days that means in the cloud.
Note that when we’re using the word “cloud” here, we specifically mean that you’re backing up to the cloud. Often using a “cloud drive” means that you’re syncing, and, as the current data loss snafu at Google shows, there’s a big difference between sync and backup.
How to Back Up Google Drive
Downloading your data once and backing it all up is a good step. But, you’re adding documents to Google Drive all the time, and downloading your data manually can get tedious if you want to make sure your work is consistently and reliably backed up.
Of course, as we noted above, you can set your Google Drive bulk download frequency to a regular cadence. You’d still have to manually download your data and add it to your computer’s local storage, then back it up using the same method you would for your computer data. If you’re using Backblaze Computer Backup, which automatically runs in the background on your computer, those files would be backed once they entered your local storage.
Still, that means that you have the possibility of losing files if your cadence isn’t frequent enough, and if you forget to manually download and replace those files sent to you in email, then you might run into trouble.
Alternatively, there are a few services that will back up your Google Drive data for you. With something like Movebot, you can set up your Google Drive to sync and back up to a cloud storage service like Backblaze B2. If you’re a little more tech savvy, you can also use rclone to do the same thing.
These tools are a bit more complex than using your Backblaze Computer Backup account, but you can configure these tools to back up your Google Drive at a frequency that makes sense for you to make sure new data is getting backed up as you add it.
Do you have any techniques on how you download your data from Google Drive or other Google products? Share them in the comments section below!
FAQ
How do I download individual files from Google?
You can simply select the files you want to download, right click, and select Download.
How do I download my entire Google Drive?
You can use Google Takeout to download your entire Google Drive as well as any data you have in other Google services. Go to your account, click on Data & privacy, and click on Download your data to get started.
How do I back up my Google data once I download it?
You can back up your Google Data once you’ve downloaded it to your computer by using a trusted cloud computer backup service. Make sure to follow a 3-2-1 backup strategy by keeping at least two backups in addition to your data in Google drive: one local, on your desktop or on a hard drive, and one in the cloud.
How do I back up my Google Drive?
There are many backup software services available to help you back up your Google drive data. With something like Movebot, you can set up your Google Drive to sync and back up to a cloud storage service like Backblaze B2. If you’re a little more tech savvy, you can also use rclone to do the same thing.
When it comes to navigating the treacherous landscape of a household’s digital ecosystem, from smartphones and laptops to smart homes and millions of subscriptions, there often emerges a silent hero—the ever-humble, quietly toiling, underappreciated Family IT Manager. This unsung role, typically filled by a tech-savvy-est member of the family, takes on the responsibility of keeping everyone’s digital lives running smoothly. Maybe you know one of these vaillant souls. Or maybe, just maybe, it’s you.
As the Family IT Manager, having one more arrow in your quiver with which to slay the dreaded data loss dragon is always helpful. And that’s what Backblaze Groups is all about—making it easier for you to keep track of everyone’s data in one place.
Today, we’re sharing some practical tips and tricks for using Groups to better manage your family’s backups.
Groups helps you manage the backups your family creates without having to log in and out of individual accounts. This makes it simple to keep track of everyone in one place. All the backup accounts are linked to the same credit card (they can Venmo you later), and you can even help someone else in your family create a backup or restore files easily with Groups. Need to help a family member with a computer emergency? Log in, access their most recent backup, and restore everything. Is your sibling unsure that you really added Backblaze to their computer? Log in, view their account, and get the screenshots to prove it to them (and everyone else).
By the way, this would be a great time to give the new Restore App, included with Backblaze Computer Backup v9.0, a spin.
One point of clarification: You might see Backblaze Groups referred to as “Business Groups,” but you don’t have to be a business to use Groups. They work equally well for businesses and personal users alike, including Family IT Managers (and, truly, running family IT is kind of like running a business, isn’t it?).
Why Use Groups?
You can already manage multiple computers on a single Backblaze account. So why use Groups instead? Well, with Groups, each user has individual access to, and control of, their account. You—as Group administrator—manage billing and, as needed, data recovery. This is a more secure and safer method than sharing the same account credentials among several computers used by different people.
Have multiple households or groupings of folks in your life that you need to manage? You can have as many Groups as you like to help you keep track of everyone and everything, and each of those Groups can have separate billing.
What Do I Need to Know About Setting Up Backblaze Groups for My Family?
The Groups feature streamlines the management of the accounts you need to monitor. As the Group administrator, you have total control over who’s included as part of your Group. You can send out email invitations, or alternatively, you can use a unique Group invitation link that allows anyone you share it with to easily join.
Being in a Group is entirely voluntary. Any member of a Group can leave any time they want, and Group administrators can also remove individuals from a Group at any time.
If you dissolve your Group for some reason or if someone chooses to leave, the removed person can decide whether they want to keep using Backblaze by establishing their own payment method. Perfect for when it’s time to wean the kiddos off of your shared accounts—whether they like it or not.
One last note: while you can set up and administer more than one Group with separate billing, you can only be a member in one Group.
Once you create a Group, you can invite members to join it. Copy the Group invite link Backblaze generates automatically for you. Give it to friends and family via email, chat, or any other means you’d like.
When the person you’ve invited clicks on the link, they will be prompted to either create a Backblaze account (if they don’t have one) or log in to their existing account. After completing this step, they will be prompted to download Backblaze. If they are already using Backblaze, there is no need for a reinstallation; they will seamlessly become a part of your Group.
Once an existing user successfully joins your Group, they’ll be under your billing account. Their existing credit card will automatically receive a prorated refund for the remaining portion of their previous Backblaze license. There is no need to worry about re-uploading data—their backup remains securely stored in Backblaze.
Newcomers to Backblaze can download and install the client to initiate their initial backup process. As the Group administrator, you will have the capability to monitor their backup progress. Remember that the first backup of data may take some time, but after that, everything will run smoothly in the background.
Go Forth and Conquer, Mighty IT Manager
We understand that being the go-to “tech person” for your family and friends can be challenging. We hope that Groups simplifies the process, making it easier for you to help keep your family’s data safe.
A while back, I received a frantic phone call from a long time friend who teaches ninth grade English. Now, don’t get me wrong, this friend, let’s call her Alex, is a tech-savvy person. She has more apps on her smartphone than I knew existed, but she had never used an external hard drive before.
Her school district had given them out to help make remote learning easier on teachers, but she was nervous about using it incorrectly, breaking it, or even just being able to find it on her computer. And she was a little embarrassed because it seemed like something everyone else already knew how to use.
If you’ve ever felt a bit lost when it comes to hard drives, don’t worry—you’re not alone. If you’re one of many folks who’ve asked themselves, “What is this thing?” and “How will it be helpful to me?” and “What if I break it?” then I’m here to walk you through everything I walked Alex through. Lots of folks have the same questions, and we’ll answer them in this guide for setting up and protecting your new hard drive.
A Guide to Setting Up Your First External Hard Drive
Getting Started
While it might seem like a no-brainer, the first step for setting up your hard drive is to plug it into your computer. Small, external, portable hard drives typically have one cord that plugs into your computer so you can transfer data. It also powers the hard drive. Some models may have another cord for added power—if so, you’ll want to plug in both.
Finding Your Hard Drive on Your Computer
On a Mac, locating your connected external drive is straightforward. Open Finder, which you can access by clicking the default Finder icon in your applications Dock, using Command + Space bar to search for Finder, or pressing Shift + Command + C. Once in Finder, your drives should appear either immediately or in the left-hand navigation column under “Locations.” Click on the specific drive you want to access to view its contents.
For Windows computers, the steps may vary depending on your Windows version. In general, you can find your drives in File Explorer by clicking on Computer or This PC in the left-hand navigation bar of a File Explorer window. If you’re unsure how to open File Explorer, look for it in your Start Menu, or try clicking on your desktop and pressing Windows Key + E together. Once you’ve located your drives, simply click on the one you wish to explore to access its contents.
Saving Files to Your External Hard Drive
External hard drives are a breeze to use. Once you’ve plugged them in and found them on your computer, you can simply copy files onto the hard drive by clicking and dragging them into the Finder or File Explorer window. This creates a copy on your hard drive, while leaving the original on your computer or laptop.
External Hard Drive Best Practices
Once you know how to use your external hard drive, there are a number of things you can do to maintain it and keep it organized. Your hard drive will fail eventually (more on that later), but there are things you can do to keep it working as long as possible. And there are things you can do to make sure you can easily find what you’re looking for.
1. Keep Your Drive Clean
Maintaining the cleanliness of your external hard drive involves two essential steps: caring for the hard drive itself and keeping the surrounding computer area tidy. The biggest priority is to ensure that both your hard drive and its immediate environment remain free from dust. A dust-free environment contributes to unimpeded airflow within your device, reducing the risk of overheating. If your hard drive has already been exposed to a dusty environment, compressed air is the most effective cleaning tool to remove it.
To effectively use compressed air, first identify key areas for cleaning. Look for the fan vent, inspect the USB ports, and examine other spots on the external hard drive that may accumulate dust over time. Then, simply blast those areas with the compressed air to remove some of the built up dust. (Bonus: it’s super fun.)
Lastly, it’s crucial to maintain an uncluttered area around your external hard drive to facilitate optimal airflow. Take the time to relocate any objects that might obstruct the airflow, such as books, papers, and other potential obstructions. This simple step can significantly enhance the longevity and performance of your external hard drive.
2. Keep Your Operating System Up to Date
The second best practice has more to do with your computer or laptop than your hard drive, but that’s what your hard drive connects to—so it’s important to keep it working, too.
We have all hit “remind me later” on an update dialog from our computer at some point in our lives, but updating your operating system (OS) will ensure that your computer is secure, that your system can run better, and that hard drives are able to properly connect to your files. Updating your OS can vary depending on what kind of computer you have. The best place to look for how to update your OS is in your system’s preferences.
Depending on the age of your computer, however, you should reach out to your local IT person before updating. Some older computers are not able to run, or run very poorly, on newer systems.
3. Know What’s On Your External Hard Drive
External hard drives are simple: you plug them in, they appear on your computer, and you can simply click and drag your files onto them to copy the files onto the hard drive. If you’re a more advanced user, you may have set up your external hard drive so that there are files that only exist on that device. Either way, it’s important to monitor what’s on your external hard drive and minimize digital clutter, just like you would with your computer or laptop. You can do this by periodically checking your drive to make sure your files are up to date and still needed.
4. Delete Duplicates
When you’re reviewing the contents of your external hard drive, keep in mind the significance of deleting duplicates. There are times when we unintentionally generate multiple copies of a project or document or save several versions of the same file, especially when finalizing edits. Removing redundant duplicates not only contributes to a speedier hard drive performance but also creates room for additional files. You can either manually inspect your files for duplications or use specialized applications designed to detect and delete duplicate files residing on your drive.
Protecting Your Data on an External Hard Drive
3-2-1 Backup
Implementing a 3-2-1 backup strategy means maintaining a minimum of three complete copies of your data. Two of these copies should reside locally but on distinct types of media, such as an external hard drive. The third copy must be stored offsite, away from your primary location. For instance, if you have your files on your computer and an external hard drive (which should be stored separately from your computer when not in use), you should maintain one additional copy stored independently, beyond the confines of your home. This is where the cloud comes in.
There are several cloud-based services that will back up your computer and your attached drives. We’re partial to our own, of course, and, here’s our guide to making sure your external hard drives are backed up. And, with Backblaze’s Forever Version History, you’ll always have a copy of your hard drive data, updated from the most recent time you plugged it in.
Prepare for a Drive Failure
The only truth about computer hardware is that it will fail eventually. We know a little bit about that. Most hard drive manufacturer warranties span only three to five years, and budget-friendly drives often have even shorter lifespans. These time frames don’t factor in variables like physical wear and tear, specific make or model, or storage conditions.
When using an external hard drive, you have to prepare for the day that it fails. Fortunately, there are several methods to monitor your external hard drive’s health, with telltale signs that it’s approaching the end of its service life. These signs may include unusual clicking or screeching sounds, sluggish performance, and frequent errors when attempting to access folders on the drive. You can also manually assess your drives’ status directly from your computer.
How to Find Out if Your Drive Is Failing
For a Windows computer, you’ll use a simple command prompt that will tell your computer where to look and what to check. Just right-click the Start menu on your computer, select Run, and type “cmd” or type “cmd” into the search bar. In the Command Line window that opens, copy and paste wmic diskdrive get status and hit enter. This command will run and it will return “Pred Fail” if your drive is not performing, or “OK” if the drive is performing well.
For a Mac computer, you can monitor the status of your external hard drive by opening Disk Utility. You can find it by going to Applications and then Utilities. Next, you will click on the drive you would like to test to see how it’s performing. Click the View button in the toolbar, then select Show SMART Status. This will display the SMART status of your hard drive as either “Verified” (healthy) or “Failing” (indicating a potential problem). Disk Utility will not detect or repair all problems that a disk may have, but it can give you a general picture.
Note: The process for running these diagnostics may vary slightly depending on your OS and the specific utility you use.
How to Run SMART Diagnostics on Your Hard Drive
Running SMART (Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology) diagnostics on your hard drive is a smart (see what we did there?) way to assess its health and predict potential issues. SMART diagnostics provide valuable insights into your drive’s performance and can help you detect problems before they lead to data loss. You can use third-party software utilities like CrystalDiskInfo or HDDScan to access more detailed SMART data and view drive health in a user-friendly interface. Download and install one of these tools, then launch it and select your hard drive to view its SMART attributes and health status.
In Conclusion
Starting out with an external hard drive is exactly like starting out with any piece of technology you might own. The more you educate yourself on the ins and outs of taking care of it, the better it will run for you. But if something bad were to happen, you should always have a backup plan (we suggest Backblaze, but you probably already know that) to protect your new piece of equipment.
External Hard Drive FAQs
1. How do I find a hard drive on my computer?
On a Mac, open Finder. Once in Finder, your drives should appear either immediately or in the left-hand navigation column under “Locations.” For Windows computers, the steps may vary depending on your Windows version. In general, you can find your drives in File Explorer by clicking on Computer or This PC in the left-hand navigation bar of a File Explorer window.
2. How do I save files to a hard drive?
Once you’ve plugged in your hard drive and found it on your computer, you can simply copy files onto the hard drive by clicking and dragging them into the Finder or File Explorer window. This creates a copy on your hard drive, while leaving the original on your computer or laptop.
3. How do I keep my hard drive maintained?
Keeping your drive clean and dust-free is the best way to maintain it. This involves two essential steps: caring for the hard drive itself and keeping the surrounding computer area tidy. The biggest priority is to ensure that both your hard drive and its immediate environment remain free from dust. A dust-free environment contributes to unimpeded airflow within your device, reducing the risk of overheating. If your hard drive has already been exposed to a dusty environment, compressed air is the most effective cleaning tool to remove it.
4. How do I know if my hard drive is failing?
There are several telltale signs that your hard drive is approaching the end of its service life. These signs may include unusual clicking or screeching sounds, sluggish performance, and frequent errors when attempting to access folders on the drive. You can also manually assess your drives’ status directly from your computer.
Get ready. The release of Backblaze Computer Backup 9.0 is rolling out now through the end of September.
Backblaze Computer Backup 9.0 is available today in early access, and restoring your files is about to get a whole lot easier.
What’s New in Backblaze Computer Backup 9.0?
Whether you’re a longtime user or just getting started with Backblaze, version 9.0 provides you with an unparalleled backup and restore solution. With our latest release, you get our most requested feature: a dedicated restore app for both macOS and Windows clients that makes the process of restoring your data even more intuitive, seamless, and streamlined than before. The new version also comes with essential bug fixes and performance improvements to keep your back up experience ahead of the curve for both security and speed.
Backblaze Restore App: macOS and Windows Highlights
Whether you’re using our macOS or Windows clients, you can now recover your important data with even more ease.
Here’s a peek into some of the new features we have in store with our new Restore Client App:
Simplified restore initiation process. When you’ve lost important files, the last thing you want is a demanding process sitting between you and restoring your data. With the restore app, you authenticate your Backblaze account and initiate the restore directly from your desktop. Once authenticated, you can browse your file tree and kick off the restore process immediately.
No limits for restore size. There are no limits to restore sizes inside of the restore app. Conserving disk space is important and you shouldn’t have to worry about downloading a .zip and having enough additional space to unzip it as well.
If you’re interested in a comprehensive tutorial on how to use the new restore app, we’re here to guide you. Let us walk you through the process.
We’re excited that our version 9.0 release compliments your already robust methods of accessing your data. To access your backup from anywhere, you can log in to www.backblaze.com to initiate a restore and use our iOS and Android apps to access your files on the go.
Backblaze v9.0 Is Available in Early Access Today: September 13, 2023
We will be taking feedback and slowly auto-updating all users in the coming weeks, but if you can’t wait and want to download the early access release now on your Mac or PC:
Go to: https://www.backblaze.com/status/backup-beta
Select your operating system and download the v9.0 app.
Install the early access release on your computer.
Please note, since this is in early access you might hit some bugs. Please reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions or if you want to give feedback—we always like to know how things are going.
The terms NAS and SAN can be confusing—the technology is similar and, making matters worse, the acronyms are the reverse of each other. NAS stands for network attached storage and SAN stands for storage area network. They were both developed to solve the problem of making stored data available to many users at once. But, they couldn’t be more different in how they achieve that goal.
The TL/DR:
NAS is a single storage device that serves files over ethernet and is relatively inexpensive. NAS devices are easier for a home user or small business to set up.
A SAN is a tightly coupled network of multiple devices that is more expensive and complex to set up and manage. A SAN is better suited for larger businesses and requires administration by IT staff.
Read on and we’ll dissect the nuances of NAS and SANs to help you make informed decisions about which solution best suits your storage needs.
Check Out Our New Technical Documentation Portal
When you’re working on a storage project, you need to be able to find instructions about the tools you’re using quickly. And, it helps if those instructions are easy to use, easy to understand, and easy to share. Our Technical Documentation Portal has been completely overhauled to deliver on-demand content in a user-friendly way so you can find the information you need. Check out the NAS section, including all of our Integration Guides.
Basic Definitions: What Is NAS?
NAS is a device or devices with a large data storage capacity that provides file-based data storage services to other devices on a network. Usually, they also have a client or web portal interface that’s easy to navigate, as well as services like QNAP’s Hybrid Backup Sync or Synology’s Hyper Backup to help manage your files. In other words, NAS is synonymous with user-friendly file sharing.
NAS with eight drive bays for 3.5″ disk drives.
At its core, NAS operates as a standalone device connected to a network, offering shared access to files and folders. NAS volumes appear to the user as network-mounted volumes. The files to be served are typically contained on one or more hard drives in the system, often arranged in RAID arrays. Generally, the more drive bays available within the NAS, the larger and more flexible storage options you have.
Key Characteristics of NAS:
File-Level Access: NAS provides file-level access, ideal for environments where collaborative work and content sharing are paramount.
Simplicity: NAS solutions offer straightforward setups and intuitive interfaces, making them accessible to users with varying levels of technical expertise.
Scalability: While NAS devices can be expanded by adding more drives, there may be limitations in terms of performance and scalability for large-scale enterprise use.
How NAS Works
The NAS device itself is a network node—much like computers and other TCP/IP devices, all of which maintain their own IP address—and the NAS file service uses the ethernet network to send and receive files. This system employs protocols like network file system (NFS) and server message block (SMB), enabling seamless data exchange between multiple users.
The NAS system and clients connect via your local network—all file service occurs via ethernet.
Benefits of NAS
NAS devices are designed to be easy to manage, making them a popular choice for home users, small businesses, and departments seeking straightforward centralized storage. They offer an easy way for multiple users in multiple locations to access data, which is valuable when users are collaborating on projects or need to share information.
For individual home users, if you’re currently using external hard drives or direct attached storage, which can be vulnerable to drive failure, upgrading to a NAS ensures your data is better protected.
For small business or departments, installing NAS is typically driven by the desire to share files locally and remotely, have files available 24/7, achieve data redundancy, have the ability to replace and upgrade hard drives in the system, and most importantly, support integrations with cloud storage that provide a location for necessary automatic data backups.
NAS offers robust access controls and security mechanisms to facilitate collaborative efforts. Moreover, it empowers non-technical individuals to oversee and manage data access through an embedded web server. Its built-in redundancy, often achieved through RAID configurations, ensures solid data resilience. This technology merges multiple drives into a cohesive unit, mimicking a single, expansive volume capable of withstanding the failure of a subset of its constituent drives.
Summary of NAS Benefits:
Relatively inexpensive.
A self-contained solution.
Easy administration.
Remote data availability and 24/7 access.
Wide array of systems and sizes to choose from.
Drive failure-tolerant storage volumes.
Automatic backups to other devices and the cloud.
Limitations of NAS
The weaknesses of NAS primarily revolve around scalability and performance. If more users need access, the server might struggle to keep pace. If you overprovisioned your NAS, you may be able to add storage. But sooner or later you’ll need to upgrade to a more powerful system with a bigger on-board processor, more memory, and faster and larger network connections.
Another drawback ties back to ethernet’s inherent nature. Ethernet divides data into packets, forwarding them to their destination. Yet, depending on network traffic or other issues, potential delays or disorder in packet transmission can hinder file availability until all packets arrive and are put back in order.
Although minor latency (slowness) is not usually noticed by users for small files, in data-intensive domains like video production, where large files are at play, even milliseconds of latency can disrupt operations, particularly video editing workflows.
Basic Definitions: What Is a SAN?
On the other end of the spectrum, SANs are engineered for high-performance and mission-critical applications. They function by connecting multiple storage devices, such as disk arrays or tape libraries, to a dedicated network that is separate from the main local area network (LAN). This isolation ensures that storage traffic doesn’t interfere with regular network traffic, leading to optimized performance and data availability.
Unlike NAS, a SAN operates at the block level, allowing servers to access storage blocks directly. This architecture is optimized for data-intensive tasks like database management and virtualization or video editing, where low latency and consistent high-speed access are essential.
Key Characteristics of SANs:
Block-Level Access: SANs provide direct access to storage blocks, which is advantageous for applications requiring fast, low-latency data retrieval.
Performance: SANs are designed to meet the rigorous demands of enterprise-level applications, ensuring reliable and high-speed data access.
Scalability: SANs offer greater scalability by connecting multiple storage devices, making them suitable for businesses with expanding storage needs.
How Does a SAN Work?
A SAN is built from a combination of servers and storage over a high speed, low latency interconnect that allows direct Fibre Channel (FC) connections from the client to the storage volume to provide the fastest possible performance. The SAN may also require a separate, private ethernet network between the server and clients to keep the file request traffic out of the FC network for even more performance.
By joining together the clients, SAN server, and storage on a FC network, the SAN volumes appear and perform as if it were a directly connected hard drive. Storage traffic over FC avoids the TCP/IP packetization and latency issues, as well as any LAN congestion, ensuring the highest access speed available for media and mission critical stored data.
The SAN management server, storage arrays, and clients all connect via a FC network—all file serving occurs over Fibre Channel.
Benefits of a SAN
Because it’s considerably more complex and expensive than NAS, a SAN is typically used by businesses versus individuals and typically requires administration by an IT staff.
The primary strength of a SAN is that it allows simultaneous shared access to shared storage that becomes faster with the addition of storage controllers. SANs are optimized for data-intensive applications. For example, hundreds of video editors can simultaneously access tens of GB per second of storage simultaneously without straining the network.
SANs can be easily expanded by adding more storage devices, making them suitable for growing storage needs. Storage resources can be efficiently managed and allocated from a central location. SANs also typically include redundancy and fault tolerance mechanisms to ensure data integrity and availability.
Summary of a SAN’s Benefits:
Extremely fast data access with low latency.
Relieves stress on a local area network.
Can be scaled up to the limits of the interconnect.
Operating system level (“native”) access to files.
Often the only solution for demanding applications requiring concurrent shared access.
Limitations of a SAN
The challenge of a SAN can be summed up in its cost and administration requirements—having to dedicate and maintain both a separate ethernet network for metadata file requests and implement a FC network can be a considerable investment. That being said, a SAN is often the only way to provide very fast data access for a large number of users that also can scale to supporting hundreds of users at the same time.
The Main Differences Between NAS and SANs
NAS
SAN
Use case
Often used in homes and small to medium sized businesses.
Often used in professional and enterprise environments.
Cost
Less expensive.
More expensive.
Ease of administration
Easier to manage.
Requires more IT administration.
How data is accessed
Data accessed as if it were a network-attached drive.
Servers access data as if it were a local hard drive.
Speed
Speed is dependent on local TCP/IP ethernet network, typically 1GbE to 10GbE but can be up to 25GbE or even 40GbE connections, and affected by the number of other users accessing the storage at the same time. Generally slower throughput and higher latency due to the nature of ethernet packetization, waiting for the file server, and latency in general.
High speed using Fibre Channel, most commonly available in 16 Gb/s to 32 Gb/s however newer standards can go up to 128 Gb/s. FC can be delivered via high speed ethernet such as 10Gbit or 40Gbit+ networks using protocols such as FCoE and iSCSI.
Network connection
SMB/CIFS, NFS, SFTP, and WebDAV.
Fibre Channel, iSCSI, FCoE.
Scalability
Lower-end not highly scalable; high-end NAS scale to petabytes using clusters or scale-out nodes.
Can add more storage controllers, or expanded storage arrays allowing SAN admins to scale performance, storage, or both.
Networking method
Simply connects to your existing ethernet network.
Simply connects to your existing ethernet network.
Simply connects to your existing ethernet network.
Entry level systems often have a single point of failure, e.g. power supply.
Fault tolerant network and systems with redundant functionality.
Limitations
Subject to general ethernet issues.
Behavior is more predictable in controlled, dedicated environments.
Choosing the Right Solution
When considering a NAS device or a SAN, you might find it helpful to think of it this way: NAS is simple to set up, easy to administer, and great for general purpose applications. Meanwhile, a SAN can be more challenging to set up and administer, but it’s often the only way to make shared storage available for mission critical and high performance applications.
The choice between a NAS device and a SAN hinges on understanding your unique storage requirements and workloads. NAS is an excellent choice for environments prioritizing collaborative sharing and simple management. In contrast, a SAN shines when performance and scalability are top priorities, particularly for businesses dealing with data-heavy applications.
Ultimately, the decision should factor in aspects such as budget, anticipated growth, workload demands, and the expertise of your IT team. Striking the right balance between ease of use, performance, and scalability will help ensure your chosen storage solution aligns seamlessly with your goals.
Are You Using NAS, a SAN, or Both?
If you are using a NAS device or a SAN, we’d love to hear from you about what you’re using and how you’re using them in the comments.
Editor’s note: Since it was published in 2019, this post has been updated in 2021 and 2023 with the latest information to help you take advantage of SSDs.
Solid-state drives (SSDs) have become the norm for most laptops and desktops, replacing the older hard disk drives (HDDs) that had been in use for decades previously. If your computer still relies on an HDD, it might be time to consider upgrading to an SSD for improved performance.
Upgrading to an SSD can give your computer a significant speed and responsiveness boost, especially if your machine is more than a few years old. However, before taking the plunge, it’s essential to weigh practical considerations. Let’s take a closer look at SSDs and the factors you should consider.
What Is an SSD?
An SSD is a type of data storage device used in computers and other electronic devices. Unlike traditional HDDs, which use spinning disks and mechanical read/write heads to store and retrieve data, SSDs rely on NAND-based flash memory to store information. This flash memory is similar to the kind used in USB drives and memory cards, but it’s optimized for higher performance and reliability.
Refresher: What Is NAND?
NAND stands for “Not And.” It’s a type of logic gate used in digital circuits, specifically in memory and storage devices. In the context of NAND-based flash memory used in SSDs, the term NAND refers to the electronic structure of the memory cells that store data. The name NAND comes from its logical operation, which is the complement of the AND operation. NAND flash memory is a type of non-volatile storage, meaning it retains data even when the power is turned off, which makes it well-suited for use with things like SSDs and other data storage devices. That’s different from the regular RAM in your computer, which is reset when you turn off or restart the computer.
Compared to HDDs, SSDs are more shock resistant (due to their lack of moving parts) and are less likely to be affected by magnetic fields. They also offer faster data access times, quicker boot-up and application load times, and better overall responsiveness.
Because of their speed and efficiency, SSDs have become the preferred choice for many computing applications, ranging from laptops and desktops to servers and data centers. They are especially useful in situations where speed and reliability are crucial, such as in gaming, content creation, and tasks involving large data transfers. Despite typically offering less storage capacity compared to HDDs of similar cost, SSD performance benefits often outweigh the storage trade-off, making them a popular choice.
Depending on the task at hand, SSDs can be up to 10 times faster than their HDD counterparts. Replacing your hard drive with an SSD is one of the best things you can do to dramatically improve the performance of your older computer.
Samsung 870 QVO SATA III 2.5″ SSD 1TB.
Without any moving parts, SSDs operate more quietly, more efficiently, and with fewer breakable things than hard drives that have spinning platters. Read and write speeds for SSDs are much better than hard drives, resulting in noticeably faster operations.
For you, that means less time waiting for stuff to happen. An SSD is worth looking into if you’re frequently seeing a spinning wheel cursor on your computer screen. Modern operating systems rely more on virtual memory management, utilizing temporary swap files that are written to the disk. A faster SSD minimizes the performance impact caused by this process.
If you have just one drive in your laptop or desktop, you could replace an HDD or small SSD with a 1TB SSD for less than $40. For those dealing with substantial amounts of data, concentrating on replacing the drive that houses your operating system and applications can yield a significant speed boost. Put your working data on additional internal or external hard drives, and you’re ready to tackle a mountain of photos, videos, or supersized databases. Just be sure to implement a backup plan to make sure you keep a copy of that data safe on additional local drives, network attached drives, or in the cloud.
Are There Any Reasons Not to Upgrade to an SSD?
If SSDs are so much better than hard drives, why aren’t all drives SSDs? The two biggest reasons are cost and capacity. SSDs are more expensive than hard drives. A 1TB SSD or HDD now cost about the same, $30–$50, with HDDs being slightly less, maybe around $25.
That’s not much of a difference, but as drive capacity gets larger, the cost differential gets increasingly larger. For example, an 8TB HDD drive runs $120–$180, while 8TB SSDs start at around $350. In short, while upgrading the 1TB internal hard drive on your computer to an SSD is cost effective, the same may not be true for replacing larger capacity drives, like those used in external drives, unless the increased speed is worth the increased cost.
Whether your computer can use an SSD is another question. It all depends on the computer’s age and how it was designed. Let’s take a look at that question next.
How Do You Upgrade to an SSD?
Does your computer use a regular off-the-shelf SATA HDD? If so, you can upgrade it with an SSD.
SSDs are compatible with both Macs and PCs. All current Mac laptops come with SSDs. Both iMacs and Mac Pros come with SSDs as well. Around 2010, Apple started moving to only SSD storage on most of its devices. That said, some Mac desktop computers continued to offer the option of both SSD and HDD storage until 2020, a setup they called a Fusion Drive.
Note that as of November 2021, Apple does not offer any Macs with a Fusion Drive. Basically, if you bought your device before 2010 or you have a desktop computer from 2021 or earlier, there’s a chance you may be using an HDD.
Determine Your Disk Type in a Mac
To determine what kind of drive your Mac uses, click on the Apple menu and select About This Mac.
Avoid the pitfall of selecting the Storage tab in the top menu. What you’ll find is that the default name of your drive is “Macintosh HD” which is confusing, given that they’re referring to the internal storage of the computer as a hard drive when (in most cases), your drive is an SSD. While you can find information about your drive on this screen, we prefer the method that provides maximum clarity.
So, on the Overview screen, click System Report. Bonus: You’ll also see what type of processor you have and your macOS version (which will be useful later).
Once there, select the Storage tab, then the volume name you want to identify. You should see a line called Medium Type, which will tell you what kind of drive you have.
Determine Your Disk Type in a PC
To determine your disk type in a Windows PC, first open the Task Manager in Windows:
Right-click the Start button and click Run. In the Run Command window, type dfrgui and click OK.
On the next screen, the type of drive will be listed under the Media Type column.
Can I Upgrade to a Better SSD?
Even if your computer already has an SSD, you may be able to upgrade it with a larger, faster SSD model. Besides SATA-based hard drive replacements, some later model PCs can be upgraded with M.2 SSDs, which look more like RAM chips than hard drives.
Some Apple laptops made before 2016 that already shipped with SSDs can be upgraded with larger ones. However, you will need to upgrade to a Mac-specific SSD. Check Other World Computing and Transcend to find ones designed to work. Apple laptop models made after 2016 have SSDs soldered to the motherboard, so you’re stuck with what you have.
M.2 SSD.
How to Install an SSD
If you’re comfortable tinkering with your computer’s guts, upgrading it with an SSD is a pretty common do-it-yourself project. Many companies offer hassle-free plug-and-play SSD replacements. Check out Amazon or NewEgg and you’ll have an embarrassment of riches. The choice is yours: Samsung, SanDisk, Crucial, and Toshiba are all popular SSD makers. There are many others, too.
However, if computer hardware isn’t your forte, it might not be worth the effort to learn from scratch. SSD upgrades are such a common aftermarket improvement most independent computer repair and service specialists will take on the task if you’re willing to pay them. Some throw in a data transfer if you’re lucky, or a skilled negotiator. Ask your friends and colleagues for recommendations. You can also hit up services like Angi to find someone.
If you are DIY inclined, YouTube has tons of walkthroughs like this one for desktop PCs, this one for laptops, and this one aimed at Mac users.
HDD/SSD to 3.5″ drive bay adapter.
Many SSDs replace 2.5 inch HDDs. Those are the same drives you find in laptop computers and even small desktop models. Have a desktop computer that uses a 3.5 inch hard drive? You may need to use a 2.5 inch to 3.5 inch mounting adapter.
A Word on SSD Compatibility
Beyond the drive size, it’s a good idea to check to see if the SSD you want to buy is compatible with your laptop or desktop, especially if your system is older than a couple of years. Here are articles from Tom’s Hardware and ShareUs which can help with that.
How to Migrate to an SSD
Buying a replacement SSD is the first step. Moving your data onto the SSD is the next step. To achieve this, you need two essential components: cloning software and an external drive case, sled, or enclosure. These tools enable you to connect your SSD to your computer through its USB port or another data transfer interface.
Cloning software creates an exact replica of your internal hard drive’s data. Once this data is successfully migrated to the SSD, you can then insert the new drive into your computer. I prefer to clone a hard drive onto an SSD whenever possible. When executed correctly, a cloned SSD retains its bootable capabilities, providing a true plug-and-play experience. Just copying files between the two drives instead may not copy all the data you need to get the computer to boot with the new drive.
How to Clone a Hard Drive to an SSD
When you buy a new SSD or even a fresh hard drive, it’s unlikely that the operating system you need will be pre-installed. Cloning your existing hard drive fixes that. However, there are instances where this may not be feasible. For example, maybe you’ve installed the SSD in a computer that previously had a bad hard drive. If so, you can do what’s called a clean install and start fresh. Different operating system providers offer distinct guidelines for this procedure. Here’s a link to Microsoft’s clean install procedure, and Apple’s clean install instructions.
As we said at the outset, SSDs tend to come at a higher cost per gigabyte compared to traditional hard drives. You may not be able to afford as large an SSD as your current drive, so make sure your data will fit on your new drive. If it won’t, you might have to pare down first. Additionally, it’s wise to leave some room for expansion. The last thing you want to do is immediately max out your new, fast drive.
Now that you’ve successfully cloned your drive and integrated the SSD into your system, what do you do with the old drive? If it’s still functional, repurposing the external drive chassis utilized during migration is a practical option. It can continue to serve as a standalone external drive or become part of a disk array, such as a network attached storage (NAS) device. You can use it for local back up—something we strongly recommend doing—in addition to using cloud back up like Backblaze. Or, just use it for extra storage needs, like for your photos or music.
Make Sure to Back Up
SSD upgrades are commonplace, but that doesn’t mean things don’t go wrong that can stop you dead in your tracks. If your computer is working fine before the SSD upgrade, make sure you have a complete backup of your computer to restore from in the event something goes wrong.
More Questions About SSDs?
You might enjoy reading other posts in our SSD 101 series.
This post was originally published in 2016. We’re sharing an update to this post to provide the latest information on how to wipe your Mac.
You’re about to upgrade your Mac. Maybe you want to sell it or trade it in, and maybe you’re just throwing it out—either way, you likely still have plenty of personal data on your old computer. Getting rid of that data isn’t straightforward, and it is important. Sure, you could live out the famous printer destruction scene from the movie “Office Space” and smash the computer to pieces. As satisfying as that might be, there are better ways to wipe your Mac clean.
While there used to be two separate processes for wiping your Mac clean based on whether your computer had a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD), instructions for how to wipe your Mac are now based on your Mac’s processing chip—a Mac or an Intel-based chip.
Do You Need to Know What Type of Drive You Have?
Around 2010, Apple started moving to only SSD storage in many of its devices. That said, some Mac desktop computers continued to offer the option of both SSD and HDD storage until 2020, a setup they called a Fusion Drive. The Fusion Drive is not to be confused with flash storage, a term that refers to the internal storage that holds your readily available and most accessed data at lower power settings.
Note that as of November 2021, Apple does not offer any Macs with a Fusion Drive. Basically, if you bought your device before 2010 or you have a desktop computer from 2021 or earlier, there’s a chance you may be using an HDD.
The good news here is twofold. First, it’s pretty simple to figure out what kind of drive you have, and we’ll detail those steps below (just in case you’re one of those HDD holdouts). Second, Mac’s Help Center directions to wipe your Mac are bifurcated not around your drive type, but around what internal performance chip you’re using (Mac or Intel). Over the years, updates to the Mac operating system (macOS, or OS for general purposes) have made it much easier to wipe your Mac clean, but if you have an older OS, you may have to follow slightly different instructions.
To determine what kind of hard drive your Mac uses, click on the Apple menu and select About This Mac.
Avoid the pitfall of selecting the Storage tab in the top menu. What you’ll find is that the default name of your drive is “Macintosh HD” which is confusing, given that they’re referring to the internal storage of the computer as a hard drive when (in most cases), your hard drive is an SSD. While you can find information about your drive on this screen, we prefer the method that provides maximum clarity.
So, on the Overview screen, click System Report. Bonus: You’ll also see what type of processor you have and your macOS version (which will be useful later).
Once there, select the Storage tab, then the volume name you want to identify. You should see a line called Medium Type, which will tell you what kind of drive you have.
Identify Your Processing Chip
In November 2020, Apple launched its first Macs equipped with M1 chips, replacing the Intel-based processors of the past. The evolution of the M-series Apple chips has been notable largely for performance enhancements, but given that (at the time of publishing) this was only three years ago, there’s a good chance that many users will have an Intel processor.
To see what kind of chip you have, follow the same instructions as above—go to your Apple menu and select About This Mac. If you have an M-series chip, you’ll see that listed as marked in the screenshot below.
If you have an Intel-based Mac, you will see Processor, followed by the name of an Intel processor.
Now You Need to Know Your Mac OS
Great news! If you’re running Mac OS Monterey or later, it’s super easy to erase your Mac. Of course, you’ll have seen your current OS in our favorite About This Mac screen, but below is a list of all OS releases you can compare against, as well as the Apple Help article on the topic.
One Last Thing Before You Get Started—And It’s Crucial
Before you get started, you’ll want to make sure any important data on your hard drive has been backed up. The Apple OS has a built-in backup capability called Time Machine backup software.
While Time Machine is a good start, it doesn’t fulfill the requirements of a 3-2-1 backup strategy. And (as we all know) Apple devices work best with other Apple devices—so if you want to point your Time Machine backups to a non-Apple network device, you’ll have some creative setup to do. Ideally, you’d pair Time Machine with a product like Backblaze Personal Backup for maximum flexibility and cyber resilience. Note that even though backup runs on a schedule, we recommend hitting the manual backup button before you wipe your Mac to ensure you’ve got the most recent information.
How to Wipe Your Mac…Can Be Slightly Different Based on Your Computer
Once you’ve verified your data is backed up, roll up your sleeves and get to work. The key here is macOS Recovery—a part of the Mac operating system since OS 10.7 Lion. You can use the apps in macOS Recovery on a Mac with an Apple processing chip to repair your internal storage device, reinstall macOS, restore your files from a Time Machine backup, set the security policy for different volumes, transfer files between two Mac computers, start up in safe mode, and more.
Okay, so now that you know your operating system, processing chip, and drive type, we can get to the actual how-to of how to wipe your Mac. The steps will be slightly different based on each of the above variables. Let’s dig in.
Wipe a Mac With an Apple Chip and a Recent macOS Update
Assuming you’re rocking a recent macOS update, then you’re going to wipe your Mac using the Erase All Content and Settingsfunction. (You might also see this called the Erase Assistant in Apple’s Help articles.) This will delete all your data, iCloud and Apple logins, Apple wallet information, Bluetooth pairings, fingerprint sensor profiles, and Find My Mac settings, as well as resetting your Mac to factory settings. Here’s how you find it.
If you have macOS Ventura:
Select the Apple menu.
Choose System Settings.
Click General in the sidebar.
Click Transfer or Reset on the right.
Click Erase all Content and Settings.
If you have macOS Monterey:
Select the Apple Menu.
Choose System Preferences.
Once the System Preferences window is open, select the dropdown menu in your top navigation bar. Then, select Erase All Content and Settings.
After you’ve done that, then the steps will be the same for each process. Here’s what to expect.
You’ll be prompted to log in with your administrator credentials.
Next, you will be reminded to back up via Time Machine. Remember that if you choose this option, you’ll want to back up to an external device or cloud storage—because, of course, you’re about to get rid of all the data on this computer.
Click Continue to allow all your settings, data, accounts, etc. to be removed.
If you’re asked to sign out of Apple ID, enter your Apple password and hit Continue.
Click Erase all Content & Settings to confirm.
Your Mac will automatically restart. If you have an accessory like a Bluetooth keyboard, you’ll be prompted to reconnect that device.
Select a WiFi network or attach a network cable.
After joining a network, your Mac activates. Click Restart.
After your device has restarted, a setup assistant will launch (just like when you first got your Mac).
It’ll be pretty clear if you don’t meet the conditions to erase your drive using this method because you won’t see Erase All Content and Settings on the System Settings we showed you above. So, here are instructions for the other methods.
How to Wipe a Mac With an Apple Chip Using Disk Utility
Disk Utility is exactly what it sounds like: a Mac system application that helps you to manage your various storage volumes. You’d use it to manage storage if you have additional storage volumes, like a network attached storage (NAS) device or external hard drive; to set up a partition on your drive; to create a disk image (basically, a backup); or to simply give your disks a check up if they’re acting funky.
You can access Disk Utility at any time by selecting Finder > Go > Utilities, but you can also trigger Disk Utility on startup as outlined below.
Turn on your Mac and continue to press and hold the power button until the startup options window comes up. Click Options, then click Continue.
You may be prompted to login with either your administrative password or your Apple ID.
When the Utilities window appears, select Disk Utility and hit Continue.
If you’d previously added other drives to your startup disk, click the delete volume button (–) to erase them.
Then, choose Macintosh HD in the sidebar.
Click the Erase button, then select a file system format and enter a name for it. For Macs with an M1 chip, your option for a file system format is only APFS.
Click Erase or, if it’s an option, Erase Volume Group. You may be asked for your Apple ID at this point.
You’ll be prompted to confirm your choice, then your computer will restart.
Just as in the other steps, when the computer restarts, it will attempt to activate by connecting to WiFi or asking you to attach a network cable.
After it activates, select Exit to Recovery Utilities.
Once it’s done, the Mac’s hard drive will be clean as a whistle and ready for its next adventure: a fresh installation of the macOS, being donated to a relative or a local charity, or just sent to an e-waste facility. Of course, you can still drill a hole in your disk or smash it with a sledgehammer if it makes you happy, but now you know how to wipe the data from your old computer with much less ruckus.
How To Wipe a Mac With an Intel Processor Using Disk Utility
Last but not least, let’s talk about how to wipe an Intel-based Mac. (Fusion Drives fall into this category as well.)
Starting with your Mac turned off, press the power button, then immediately hold down the command (⌘) and R keys and wait until the Apple logo appears. This will launch macOS Recovery.
You may be prompted to log in with an administrator account password.
When the Recovery window appears, select Disk Utility.
In the sidebar, choose Macintosh HD.
Click the Erase button, then select a file system format and enter a name for it. Your options for a file system format include Apple File System (APFS), which is the file system used by macOS 10.13 or later, and macOS Extended, which is the file system used by macOS 10.12 or earlier.
Click Erase or Erase Volume Group. You may be prompted to provide your Apple ID.
If you previously used Disk Utility to add other storage volumes, you can erase them individually using the process above.
When you’ve deleted all your drives, quit Disk Utility to return to the utilities window. You may also choose to restart your computer at this point.
Securely Erasing Drives: Questions and Considerations
Some of you drive experts out there might remember that there is some nuance to security when it comes to erasing drives, and that there are differences in erasing HDDs versus SSDs. Without detouring into the nuances of why and how that’s the case, just know that on Fusion Drives or Intel-based Macs, you may see additional Security Options you can enable when erasing HDDs.
There are four options in the “Security Options” slider. “Fastest” is quick but insecure—data could potentially be rebuilt using a file recovery app. Moving that slider to the right introduces progressively more secure erasing. Disk Utility’s most secure level erases the information used to access the files on your disk, then writes zeros across the disk surface seven times to help remove any trace of what was there. This setting conforms to the DoD 5220.22-M specification. Bear in mind that the more secure method you select, the longer it will take. The most secure methods can add hours to the process. For peace of mind, we suggest choosing the most secure option to erase your hard drive. You can always start the process in the evening and let it run overnight.
After the process is complete, restart your Mac and see if you can find any data. A quick inspection is not foolproof, but it can provide some peace of mind that the process finished without an interruption.
Securely Erasing SSDs and Why Not To
If your Mac comes equipped with an SSD, Apple’s Disk Utility software won’t actually let you zero the drive. Sounds strange, right? Apple’s online Knowledge Base explains that secure erase options are not available in Disk Utility for SSDs.
Fortunately, you are not restricted to using the standard erasure option to protect yourself. Instead, you can use FileVault, a capability built into the operating system.
FileVault Keeps Your Data Safe
FileVault is an excellent option to protect all of the data on a Mac SSD with encryption. FileVault is whole-disk encryption for the Mac. With FileVault engaged, you need a password to access the information on your hard drive. Even without it, your data is encrypted and it would be very difficult for anybody else to access.
Before you use FileVault, there is a crucial downside. If you lose your password or the encryption key, your data may be gone for good!
When you first set up a new Mac, you’re given the option of turning FileVault on. If you don’t do it then, you can turn on FileVault at any time by clicking on your Mac’s System Preferences, clicking on Security & Privacy, and clicking on the FileVault tab. Be warned, however, that the initial encryption process can take hours, as will decryption if you ever need to turn FileVault off.
With FileVault turned on, you can restart your Mac into its Recovery System following the directions above and erase your hard drive using Disk Utility, once you’ve unlocked it (by selecting the disk, clicking the File menu, and clicking Unlock). That deletes the FileVault key, which means any data on the drive is useless.
Nowadays, most Macs manage disk encryption through the T2 chip and its Secure Enclave, which is entirely separate from the main computer itself. This is why FileVault has no CPU overhead—it’s all handled by the T2 chip. Although FileVault doesn’t impact the performance of most modern Macs, we’d suggest only using it if your Mac has an SSD, not a conventional HDD.
Securely Erasing Free Space on Your SSD
If you don’t want to take Apple’s word for it, if you’re not using FileVault, or if you just want to, there is a way to securely erase free space on your SSD. It’s a little more involved, but it works. Before we get into the nitty-gritty, let me state for the record that this really isn’t necessary to do, which is why Apple’s made it so hard to do.
To delete all data from an SSD on an Apple computer, use Apple’s Terminal app. Terminal provides you with command line interface (CLI) access to the OS X operating system. Terminal lives in the Utilities folder, but you can access Terminal from the Mac’s Recovery System. Once your Mac has booted into the Recovery partition, click the Utilities menu and launch Terminal.
From a Terminal command line, type the following:
diskutil secureErase freespace VALUE /Volumes/DRIVE
That tells your Mac to securely erase the free space on your SSD. You’ll need to change VALUE to a number between 0 and 4. Zero is a single-pass run of zeroes, 1 is a single-pass run of random numbers, 2 is a seven-pass erase, 3 is a 35-pass erase. Finally, level 4 is a three-pass erase with random fills plus a final zero fill. DRIVE should be changed to the name of your hard drive. To run a seven-pass erase of your SSD drive in JohnB-MacBook, you would enter the following:
If you used a space in the name of your Mac’s hard drive, you need to insert a leading backslash (/) before the space. For example, to run a 35-pass erase on a hard drive called Macintosh HD, enter the following:
diskutil secureErase freespace 3 /Volumes/Macintosh\ HD
If you’re like the majority of computer users, you’ve never opened your Terminal application—and that’s probably a good thing. If you’re providing the proper instructions, a CLI lets you directly edit the guts of your computer. If you’re not providing the proper instructions, things will just error out, and likely you won’t know why. All this to say: Apple has made specific choices about designing products for folks who aren’t computer experts. Sometimes it limits how customizable you can get on your device (i.e. it’s super hard to zero out an SSD), but usually it’s for good reason—in this case, it’s to preserve the health of your drive in the long term.
When Erasing Is Not Enough: How To Destroy a Drive
If you absolutely, positively must be sure that all the data on a drive is irretrievable, see this Scientific American article (with contributions by Gleb Budman, Backblaze CEO), How to Destroy a Hard Drive—Permanently.
Since you’re interested in SSDs, you might enjoy reading other posts in our SSD 101 series. And if you’d like to learn how to securely erase a Windows PC HDD or SSD, take a look at our guide here.
This post was originally published during April of 2019 and updated in July of 2022 and July of 2023. Unfortunately, ransomware continues to proliferate. We’ve updated the post to reflect the current state of ransomware and to help individuals and businesses protect their data.
In today’s interconnected world, where our professional lives revolve around technology, the threat of ransomware looms large. It is a profitable business for cybercriminals, causing billions of dollars in damages. You might not have been subject to a ransomware attack yet, but that may not always be the case—unfortunately, the odds are against you.
This comprehensive guide aims to empower you with the knowledge and strategies needed to prevent and recover from ransomware attacks. With preparation and the latest cybersecurity insights, you can safeguard your digital world.
This post is a part of our ongoing coverage of ransomware. Take a look at our other posts for more information on how businesses can defend themselves against a ransomware attack, and more.
In their 2023 Ransomware Trends Report, Veeam found that only 16% of organizations attacked by ransomware were able to recover without paying a ransom. That means, despite almost every business having backups of some kind, only one in six of them were able to use their backups to resume business operations after an attack. As a cloud storage company where many customers store backups, we think that number should be closer to 100%. That’s why we created this guide—getting that number closer to 100% starts with knowing what you’re up against and putting strategies in place to protect your business.
The Ransomware Threat
In 2022, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center received 2,385 ransomware complaints with adjusted losses of more than $34.3 million, and those are just the ones that got reported. Cybersecurity Ventures expects that, by 2031, businesses will fall victim to a ransomware attack every other second, up from every 11 seconds in 2021, every 14 seconds in 2019, and every 40 seconds in 2016. This exponential rise in victims translates to nearly $265 billion in ransomware damages by 2031 according to Cybersecurity Ventures.
Individual and average ransom amounts are also reaching new heights. In Q1 2023, the average ransom payment was $327,883, up 55% from Q1 of 2022 ($211,529) according to Coveware, a cyber extortion incident response firm. And, 45% of attacks had an initial demand over $1 million.
Ransomware affects all industries, from the public sector (state and local government and educational institutions) to healthcare and technology. No group is immune, as seen in the chart below.
Ransomware continues to be a major threat to businesses in all sectors, but the greatest impact continues to be leveled at small and medium businesses (SMBs). As the table below notes, a vast majority (66.9%) of all the companies impacted by ransomware attacks are SMBs with between 11 and 1,000 employees.
Regardless of your firm’s size, you’ll want to understand how ransomware works, including ransomware as a service (RaaS), as well as how recent developments in generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools are changing the ransomware landscape.
Ransomware as a Service
Ransomware as a Service has emerged as a game changer in the world of cybercrime, revolutionizing the ransomware landscape and amplifying the scale and reach of malicious attacks. The RaaS business model allows even novice cybercriminals to access and deploy ransomware with relative ease, leading to a surge in the frequency and sophistication of ransomware attacks worldwide.
Traditionally, ransomware attacks required a high level of technical expertise and resources, limiting their prevalence to skilled cybercriminals or organized cybercrime groups. However, the advent of RaaS platforms has lowered the barrier to entry, making ransomware accessible to a broader range of individuals with nefarious intent. These platforms provide aspiring cybercriminals with ready-made ransomware toolkits, complete with user-friendly interfaces, step-by-step instructions, and even customer support. In essence, RaaS operates on a subscription or profit-sharing model, allowing criminals to distribute ransomware and share the ransom payments with the RaaS operators.
The rise of RaaS has led to a proliferation of ransomware attacks, with cybercriminals exploiting the anonymity of the dark web to collaborate, share resources, and launch large-scale campaigns. The RaaS model not only facilitates the distribution of ransomware but it also provides criminals with analytics dashboards to track the performance of their campaigns, enabling them to optimize their strategies for maximum profit.
One of the most significant impacts of RaaS is the exponential growth in the number and variety of ransomware strains. RaaS platforms continuously evolve and introduce new ransomware variants, making it increasingly challenging for cybersecurity experts to develop effective countermeasures. The availability of these diverse strains allows cybercriminals to target different industries, geographical regions, and vulnerabilities, maximizing their chances of success.
The profitability of RaaS has attracted a new breed of cybercriminals, leading to an underground economy where specialized roles have emerged. Ransomware developers create and sell their malicious code on RaaS platforms, while affiliates or “distributors” spread the ransomware through various means, such as phishing emails, exploit kits, or compromised websites. This division of labor allows criminals to focus on their specific expertise, while RaaS operators facilitate the monetization process and collect a share of the ransoms.
The impact of RaaS extends beyond the immediate financial and operational consequences for targeted entities. The widespread availability of ransomware toolkits has also resulted in a phenomenon known as “ransomware commoditization,” where cybercriminals compete to offer their services at lower costs or even engage in price wars. This competition drives innovation and the continuous evolution of ransomware, making it a persistent and ever-evolving threat.
To combat the growing influence of RaaS, organizations and individuals require a multilayered approach to cybersecurity. Furthermore, organizations should prioritize data backups and develop comprehensive incident response plans to ensure quick recovery in the event of a ransomware attack. Regularly testing backup restoration processes is essential to maintain business continuity and minimize the impact of potential ransomware incidents.
Ransomware as a Service has profoundly transformed the ransomware landscape, democratizing access to malicious tools and fueling the rise of cybercrime. The ease of use, scalability, and profitability of RaaS platforms have contributed to a surge in ransomware attacks across industries and geographic locations.
Generative AI and Ransomware
The rise of generative AI has been a boon for cybercriminals in helping them automate attacks. If you’ve ever been through any kind of cybersecurity training, you’ll know that spelling mistakes, bad grammar, and awkward writing are some of the most obvious signs of a phishing email. With generative AI, the cybercriminals’ job just got that much easier, and their phishing emails that more convincing.
Now, a cybercriminal just needs to punch a prompt into ChatGPT, and it spits out an error-free, well-written, convincing email that the cybercriminal can use to target victims. It has also been a force multiplier for helping cybercriminals translate that email into different languages or target it to specific industries or even companies. Text generated by models like ChatGPT help cybercriminals create very personalized messages that are more likely to have the desired effect of getting a target to click a malicious link or download a malicious payload.
How Does Ransomware Work?
A ransomware attack starts when a machine on your network becomes infected with malware. Cybercriminals have a variety of methods for infecting your machine, whether it’s an attachment in an email, a link sent via spam, or even through sophisticated social engineering campaigns. As users become more savvy to these attack vectors, cybercriminals’ strategies evolve. Once that malicious file has been loaded onto an endpoint, it spreads to the network, locking every file it can access behind strong encryption controlled by cybercriminals. If you want that encryption key, you’ll have to pay the price.
When we say ‘hacker,’ it’s not some kid in his basement. They’re stealthy, professional crime organizations. They attack slowly and methodically. They can monitor your network for months, until they have the keys to the kingdom—including backups—then they pull the trigger.
—Gregory Tellone, CEO, Continuity Centers
Encrypting ransomware or cryptoware is by far the most common variety of ransomware. Other types that might be encountered are:
Non-encrypting ransomware or lock screens, which restrict access to files and data, but do not encrypt them.
Ransomware that encrypts a drive’s master boot record (MBR) or Microsoft’s NTFS, which prevents victims’ computers from being booted up in a live operating system (OS) environment.
Leakware or extortionware, which steals compromising or damaging data that the attackers then threaten to release if ransom is not paid.
Mobile device ransomware which infects cell phones through drive-by downloads or fake apps.
What Happens During a Typical Attack?
The typical steps in a ransomware attack are:
Infection: Ransomware gains entry through various means such as phishing emails, physical media like thumb drives, or alternative methods. It then installs itself on a single endpoint or network device, granting the attacker access.
Secure Key Exchange: Once installed, the ransomware communicates with the perpetrator’s central command and control server, triggering the generation of cryptographic keys required to lock the system securely.
Encryption: With the cryptographic lock established, the ransomware initiates the encryption process, targeting files both locally and across the network, rendering them inaccessible without the decryption keys.
Extortion: Having gained secure and impenetrable access to your files, the ransomware displays an explanation of the next steps, including the ransom amount, instructions for payment, and the consequences of noncompliance.
Recovery Options: At this stage, the victim can attempt to remove infected files and systems while restoring from a clean backup, or they may consider paying the ransom.
It’s never advised to pay the ransom. According to Veeam’s 2023 Ransomware Trends Report, 21% of those who paid the ransom still were not able to recover their data. There’s no guarantee the decryption keys will work, and paying the ransom only further incentivizes cybercriminals to continue their attacks.
Who Gets Attacked?
Data has shown that ransomware attacks target firms of all sizes, and no business—from small and medium-sized business to large coprorations—is immune. According to the Veeam 2023 Data Protection Trends Report, 85% of organizations suffered at least one cyberattack in the preceding twelve months. Attacks are on the rise in every sector and in every size of business. This leaves small to medium-sized businesses particularly vulnerable, as they may not have the resources needed to shore up their defenses.
Recent attacks where cybercriminals leaked sensitive photos of patients in a medical facility prove that no organization is out of bounds and no victim is off limits. These attempts indicate that organizations which often have weaker controls and out-of-date or unsophisticated IT systems should take extra precautions to protect themselves and their data.
The U.S. consistently ranks highest in ransomware attacks, followed by the U.K. and Germany. Windows computers are the main targets, but ransomware strains exist for Macintosh and Linux, as well.
The unfortunate truth is that ransomware has become so widespread that most companies will certainly experience some degree of a ransomware or malware attack. The best they can do is be prepared and understand the best ways to minimize the impact of ransomware.
Ransomware is more about manipulating vulnerabilities in human psychology than the adversary’s technological sophistication.”
—James Scott, Institute for Critical Infrastructure Technology
How to Combat Ransomware
So, you’ve been attacked by ransomware. Depending on your industry and legal requirements (which, as we have seen, are ever-changing), you may be obligated to report the attack first. Otherwise, your immediate footing should be one of damage control. So what should you do next?
Isolate the Infection. Swiftly isolate the infected endpoint from the rest of your network and any shared storage to halt the spread of the ransomware.
Identify the Infection. With numerous ransomware strains in existence, it’s crucial to accurately identify the specific type you’re dealing with. Conduct scans of messages, files, and utilize identification tools to gain a clearer understanding of the infection.
Report the Incident. While legal obligations may vary, it is advisable to report the attack to the relevant authorities. Their involvement can provide invaluable support and coordination for countermeasures.
Evaluate Your Options. Assess the available courses of action to address the infection. Consider the most suitable approach based on your specific circumstances.
Restore and Rebuild. Utilize secure backups, trusted program sources, and reliable software to restore the infected computer or set up a new system from scratch.
1. Isolate the Infection
Depending on the strain of ransomware you’ve been hit with, you may have little time to react. Fast-moving strains can spread from a single endpoint across networks, locking up your data as it goes, before you even have a chance to contain it.
The first step, even if you just suspect that one computer may be infected, is to isolate it from other endpoints and storage devices on your network. Disable Wi-Fi, disable Bluetooth, and unplug the machine from both any local area network (LAN) or storage device it might be connected to. This not only contains the spread but also keeps the ransomware from communicating with the attackers.
Know that you may be dealing with more than just one “patient zero.” The ransomware could have entered your system through multiple vectors, particularly if someone has observed your patterns before they attacked your company. It may already be laying dormant on another system. Until you can confirm, treat every connected and networked machine as a potential host to ransomware.
2. Identify the Infection
Just as there are bad guys spreading ransomware, there are good guys helping you fight it. Sites like ID Ransomware and the No More Ransom! Project help identify which strain you’re dealing with. And knowing what type of ransomware you’ve been infected with will help you understand how it propagates, what types of files it typically targets, and what options, if any, you have for removal and disinfection. You’ll also get more information if you report the attack to the authorities (which you really should).
3. Report to the Authorities
It’s understood that sometimes it may not be in your business’s best interest to report the incident. Maybe you don’t want the attack to be public knowledge. Maybe the potential downside of involving the authorities (lost productivity during investigation, etc.) outweighs the amount of the ransom. But reporting the attack is how you help everyone avoid becoming victimized and help combat the spread and efficacy of ransomware attacks in the future. With every attack reported, the authorities get a clearer picture of who is behind attacks, how they gain access to your system, and what can be done to stop them.
The good news is, you have options. The bad news is that the most obvious option, paying up, is a terrible idea.
Simply giving into cybercriminals’ demands may seem attractive to some, especially in those previously mentioned situations where paying the ransom is less expensive than the potential loss of productivity. Cybercriminals are counting on this.
However, paying the ransom only encourages attackers to strike other businesses or individuals like you. Paying the ransom not only fosters a criminal environment but also leads to civil penalties—and you might not even get your data back.
The other option is to try and remove it.
5. Restore and Rebuild—or Start Fresh
There are several sites and software packages that can potentially remove the ransomware from your system, including the No More Ransom! Project. Other options can be found, as well.
Whether you can successfully and completely remove an infection is up for debate. A working decryptor doesn’t exist for every known ransomware. The nature of the beast is that every time a good guy comes up with a decryptor, a bad guy writes new ransomware. To be safe, you’ll want to follow up by either restoring your system or starting over entirely.
Why Starting Over Using Your Backups Is the Better Idea
The surest way to confirm ransomware has been removed from a system is by doing a complete wipe of all storage devices and reinstalling everything from scratch. Formatting the hard disks in your system will ensure that no remnants of the ransomware remain.
To effectively combat the ransomware that has infiltrated your systems, it is crucial to determine the precise date of infection by examining file dates, messages, and any other pertinent information. Keep in mind that the ransomware may have been dormant within your system before becoming active and initiating significant alterations. By identifying and studying the specific characteristics of the ransomware that targeted your systems, you can gain valuable insights into its functionality, enabling you to devise the most effective strategy for restoring your systems to their optimal state.
Select a backup or backups that were made prior to the date of the initial ransomware infection. If you’ve been following a sound backup strategy, you should have copies of all your documents, media, and important files right up to the time of the infection. With both local and off-site backups, you should be able to use backup copies that you know weren’t connected to your network after the time of attack, and hence, protected from infection. Backup drives that were completely disconnected should be safe, as are files stored in the cloud, especially if you use Object Lock to make them immutable.
How Object Lock Protects Your Data
Object Lock functionality for backups allows you to store objects using a write once, read many (WORM) model, meaning that after it’s written, data cannot be modified. Using Object Lock, no one can encrypt, tamper with, or delete your protected data for a specified period of time, creating a solid line of defense against ransomware attacks.
Object Lock creates a virtual air gap for your data. The term air gap comes from the world of LTO tape. When backups are written to tape, the tapes are then physically removed from the network, creating a literal gap of air between backups and production systems. In the event of a ransomware attack, you can just pull the tapes from the previous day to restore systems. Object Lock does the same thing, but it all happens in the cloud. Instead of physically isolating data, Object Lock virtually isolates the data.
Object Lock is valuable in a few different use cases:
To replace an LTO tape system: Most folks looking to migrate from tape are concerned about maintaining the security of the air gap that tape provides. With Object Lock, you can create a backup that’s just as secure as air-gapped tape without the need for expensive physical infrastructure.
To protect and retain sensitive data: If you work in an industry that has strong compliance requirements—for instance, if you’re subject to HIPAA regulations or if you need to retain and protect data for legal reasons—Object Lock allows you to easily set appropriate retention periods to support regulatory compliance.
As part of a disaster recovery (DR) and business continuity plan: The last thing you want to worry about in the event you are attacked by ransomware is whether your backups are safe. Being able to restore systems from backups stored with Object Lock can help you minimize downtime and interruptions, comply with cyber insurance requirements, and achieve recovery time objectives (RTO) easier. By making critical data immutable, you can quickly and confidently restore uninfected data from your backups, deploy them, and return to business without interruption.
Ransomware attacks can be incredibly disruptive. By adopting the practice of creating immutable, air-gapped backups using Object Lock functionality, you can significantly increase your chances of achieving a successful recovery. This approach brings you one step closer to regaining control over your data and mitigating the impact of ransomware attacks.
So, Why Not Just Run a System Restore?
While it might be tempting to rely solely on a system restore point to restore your system’s functionality, it is not the best solution for eliminating the underlying virus or ransomware responsible for the initial problem. Malicious software tends to hide within various components of a system, making it impossible for system restore to eradicate all instances.
Another critical concern is that ransomware has the capability to encrypt local backups. If your computer is infected with ransomware, there is a high likelihood that your local backup solution will also suffer from data encryption, just like everything else on the system.
With a good backup solution that is isolated from your local computers, you can easily obtain the files you need to get your system working again. This will also give you the flexibility to determine which files to restore from a particular date and how to obtain the files you need to restore your system.
Human Attack Vectors
Often, the weak link in your security protocol is the ever-elusive X factor of human error. Cybercriminals know this and exploit it through social engineering. In the context of information security, social engineering is the use of deception to manipulate individuals into divulging confidential or personal information that may be used for fraudulent purposes. In other words, the weakest point in your system is usually somewhere between the keyboard and the chair.
Common human attack vectors include:
1. Phishing
Phishing uses seemingly legitimate emails to trick people into clicking on a link or opening an attachment, unwittingly delivering the malicious payload. The email might be sent to one person or many within an organization, but sometimes the emails are targeted to help them seem more credible. This targeting takes a little more time on the attackers’ part, but the research into individual targets can make their email seem even more legitimate, not to mention the advent of generative AI models like ChatGPT. They might disguise their email address to look like the message is coming from someone the sender knows, or they might tailor the subject line to look relevant to the victim’s job. This highly personalized method is called “spear phishing.”
2. SMSishing
As the name implies, SMSishing uses text messages to get recipients to navigate to a site or enter personal information on their device. Common approaches use authentication messages or messages that appear to be from a financial or other service provider. Even more insidiously, some SMSishing ransomware variants attempt to propagate themselves by sending themselves to all contacts in the device’s contact list.
3. Vishing
In a similar manner to email and SMS, vishing uses voicemail to deceive the victim, leaving a message with instructions to call a seemingly legitimate number which is actually spoofed. Upon calling the number, the victim is coerced into following a set of instructions which are ostensibly to fix some kind of problem. In reality, they are being tricked into installing ransomware on their own computer. Like so many other methods of phishing, vishing has become increasingly sophisticated with sound effects and professional diction that make the initial message and follow-up call seem more legitimate. And like spear phishing, it has become highly targeted.
4. Social Media
Social media can be a powerful vehicle to convince a victim to open a downloaded image from a social media site or take some other compromising action. The carrier might be music, video, or other active content that, once opened, infects the user’s system.
5. Instant Messaging
Between them, IM services like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Telegram, and Snapchat have more than four billion users, making them an attractive channel for ransomware attacks. These messages can seem to come from trusted contacts and contain links or attachments that infect your machine and sometimes propagate across your contact list, furthering the spread.
Machine Attack Vectors
The other type of attack vector is machine to machine. Humans are involved to some extent, as they might facilitate the attack by visiting a website or using a computer, but the attack process is automated and doesn’t require any explicit human cooperation to invade your computer or network.
1. Drive-By
The drive-by vector is particularly malicious, since all a victim needs to do is visit a website carrying malware within the code of an image or active content. As the name implies, all you need to do is cruise by and you’re a victim.
2. System Vulnerabilities
Cybercriminals learn the vulnerabilities of specific systems and exploit those vulnerabilities to break in and install ransomware on the machine. This happens most often to systems that are not patched with the latest security releases.
3. Malvertising
Malvertising is like drive-by, but uses ads to deliver malware. These ads might be placed on search engines or popular social media sites in order to reach a large audience. A common host for malvertising is adults-only sites.
4. Network Propagation
Once a piece of ransomware is on your system, it can scan for file shares and accessible computers and spread itself across the network or shared system. Companies without adequate security might have their company file server and other network shares infected as well. From there, the malware will propagate as far as it can until it runs out of accessible systems or meets security barriers.
5. Propagation Through Shared Services
Online services such as file sharing or syncing services can be used to propagate ransomware. If the ransomware ends up in a shared folder on a home machine, the infection can be transferred to an office or to other connected machines. If the service is set to automatically sync when files are added or changed, as many file sharing services are, then a malicious virus can be widely propagated in just milliseconds.
It’s important to be careful and consider the settings you use for systems that automatically sync, and to be cautious about sharing files with others unless you know exactly where they came from.
Security experts suggest several precautionary measures for preventing a ransomware attack.
Use antivirus and antimalware software or other security policies to block known payloads from launching.
Make frequent, comprehensive backups of all important files and isolate them from local and open networks.
Immutable backup options such as Object Lock offer users a way to maintain truly air-gapped backups. The data is fixed, unchangeable, and cannot be deleted within the time frame set by the end-user.
Keep offline data backups stored in locations that are air-gapped or inaccessible from any potentially infected computer, such as disconnected external storage drives or the cloud, which prevents the ransomware from accessing them.
Keep your security up-to-date through trusted vendors of your OS and applications. Remember to patch early and patch often to close known vulnerabilities in operating systems, browsers, and web plugins.
Consider deploying security software to protect endpoints, email servers, and network systems from infection.
Exercise good cyber hygiene, exercising caution when opening email attachments and links.
Segment your networks to keep critical computers isolated and to prevent the spread of ransomware in case of an attack. Turn off unneeded network shares.
Operate on the principle of least privilege. Turn off admin rights for users who don’t require them. Give users the lowest system permissions they need to do their work.
Restrict write permissions on file servers as much as possible.
Educate yourself and your employees in best practices to keep ransomware out of your systems. Update everyone on the latest email phishing scams and human engineering aimed at turning victims into abettors.
It’s clear that the best way to respond to a ransomware attack is to avoid having one in the first place. Other than that, making sure your valuable data is backed up and unreachable to a ransomware infection will ensure that your downtime and data loss will be minimal if you ever fall prey to an attack.
Have you endured a ransomware attack or have a strategy to keep you from becoming a victim? Please let us know in the comments.
Think for a second about that Android device in your hand. Maybe it’s a smartphone, maybe it’s a tablet. Whether it’s a Samsung, Google, or Motorola, it still has Android in its DNA. But more important than its DNA is the data stored in its memory.
You probably don’t think about how much irreplaceable data is in there—treasured photos, important documentation, passwords, bank information, the list goes on. But you might want to give it a few minutes of your time because, as smart as your phone is, it’s also remarkably fragile. A trip down the stairs or a dip in the toilet and your phone is toast, taking with it all of that important data. Opening one wrong email or clicking one wrong link could be all it takes for ransomware to infiltrate your data.
In cases like these, the best solution is an ounce of prevention: Getting all those important files backed up before disaster strikes.
Before we get your Droid all backed up and ready to roll, it’s important to understand why you should back up, why syncing isn’t enough, how different phones offer different means of backup, and why a 3-2-1 backup strategy should be your ultimate goal.
And since we’re talking Androids, we’ll obviously be spending a little time in a galaxy far, far away.
“Important to Back Up Your Data, It Is.” – Master Yoda, Probably
In order to understand the importance of backing up your Android, it might help to picture perhaps two of the most famous droids in cinematic history, and in fact the characters who inspired your phone’s name: R2-D2 and C-3PO.
(Seriously, Lucasfilm registered the trademark on the word “droid” in 1977 and has licensed it to both Motorola and Verizon. If you’re reading this, Disney, please don’t sue.)
If you recall the movie “The Force Awakens,” you’ll remember the sub-plot about the search for Luke Skywalker, who had gone into hiding. As the film opens, plucky little droid BB-8 obtained part of the map that could locate him. However, the rest of the map was locked away in R2-D2’s memory units, rendering BB-8’s map useless. Since R2-D2 was mysteriously shut down for purposes of advancing the movie’s plot, that data was unobtainable and thus required a whole film’s worth of daring adventure to restore.
Protection against data loss: Maybe your phone gets dropped into a pond or maybe it gets blasted by TIE fighters. Either way, without a proper backup that data is deader than Greedo.
Easy Upgrading: Jedi Master Qui-Gonn Jinn once said there’s always a bigger fish. Likewise, there’s always a shinier, newer Android device. When you upgrade, you can pull all your old data from your backup and get started with ease.
Protecting against ransomware, malware, and viruses: Even your phone is susceptible to attacks from cybercriminals who can lock up your data and demand payment to restore it. Backing it up is like sending your vital data blasting out through an escape pod just as the Empire descends for retrieval later.
I Have a Syncing Feeling About This
Fortunately, Princess Leia and company seem to have learned their lesson about proper backups by the time of “Rise of Skywalker,” since they had a backup ready for C-3PO. After wiping his hard drive so that the protocol droid could bypass his programming and read the Sith language found on an ancient knife (yes, the plot was that ridiculous), 3PO was able to restore his memories thanks to a backup he’d entrusted to R2.
Had they chosen to merely sync C-3PO’s internal data, he would have been stuck remembering nothing of the Star Wars saga except for “Rise of Skywalker,” which would be a tragic fate for anyone.
With syncing, data is maintained in one form across devices or platforms. This has its usefulness, especially when you can edit something on your phone or tablet and see those changes on your laptop, for example, but also has drawbacks that make it a poor substitute for backing up. Among them:
Limited coverage of what gets synced: Syncing will often focus on specific verticals within data, such as photos, contacts, or calendars. For example, when you make changes to a contact in your phone or device, Google will automatically update that contact in the cloud. But it won’t necessarily automatically update your call or text message history.
Overwriting or deleting data: If C-3PO had been set to sync his data with R2-D2, once it was deleted in his shiny golden head it would be deleted across all backups, and all of the data would have been lost before you could say “Utini.” If you delete your data from your phone, it gets deleted from whatever service you’re using to sync devices.
Vulnerability to ransomware: If you click a malicious link and your device gets zapped with ransomware, your sync service will automatically synchronize the corrupted files.
These Aren’t the Droids You’re Looking For
It’s all well and good to hear about backing up fictional droids, but what about the actual Android device in your hand? Thankfully, it’s somehow even simpler in our galaxy than it is in one where people have actual spaceships.
Both Google and Samsung have backup programs for their respective devices, and we’ll explain a third option where you manage the backups.
Google One
Native to Google’s Pixel devices, but also found on nearly every Android device since it was introduced in 2021, Google One offers a backup service analogous to iCloud, with 15GB of free storage tied to your Google account.
Sorry, potential stalkers. I remembered to blur my email address.
Pros: Works automatically. Backs up apps, phone history, text messages, photos, contacts, and assorted calendar information associated with your account. It can also load data automatically onto a new device when you sign in with your Google account.
Cons: You have to pick and choose what gets backed up. Yes, this is a con. This level of control might seem nice, but again, we’d recommend you just back up everything. Honestly, the more granular you get with what gets backed up, the more likely you are to forget to back up something you might need. It also operates more like a sync than a backup, so accidental erasure is still a risk. To truly back up your data and keep it safe, you’ll need to keep a third copy of the data somewhere (we’ll explain that later). Also, if you get close to maxing out your storage, ready yourself for endless reminders to buy more storage across all of your devices.
Samsung Smart Switch
As the heavy hitter in the Android space, Samsung wasn’t about to let its Galaxy devices go without a built-in backup solution. Samsung’s Smart Switch comes pre-loaded on every Galaxy device. While it’s designed for moving data from one Galaxy to another, it can also create a backup to your Mac or PC using the Smart Switch app.
Yeah, I’m still using an S21. Don’t @ me.
Backing Up Through Your Mac or PC
Of course, one of the great advantages of the Android operating system is its ability to play nice with pretty much every other operating system, unlike its Apple counterpart. Simply plug your charging cable into an available USB slot and your phone will essentially act like an external hard drive. On a Windows machine, this will show up like a separate hard drive nested under your PC in file explorer. On a Mac, you’ll need to take the extra step of downloading Android File Transfer.
Pros: Functions essentially like an external drive, meaning you can track down individual files or whole folders for targeted backup.
Cons: Android’s file structure can often make individual files difficult to track down. Transfer times can often drag on to the point of absurdity.
How to Back Up Your Life
The guides in this series help you protect your content across many different platforms. We’re working on developing this list—please comment below if you’d like to see another platform covered.
“Come On Buddy, We’re Not Out of This Yet.” – Han Solo, Shortly After Backing Up His Phone, Probably
Now that you have your data safely backed up and secured against any accidental destruction, loss, or damage to your Android, you might think you’re safe. But the cornerstone of any good backup strategy rests on not one, not two, but three pillars.
If you really need to be told why this is important, we’ve covered it here. But suffice to say, a 3-2-1 strategy relies on a trio of separate, redundant backups. One copy of your data stays on your Android device. Another copy of your data is stored on a separate on-premises device, such as your PC or an external hard drive (or, if available, a convenient R2-model astromech). Finally, a third copy stays off-premises—preferably in the cloud—to avoid the possibility of theft, fire, or total planetary destruction via Death Star.
If you’re a Backblaze Computer Backup user, that last step is taken care of. Backblaze backs up your entire computer, including any Android backups you saved to your Mac or PC.
By maintaining three redundant copies of important data—two on local devices and a third in a separate location—you are comprehensively protected against data loss. You may not be carrying around plans for the Empire’s new battle station, but the precious memories locked away on your Android device are just as important as protecting them.
May the force be with you (and again, Disney, please don’t sue).
Each passing year brings with it a June, and with that comes a Backup Awareness Month. For those that are new to the blog, each June we partner with The Harris Poll to gauge the state of backups in the United States, by asking the simple question: “How often do you back up all the data on your computer?” (And a handful of other questions, too.) This post marks our survey’s 15th anniversary, and as you can imagine, the backup world has changed a lot in that time.
If you’ve followed our previous State of the Backup articles, you’ll know that we usually have a burning question that we want to answer. In 2021 and 2022, we were interested in the “best backer upper.” This year’s focus touches on the different “cloud” services that respondents use, and their confidence level that those services are providing them with the protection they crave—nay, deserve.
And that’s not just our (totally) normal love of backup coming out. It comes as news to no one that the world has shifted to a more digital environment, the ways we store, use, and manage data have changed. We have our data at more touchpoints in our lives, and cloud-based sync services are readily available. Being able to capture a full backup for all those various uses—business and personal—means that the need for automatic, unlimited solutions that you can access from anywhere is no longer a “nice to have.” It’s essential.
Backup Frequency Trends for 2023
This is one of my favorite graphs. Now with 15 years of data, we look at our headline question: How often do you back up all the data on your computer? This year we’re pleased that daily backups have not decreased and remain at similar levels to last year. In 2023, 11% of Americans who own a computer backed up their data at least once a day compared to 10% in 2022 and 11% in 2021. Weekly (8% in 2023 and 7% for both previous years) and monthly (15% in 2023 and 13% and 14% in the two previous years) backups among those who own a computer are similar to the past years as well.
The number of people who have never backed up data also remains at similar levels, with 18% of Americans who own a computer saying they’ve never backed up data in 2023 compared to 20% saying the same in the prior two years.
If you’ve hung around the Backblaze blog before, you likely have heard me (Yev) saying that the main competitor we have to our computer backup service is apathy. While we’re not (yet) seeing a statistically significant drop in those “never” numbers, we love to see that this category isn’t growing. And, we’ve got big plans to get more folks backing up in the future—we love using polls like this to learn more about how to move the needle. You can see from the graph below that, if you compare to 2008, we’ve certainly seen change over time.
Since some people prefer the raw data, and you can find it here, lovingly copied from Google Sheets:
While we’re past March 14, Pi Day is one of my favorite holidays to celebrate and also one of my favorite chart types. Here we have pie charts comparing the 2008 to 2023 data:
We love seeing the daily section growing while the never section shrinks—that’s progress. And, like we stated above, we view it as a big indicator of the massive shift in the ways people are using data.
Of course, we would love to see the daily backups skyrocketing year over year, because at the end of the day, if people aren’t backing up frequently, they are at risk of losing at least that day’s worth of data, which is one of the things that Backblaze Computer Backup is trying to help people avoid.
The Title of “Best” at Backing Up Is Up For Grabs
A few years ago we got curious about who is “best” at backing up. In 2021, we saw some statistical significance that indicated women between 35-44 years of age (21% likely to backup versus 9% of those 18-34 and 6% of those 55-64), and those who live in the Western United States (17% more likely to back up vs. the South and Midwest at 9% and 7%, respectively) were more likely to be computer owners who backed up once a day or more. When we checked in 2022, we found no statistical difference between the categories—but, we’ll explain why we keep checking in on this profile.
It’s worth taking a time-out for a stats mini-lesson, because we Backblaze plebeians did see some interesting fluctuations in the data, and the awesome experts at The Harris Poll let us know that these fluctuations are to be expected. Here’s why: When you’re talking about surveys rather than a census of a group, there is a sampling error that is expected just because you get a different group of people responding over time. We do statistical testing to see if the fluctuation could be due to chance (we just randomly got a different group of people) or if something has really changed in the group over time. In our survey, performed with 95% confidence, that means if we collected the survey 100 times we would report differences that would only occur in five of those surveys by chance assuming no change in the group. (Here’s an article that explains in more detail, if you’d like to dig in.)
The TL:DR of all that is that for a category to show statistical significance, it needs to be 5% greater or less than the total average of the parent category. In our parent category of computer owners who back up once a day or more,” we have a total average of 11% for 2023. Women between the ages of 35–44—clock in at 15%. So, while that’s not statistically significant, it’s certainly worth monitoring in our future surveys.
And that means that this year, the title is up for grabs! Get geared up for next year, folks: We love healthy competition about better backups.
Cloud Services Are All Around
When we started Backblaze 16 years ago, Amazon AWS had only recently started marketing Amazon Elastic Cloud Compute (in 2006, folks). Now, “the cloud” is a household name although it’s something of an amorphous concept for many—but there’s no denying that the cloud is accessible to consumers and companies alike.
Here are some indicative stats:
Nearly two in three Americans (65%) who have backed up all the data on their computer use a cloud-based system as their primary backup method.
Those who use the cloud services backup (63%), drive (67%), or sync (62%) to back up their computers are much more likely to say their backup method automatically backs up all the data on their computer than those who use an external hard drive (36%).
Those who use a cloud backup service are more likely to say they had to recover, access, or restore lost data from their computer in the past month than those who use a cloud drive service, cloud sync service, or external hard drive (18% vs. 9% and 7% each).
Some of these facts reveal very important questions about backup and sync in relation to our backup questions. We’ve talked about the differences in the past, and here we see folks who are saying that they use a drive or sync service as their backup method.
So, when those Americans using cloud-based systems think they’re backing up each day, in all likelihood, at least some of them are describing another type of data storage—syncing data across devices or storing data on a cloud drive. But, without an additional copy of your data, you aren’t truly backing up.
Still, even with more people backing up, overall data confidence is low, with fewer than one in five Americans (17%) stating they are absolutely certain that their most important computer files are safely backed up somewhere. Even more telling? 12% of Americans who use a cloud service, external hard drive, or a network attached storage (NAS) as a primary method to back up data say they are not confident the method they use is set up to protect all of the data on their computer.
That number means we need to get more people not only backing up but testing their restores. If you’ve never tested your restores, we highly recommend it. Not only does it let you see exactly where you’re storing your files and what it takes to restore them, but it also shows you how long it will take to get your files back online in the event of data loss. It’s also one of the main differentiators between “cloud” services—the ease with which you can get all your data back is a good selection criteria.
In Recovery Situations, A Plan Makes All the Difference
The whole point of a backup is to make sure that you never lose critical data. We certainly want and value this for personal recovery—check out our article about how a digital go bag can help you prepare for natural disasters and the like.
But, if you’re a business owner, any disruption in data or file loss can mean that your business is off-line. Business continuity plans help you understand how to get back online with minimal stress and as soon as possible. Especially if you’re a small or medium-sized business, you know how important that is! Services like Instant Business Recovery are a great tool in that respect: They help your business prepare for scenarios in which you might have outages and to get back online as quickly as possible.
What Are Those Services Doing Anyway?
When looking at computer owners who use a cloud backup service like Backblaze as their primary backup we find that:
63% say their service automatically backs up all the data on their computer.
27% say it backs up only the data they select with no limitations.
9% say it backs up only the data they select but with some limits.
1% marked “other.”
1% are not sure at all.
Why is this important? Well, different types of backups mean that you can recover things in different ways. For instance, a bare metal recovery is designed to take you from a computer with nothing on it—not even an operating system—to a fully-functional computer with all your files. Does your backup service support those file types?
Another example: a grandfather-father-son or a full vs. incremental backup may help you save valuable storage space when it comes to backing up (especially when your backup service may have limits or charge you based on storage space, as some folks indicate above).
Finally, our old pal, the 3-2-1 backup strategy, recommends both an on-site and an off-site copy of your data, which means that whichever method you use to backup, you’re going to want to store those backups in different and accessible ways.
It’s not only a question of knowing if your backup service is automatically backing up all the data on your computer—you also want to know where that data is being stored, what file types are supported, if or how you need to set “rules,” and more. There are positives and negatives to each backup strategy, of course, but the numbers above show us that we have some work to do to help people know where to start when it comes to building an effective plan. We see a detailed education campaign about what Backblaze backs up brewing in our future!
Backing Up Remains Paramount
When looking at the data loss statistics of Americans who own a computer:
70% report accidentally deleting something.
54% report having lost data.
54% were affected by a security incident (like ransomware or malware).
46% had an internal or external hard drive crash.
36% of those who did had crashes happen within the last year.
45% lost access to their data when a shared drive or synced drive was deleted.
This year over half of Americans who own a computer reported being affected by a security incident, and that number is in line with last year (54% this year vs. 53% last year). Over the years, ransomware has increasingly become a “when, not if” situation, which means that seemingly simple things, like making strong passwords, using virtual private networks (VPNs), and knowing how to recognize a phishing attack are more important than ever. Prevention is only half the battle of course—and a good backup and recovery plan is the other.
What’s more, these things become even more interesting when you think about data loss as it comes to our working environment. As we see modern work patterns change, we see more people working on their home networks and using mobile phones. As the workplace has shifted to include more remote and hybrid environments, employers are having to think about what it looks like to secure data across dispersed locations. Not only do you have lots of folks working on software as a service (SaaS) tools that include synced or shared drives (and have their own backup strategy demands), but you also need to capture folks saving on their local drives—which means you need individual workstation backup to ensure that you have a complete disaster recovery (DR) plan in place.
Good Backups Get Personal
Fifteen years into this Harris Poll (and 16 years into being Backblaze!), we are still driven to understand the world of backup to support our ultimate goal: making storing and using data astonishingly easy. The work of taking these disparate data points (70% of Americans who own a computer have accidentally deleted something) and turning them into solutions (hey, an automatic backup means that you can get it back) is something we can’t do without understanding the world and how it changes.
We hope you enjoy seeing the big picture as much as we do, and we hope this information ultimately helps you to find the best backup service for your data. Jump into the comments and let us know what you think!
Survey Method:
This year’s survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of Backblaze from April 25–27, 2023, among 2,050 adults ages 18+, among whom 1,857 own a computer. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within +/- 2.8 percentage points using a 95% confidence level.
Prior year’s surveys were conducted online by The Harris Poll on behalf of Backblaze among U.S. adults ages 18+ who own a computer in May 19–23, 2022 (n=1,861); May 12–14, 2021 (n=1,870); June 1–3, 2020 (n=1,913); June 6–10, 2019 (n=1,858); June 5–7, 2018 (n=1,871); May 19–23, 2017 (n=1,954); May 13–17, 2016 (n=1,920); May 15–19, 2015 (n=2,009); June 2-4, 2014 (n=1,991); June 13–17, 2013 (n=1,952); May 31–June 4, 2012 (n=2,176); June 28–30, 2011 (n=2,209); June 3–7, 2010 (n=2,051); May 13–14, 2009 (n=2,154); and May 27–29, 2008 (n=2,723).
For complete survey methodologies, including weighting variables and subgroup sample sizes, please contact Backblaze.
If you’ve been considering building a website, you’ve probably at least thought about using WordPress. It’s a free, open-source content management system (CMS) with a seemingly endless library of templates and plugins that allow you to easily customize your website, even if you’re not a savvy web designer—and it’s responsible for powering millions of websites.
Today, we’re digging into how to back up WordPress, including what you should be backing up, how you should be backing up, and where you should be storing those backups.
And, once you’ve gone through the trouble of building a website, all sorts of things can happen—accidental deletions, server errors, cyberattacks: the list goes on. No matter the size of your business or blog, you never want to be in the position where you lose data. Backups are an essential safeguard to protect one of your most important tools.
What’s the Diff: WordPress.org vs. WordPress.com
If you decide to build in WordPress, you might get confused by the fact that there are two related websites separated by a measly domain suffix. Once you jump into each website, you’ll even see that WordPress.com was created by a company with the same founder as WordPress.org. So, what gives? Which makes more sense for you to use?
This article will take you in-depth about all the differences between the two options, but here’s the short list of the most important info.
WordPress.org
Pro: Your site is more customizable, you can add your own analytics, and you can monetize your website.
Con: You’re responsible for your own hosting, backups, and, after you download WordPress, your own updates as well.
WordPress.com
Pro: It’s designed to be plug-and-play for less experienced users. You choose your pricing tier, and you don’t have to worry about backups and hosting.
Cons: You have far more limited options for customization (themes and plugins), and you can’t sell ads on your own site. You also can’t create e-commerce or membership sites.
Hosting and backups may sound intimidating, but they’re fairly easy to handle once you’ve got them set up—not to mention that many folks prefer not to outsource two things that are so central to website security concerns, continuity (you don’t want someone else to own your domain name!), and customer or community data, if you happen to store that. So, for the purposes of this article, when we say “WordPress,” we mean WordPress.org.
Now, let’s dive in to how to back up your site.
What to Back Up
There are two main components to your website: the files and the database.
Files are WordPress core files, plugins, theme files, uploaded images and files, code files, and static web pages.
The database contains everything else, like user information, posts, pages, links, comments, and other types of user-generated content.
Basically, the database contains your posts and lots of information created on your site, but it doesn’t include all the building blocks that create the look of your site or the backend information of your site. If you use restoring your computer as an analogy, your files are your photos, Word docs, etc., and your database includes things like your actual Word program, your login info, and so on.
Most of the services you use to host your website (like GoDaddy or Bluehost) will back up the entire server (read: both your files and your database), but it takes time to request a copy of your whole site. So, you’ll want to make sure you back up your data as well.
How to Back Up Your WordPress Files
Your hosting service may have programs or services you can use to back up, so make sure you check with them first. You’ll also want to make sure your site is syncing between your server and a second location, like a hard drive (HDD) or a network attached storage (NAS) device.
But, since syncing is not the same as back up, you’ll also want to periodically download and save your files. WordPress recommends using FTP Clients or UNIX Shell Skills to copy these files onto your computer. Unless you’re familiar with command line interface (CLI), you’ll probably find FTP Clients easier to deal with.
How to Back Up Your WordPress Database
The simplest way to backup your database is with phpMyAdmin. Once you find out how to access your site’s phpMyAdmin, just follow these steps to back up.
Click on Databases in your phpMyAdmin panel. (Sometimes you won’t have to do this, depending on your version of phpMyAdmin.)
You might have several databases, but click the database you created when you installed WordPress.
In the structure view, you’ll see something like this:
Click Export. You can choose Quick or Custom.
If you’re not familiar with SQL tables, select the Quick option. Then, choose SQL from the dropdown menu. (This is the default format used to import and export MySQL databases, and most systems support it.) Then, click Go.
If you want more control over the backup process, click Custom. Then, you’ll want to follow these steps:
In the Output section, choose Save output to a file. Then, decide if you want to compress your files or not.
Select SQL from the Format menu.
Choose Add DROP TABLE, which is useful for overwriting an existing database.
Choose IF NOT EXISTS, which prevents errors if the table is already in your back up or exported file.
Click Go.
With that, the data will be stored on your computer.
That Was a Lot. Is There an Easier Way?
Sure is. One of the reasons that people love WordPress so much is that there are a ton of plugins you can choose to handle tasks just like backing up. You can find those plugins in the Plugin Browser on the WordPress Admin screens or through the WordPress Plugin Directory.
Often, those plugins also allow you to automate your back ups—which is important when you’re thinking about how often to back up, and creating a redundant backup strategy. Make sure you’re backing up regularly, and you’ll want to do this at a time when there’s minimal activity on your site.
We’ll get into more detail about choosing the correct tool for your site, as well as some plugin recommendations, a little later. But first, let’s talk about backup best practices.
The 3-2-1 Backup Strategy
When you’re thinking about when and how to back up, you need to consider a few things: what types of files you want to store, where you want to store them, and when you want to back up. We’ve already talked about what you need to back up for your WordPress site, so let’s jump into the other details.
We at Backblaze recommend a 3-2-1 backup strategy, and we’ve talked about the specifics of that strategy for both consumers and businesses. The basics of the strategy are this: Keep three copies of your data in two separate local destinations with one copy of your data offsite.
So, if you’re backing up your WordPress site, you’d want to have one copy of your files on your computer and the second on a NAS device or hard drive (for example). Then, you’d want to keep one copy elsewhere. In the old days, that meant moving LTO tapes or servers from location to location, but, of course, now we have cloud storage.
So, to answer the question of where you want to store your backups, the answer is: on multiple devices and in multiple locations. Having your off-site backup be in the cloud is valuable for a few reasons. First, there is a minimal chance of losing data due to theft, disaster, or accident. Second, cloud services are flexible, and easy to integrate with your existing tech. You can easily add or remove access to your backup data, and if you’re running a business, most include features for things like access controls.
Now that you have selected a place to store your backup data, let’s talk about when you want to back up and different tools you can use to do so.
Choosing the Right WordPress Backup Plugin
When you’re trying to decide which tool to use, you should look at a few things to make sure that the plugin fits your needs and will continue to do so long-term.
So, one of the things that you want to look at is how much customization you can do to your backups. The most important part of this is to make sure that you can schedule your backups. It’s important to set your backup time for periods of low traffic to your site. Otherwise, you run the risk of affecting how the site is working for your users (creating slowdowns), or having incomplete backups (because new information is being added at the same time you’re creating the backups).
To ensure you’re picking a tool that will be with you for the long run, it helps to look at:
The number of active installations: If there are many installations of the plugin, this would suggest that the backup plugin is popular and more likely to stay in business for the long term.
Last updated: There are lots of reasons that tools are updated, but some of the most common are to fix bugs in usage or security vulnerabilities. Cyberattacks are constantly evolving, as are programming languages and programs. If the tool hasn’t been updated in the last 12 months, it’s likely they’re not responding to those changes.
Storage support: What we mean by this is that you can choose where to save your files. That makes it easy to set different endpoints for your backups—for instance, if you want the file to save in your cloud storage provider, you’d be able to choose that.
No Time to Research? Here Are Some of Our Favorite Plugins
While many choices are available, we recommend UpdraftPlus and XCloner for WordPress backups. These plugins have an excellent track record and work well in many environments.
With this plugin, you have several options for where to store your backups, which is always a plus. They have a free version as well as several different premium options with different prices (depending on if you need to manage more sites, want included cloud storage, etc.). That means you can pilot the tool and then upgrade if you need more capability. The premium version of UpdraftPlus supports scheduled backups, offers encryption for backup, and reporting so you can track each backup.
This WordPress backup plugin lets you schedule backups, apply retention policies, and save storage space by using file compression. The best thing about XCloner? It’s free, and not just bare-bones free: they include many features you’d find in paid backup tools. And, just like UpdraftPlus, you can store your backups to the cloud.
What’s Next?
All that’s left, then, is for you to back up your site. Check out the Backblaze blog for more useful content on backup—we’ve covered backing up your site, but it’s only one piece of your overall backup strategy. If you’re a home user running your site solo, you may want to start with Backblaze Personal Backup. If you’re a business looking for backup, check out Backblaze Business Backup and Backblaze B2 Cloud Storage. And, as always, feel free to comment below with your thoughts and suggestions about what content you’d like to see.
You know you need to back up your data. Maybe you’ve developed a backup strategy and gotten the process started, or maybe you’re still in the planning phase. Now you’re starting to wonder: how long do I need to keep all these backups I’m going to accumulate? It’s the right question to ask, but the truth is there’s no one-size-fits-all answer.
How long you keep your backups will depend on your IT team’s priorities, and will include practical factors like storage costs and the operational realities that define the usefulness of each backup. Highly regulated industries like banking and healthcare have even more challenges to consider on top of that. With all that in mind, here’s what you need to know to determine how long you should keep your backups.
First Things First: You Need a Retention Policy
If you’re asking how long you should keep your backups, you’re already on your way to designing a retention policy. Your organization’s retention policy is the official protocol that will codify your backup strategy from top to bottom. The policy should not just outline what data you’re backing up and for how long, but also explain why you’ve determined to keep it for that length of time and what you plan to do with it beyond that point.
Practically speaking, the decision about how long to keep your backups boils down to a balancing act between storage costs and operational value. You need to understand how long your backups will be useful in order to determine when it’s time to replace or dispose of them; keeping backups past their viability leads to both unnecessary spend and the kind of complexity that breeds risk.
Backup vs. Archive
Disposal isn’t the only option when a backup ages. Sometimes it’s more appropriate to archive data as a long-term storage option. As your organization’s data footprint expands, it’s important to determine how you interact with different types of data to make the best decisions about how to safeguard it (and for how long).
While backups are used to restore data in case of loss or damage, or to return a system to a previous state, archives are more often used to off-load data from faster or more frequently accessed storage systems.
Backup: A data recovery strategy for when loss, damage, or disaster occurs.
Archive: A long-term or permanent data retrieval strategy for data that is not as likely to be accessed, but still needs to be retained.
Knowing archiving is an option can impact how long you decide to keep your backups. Instead of deleting them completely, you can choose to move them from short-term storage into a long-term archive. For instance, you could choose to keep more recent backups on premises, perhaps stored on a local server or network attached storage (NAS) device, and move your archives to cloud storage for long-range safekeeping.
How you choose to store your backups can also be a factor into your decision on how long to keep them. Moving archives to cloud storage is more convenient than other long-term retention strategies like tape. Keeping archives in cloud storage could allow you to keep that data for longer simply because it’s less time-consuming than maintaining tape archives, and you also don’t have to worry about the deterioration of tape over time.
Putting your archive in cloud storage can help manage the cost side of the equation, too, but only if handled carefully. While cloud storage is typically cheaper than tape archives in the long run, you might save even more by moving your archives from hot to cold storage. For most cloud storage providers, cold storage is generally a cheaper option if you’re talking dollars per GB stored. But, it’s important to remember that retrieving data from cold storage can incur high egress fees and take 12–48 hours to retrieve data. When you need to recover data quickly, such as in a ransomware attack or cybersecurity breach, each moment you don’t have your data means more time your business is not online—and that’s expensive.
How One School District Balances Storage Costs and Retention
With 200 servers and 125TB of data, Bethel School District outside of Tacoma, Washington needed a scalable cloud storage solution for archiving server backups. They’d been using Amazon S3, but high costs were straining their budget—so much so that they had to shorten needed retention periods.
Moving to Backblaze produced savings of 75%, and Backblaze’s flat pricing structure gives the school district a predictable invoice, eliminating the guesswork they anticipated from other solutions. They’re also planning to reinstate a longer retention period for better protection from ransomware attacks, as they no longer need to control spiraling Amazon S3 costs.
Next Order of Business: The Structure of Your Backup Strategy
The types of backups you’re storing will also factor into how long you keep them. There are many different ways to structure a secure backup strategy, and it’s likely that your organization will interact with each kind of backup differently. Some backup types need to be stored for longer than others to do their job, and those decisions have a lot to do with how the various types interact to form an effective strategy.
The Basics: 3-2-1
The 3-2-1 backup strategy is the widely accepted industry minimum standard. It dictates keeping three copies of your data: two stored locally (on two different types of devices) and one stored off-site. This diversified backup strategy covers all the bases; it’s easy to access backups stored on-site, while off-site (and often offline or immutable) backups provide security through redundancy. It’s probably a good idea to have a specific retention policy for each of your three backups—even if you end up keeping your two locally stored files for the same length of time—because each copy serves a different purpose in your broader backup strategy.
Full vs. Incremental Backups
While designing your backup strategy, you’ll also need to choose how you’re using full versus incremental backups. Performing full backups each time (like completely backing up a work computer daily) requires huge amounts of time, bandwidth, and space, which all inflate your storage usage at the end of the day. Other options serve to increase efficiency and reduce your storage footprint.
Full backup: A complete copy of your data, starting from scratch either without any pre-existing backups or as if no other backup exists yet.
Incremental backup: A copy of any data that has been added or changed since your last full backup (or your last incremental backup).
When thinking about how long to keep your full backups, consider how far back you may need to completely restore a system. Many cyber attacks can go unnoticed for some time. For instance, you could learn that an employee’s computer was infected with malware or a virus several months ago, and you need to completely restore their system with a full backup. It’s not uncommon for businesses to keep full backups for a year or even longer. On the other hand, incremental backups may not need to be kept for as long because you can always just restore from a full backup instead.
Grandfather-Father-Son Backups
Effectively combining different backup types into a cohesive strategy leads to a staggered, chronological approach that is greater than the sum of its parts. The grandfather-father-son system is a great example of this concept in action. Here’s an example of how it might work:
Grandfather: A monthly full backup is stored either off-site or in the cloud.
Father: Weekly full backups are stored locally in a hot cloud storage solution.
Son: Daily incremental backups are stored as a stopgap alongside father backups.
It makes sense that different types of backups will need to be stored for different lengths of time and in different places. You’ll need to make decisions about how long to keep old full backups (once they’ve been replaced with newer ones), for example. The type and the age of your data backups, along with their role in the broader context of your strategy, should factor into your determination about how long to keep them.
A Note on Minimum Storage Duration Policies
When considering cloud storage to store your backups, it’s important to know that many providers have minimum storage duration policies. These are fees charged for data that is not kept in cloud storage for some period of time defined by the cloud storage provider, and it can be anywhere from 30–180 days. These are essentially delete penalties—minimum retention requirement fees apply not only to data that gets deleted from cloud storage but also any data that is overwritten. Think about that in the context of the backup strategies we’ve just outlined: each time you create a new full backup, you’re overwriting data.
So if, for example, you choose a cloud storage provider with a 90-day minimum storage duration, and you keep your full backups for 60 days, you will be charged fees each time you overwrite or delete a backup. Some cloud storage providers, like Backblaze B2 Cloud Storage, do not have a minimum storage duration policy, so you do not have to let that influence how long you choose to keep backups. That kind of flexibility to keep, overwrite, and delete your data as often as you need is important to manage your storage costs and business needs without the fear of surprise bills or hidden fees.
Don’t Forget: Your Industry’s Regulations Can Tip the Scales
While weighing storage costs and operational needs is the fundamental starting point of any retention policy, it’s also important to note that many organizations face regulatory requirements that complicate the question of how long to keep backups. Governing bodies designed to protect both individuals and business interests often mandate that certain kinds of data be readily available and producible upon request for a set amount of time, and they require higher standards of data protection when you’re storing personally identifiable information (PII). Here are some examples of industries with their own unique data retention regulations:
Insurance: Different types of policies are governed by different rules in each state, but insurance companies do generally need to comply with established retention periods. More recently, companies have also been adding cyber insurance, which comes with its own set of requirements.
Finance: A huge web of legislation (like the Bank Secrecy Act, Electronic Funds Transfer Act, and more) mandates how long banking and financial institutions must retain their data.
Education: Universities sit in an interesting space. On one hand, they store a ton of sensitive data about their students. They’re often public services, which means that there’s a certain amount of governmental regulation attached. They also store vast amounts of data related to research, and often have on-premises servers and private clouds to protect—and that’s all before you get to larger universities which have medical centers and hospitals attached. With all that in mind, it’s unsurprising that they’re subject to higher standards for protecting data.
Federal and regional legislation around general data security can also dictate how long a company needs to keep backups depending on where it does business (think GDPR, CCPA, etc.). So in addition to industry-specific regulations, your company’s primary geographic location—or your customers’ location—can also influence how long you need to keep data backups.
The Bottom Line: How Long You Keep Backups Will Be Unique to Your Business
The answer to how long you need to keep your backups has everything to do with the specifics of your organization. The industry you’re in, the type of data you deal with, and the structure of your backup strategy should all combine to inform your final decision. And as we’ve seen, you’ll likely wind up with multiple answers to the question pertaining to all the different types of backups you need to create and store.
When you start thinking about backup strategies, it tends to get inside your head. Like Dustin Hoffman’s character in “Rain Man”, seeing equations float around him as he calculates his odds in Vegas, the mental exercise of ensuring your backups have backups of their own tends to manifest itself in the strangest places.
Take, for example, the finale of the Netflix show “Dead to Me” starring Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini. The show wrapped up a few months back and should definitely be moving toward the top of your “I’ve been meaning to watch that” list. And if you have already seen it, I can’t stress enough how much more you pick up on a second time around.
Anyway, to a certain segment of the audience, the climax of the show served as a fitting conclusion to a whole host of storyline threads whose dense weave kept viewers enthralled from the first episode to the last. But to those of us who tend to worry about things like a proper 3-2-1- backup strategy, the final few episodes concealed a subtle message about the importance of proper data backup procedures.
Let’s dig into what “Dead to Me” can teach us about the importance of a good backup strategy.
One: On-site storage on your home device. Your phone, your laptop, your tablet, whatever. If you can physically touch it and your files are in there somewhere, that’s your first copy.
Two: On-site storage on a separate device. This can be an external hard drive, a thumb drive, or if you’re on a Mac, Time Machine. If it’s not physically in the device, but it’s still somewhere close by, that’s your second copy.
Three: Off-site backup. This should automatically scan the files on your device and upload copies to the cloud for safe-keeping. (Pssst, we’re partial to Backblaze’s astonishingly simple cloud back up here).
Okay, So What Does That Have to Do With “Dead to Me”?
There’s kind of a long road ahead, so buckle up.
For those of you who haven’t seen it, or who binged it so long ago you need a refresher, “Dead to Me” follows the story of two friends, Jen (Applegate) and Judy (Cardellini). Jen is a recently widowed mom whose husband Ted had been killed in a hit and run shortly before the show started. Judy is a woman she meets during a group therapy session, who claims to have lost her husband as well.
Only, as it turns out, Judy didn’t lose her husband. They just split up—after an argument that started when they accidentally struck and killed Jen’s husband.
Intrigued yet? We’re only on the first episode.
By the end of the first season, Jen has discovered the truth about Judy (but they’re still friends), Judy is dating a police officer who is investigating the crime she committed, and her ex-husband Steve (James Marsden, playing against his usual type as a jerk) is desperately trying to cover up the crime while avoiding the Greek mafia, who have a contract out on him.
We cannot stress enough that all of this craziness happens in the first season, which ends with Jen accidentally murdering Steve by—of course—cracking him in the head with a wooden bird, which winds up as a critical plot point.
You see tchotchke. I see danger.
From there the plot twists around on itself, throwing every curveball imaginable at you from secret twin brothers to money laundering schemes to torrid affairs (and hey, we already mentioned the Greek mafia). But critical to our point is one plot thread that could have been avoided with a proper backup strategy.
Karen and the… Let’s Call It 2-1 Strategy
A minor character in the first few seasons, Karen is a neighbor of Jen’s who… well, can be kind of a Karen. You know that person in your neighborhood that you suspect reports you to the Homeowner’s Association whenever your grass gets a little too long? That’s her.
As the neighborhood Karen, she has a natural inclination to keep an eye on things. As such, her house is ringed by security cameras. And as we learned in the season two premiere, one of those cameras just happened to spy Steve on his way to Jen’s house the night he was murdered.
Plot twist, right?
Since this is a huge piece of evidence implicating them in the murder they’re actively covering up, Jen and Judy have to ensure that the incriminating footage is destroyed forever. That means deleting the footage, which they discover has been safely stored in the cloud. They first try to convince Jeff, Karen’s ex, to log on and do it (side note: this happens after they discovered he was having an affair with one of Judy’s ex-boyfriends, because this show is bonkers) but unfortunately Karen has changed the password to her cloud storage.
So they have to sweet-talk their way into Karen’s house (greasing the wheels with her favorite dish—Mexican lasagna with extra raisins) and get her to delete the footage off the cloud. It’s a wonderful moment of female camaraderie as they convince Karen that the data on the cloud represents too many painful memories of her time with her ex. And when Karen finally drags the folder to the trash, we cheer her for finding the strength to move on.
Just a couple of friends, deleting files over coffee.
And then, the punchline.
“And if I ever want to see it again, I have it backed up on my hard drive,” she exclaims, holding up her external drive backup. Jen and Judy manage to steal that, and in doing so get away with their crime scot-free.
What Should Karen Have Done?
Look, we get that the show is trying to get us to root for Jen and Judy as our protagonists, but to be honest, murder is one of those things that is a little hard to look past.
Especially given that the FBI was looking into the crime at that point in the show, what Karen did could legally be considered obstruction of justice. Or at least unintended obstruction of justice, which we’re pretty sure is still a crime. (We on the blog team are definitely not lawyers, though.)
Had Karen utilized a proper 3-2-1 strategy, she should have had a third copy—the one on her local drive—even after she was tricked into deleting it from the cloud and handing over her external drive. And, if she was using Backblaze, she would have been able to access an earlier version of her backup with either our standard 30-day version history or Extended Version History. So, she could have pulled a copy even after she deleted it.
The Moral of the Story Is: 3-2-1 Backups Are Still the Best
Karen handed over all the incriminating evidence about the murder to the person who committed it. Which, true, made for a happy ending as far as the show is concerned. But for those of us who can’t seem to get 3-2-1 backup strategies out of our head, she committed a serious blunder. A 2-1 backup strategy just won’t cut it.
And that, folks, is how “Dead to Me” reminds us all once again that a 3-2-1 backup strategy is still the best way to keep your data safe and out of the hands of nefarious, if endearing, murderers.
Today, March 31, is World Backup Day. If you don’t know, now you know! Some years ago, we and other denizens of the internet got together because we felt that the joy of protecting your data was worthy of celebration. Each year on this day, we encourage folks to take the pledge to backup their data. This year, we wanted to share some fun facts we pulled about our Backblaze Personal Backup service, and throw in a few things we’ve learned from our yearly backup poll as well. Spoiler: We do that poll again every year in June for Backup Awareness Month, so come visit us again then and we’ll review the trends.
And, shout out to Simple Maps for providing us with geographic info that we mapped to our data.
The Winners: Which Cities Back Up the Most?
To be clear, we think anyone who’s backing up is a winner. But in this section, we decided to talk about both the cities with the most users per capita and the number of users in a city. Given that the second option rewards bigger cities, we thought it was a little unfair to just present that data.
2022 Top 5 Cities Where You’re Most Likely to Run Into a Backblaze User
Here, we take a look at the cities with the most Backblaze licenses per capita.
Pacific Palisades, CA: 136.6
Winnetka, IL: 129.1
Orinda, CA: 128.2
Beverly Hills, CA: 126.2
Mill Valley, CA: 117.1
Good job California and a very special shout out to Winnetka! Way to go!
2022 Top 5 Cities With the Most Backblaze Users
And, here, we look at cities with the highest number of users.
New York, NY: 8,401
Los Angeles, CA: 6,754
Brooklyn, NY: 5,587
San Francisco, CA: 5,117
Seattle, WA: 5,021
The Potential: The Places We Want to Give Some Back Up Love To
Hey, we get it: we’re passionate about a relatively nerdy thing. (Back up. It’s still back up.) That said, we’re always looking for ways to spread the love and peace of mind that comes from data protection.
2022 Top 5 Cities Least Likely to Run Into a Backblaze User
Here’s where we look at cities with the least Backblaze users per capita.
Lynwood, CA: .14
Arecibo, PR: .17
Trujillo Alto, PR: .17
Carolina, PR: .17
Vega Baja, PR: .18
Clearly, we haven’t been giving Puerto Rico enough love. We’re sorry, Puerto Rico! We’d love to chat about back up with you.
2022 Cities With the Fewest Users
You might be noticing a pattern. Here, we look at cities with the least number of users in our database—so, cities with one license, because there are also cities with zero users. But to figure out which cities those are, we’d have to find a list of ALL the cities in the U.S. and deduplicate it against our list of cities with at least one license. It would be a whole thing. Let it suffice to say, there are cities with zero users, and we hope someday they have more.
Arecibo, PR: 1
Canovanas, PR: 1
Carolina, PR: 1
Lynwood, CA: 1
Trujillo Alto, PR: 1
Vega Baja, PR: 1
Waianae, HI: 1
Given the amount of objectively beautiful places on this list, we’d love to assume you’re all busy outdoors and not stuck behind a computer.
State of Affairs
Okay, we’ve talked about cities, but things get even more interesting when you filter this by state instead. Buckle up, folks!
States With the Most Users Per Capita
Washington, D.C.: 26.04
Vermont: 21.67
Oregon: 21.60
Washington: 20.67
Colorado: 19.99
Finally, a list California didn’t make. (It’s number seven.) It’s super interesting when you compare this to the cities with the most users per capita, especially because our winner in that category has 136.6 compared to our winner here with 26.04.
Even if you take out Washington, D.C. (some folks might argue that it’s more fair to call it a city), Vermont comes in with 21.67 statewide. That’s less than a fifth of the concentration of users you’d find in Pacific Palisades, CA.
States With The Most Cities With Only One License Per Capita
Some nuance here: This doesn’t mean states with the least number users, but rather states with the most cities with only one license. So, in essence, this list favors states that have a lot of cities.
Pennsylvania—177
New York—172
Texas—166
Illinois—126
Ohio—126
Iowa—112
Minnesota—111
Michigan—111
California—106
Indiana—101
Look at that! Some of our standouts above become a little less impressive when you get here. And, we’d like to note that California has made all but one of the lists so far: proof that backup stories are no simple matter of “best” and “worst”.
The Even Bigger Picture
There are even more stories to tell when you compare this to our yearly backup poll. According to our data, only 12% of computer users use a cloud backup service like Backblaze. That means that the numbers we’re showing you here are a portion of the 12% of computer owners overall.
Still, the person most likely to be a backer upper—someone who owns a computer and backs it up at least once a day—likely lives in the Western United States. Even though we’re working with a smaller data set, it’s interesting to see that our data still reflects overall trends.
Celebrate With Us!
We hope you enjoyed our foray into data as much as we did. Feel free to take the World Backup Day pledge, reach out to us on socials, or comment below if you want to know more. And, check back in June to see the newest backup survey.
Quick! You have 10 minutes to get your most important documents out of your house. What do you need?
Here’s another scenario: you’re away from home and you find out there was a fire. Are you confident that you have all your important information somewhere you can access?
It’s never fun to imagine disaster scenarios, but that doesn’t mean you should avoid the necessary preparation. Building a good emergency kit checklist—and digitizing the things you can—is one of the easiest things you can do to give yourself peace of mind. Today, I’m covering all the things that can and should go into your digital go bag.
Editor’s Note
We’ve had this article on our calendar for a while now, and it’s part of our campaign to celebrate World Backup Day. But, we never want to be the ones shifting the focus from the victims of natural disasters. With the devastating storms that rolled through the U.S. South and beyond this weekend, we wanted to take a moment to say that our thoughts are with everyone affected, and if you have the ability to donate, this is a great boots-on-the-ground charity helping folks out right now.
Disaster Prep: Better Known as Recovery Planning
It may seem far-fetched that you’ll be in the position to get the essentials in only 10 minutes, but speaking from personal experience, that’s exactly what happened to me when the 2003 Cedar Fire struck in San Diego—there’s nothing like seeing your friends’ homes on the national news, let me tell you. And, having spent much of my adult life in hurricane-prone New Orleans, disaster readiness is just a way of life. It’s common to discuss the incoming storms with the old-timers in your neighborhood bar over a $2 afternoon High Life, and they are almost always right in predicting if a hurricane is going to turn and hit Florida.
And you always know it’s a serious weather event when Jim Cantore comes to town. Source.
One of the things these experiences have taught me is that disasters and recovery happen in stages. There’s the inciting event—a house fire, a hurricane, etc.—and then there’s the displacement and recovery. You’re trying to call an insurance company when the lines are all tied up, and when you finally get through, you need to give them information that they need when you’re far from home and in crisis. You may have renter’s insurance, but when you’re trying to re-buy your book collection, really, which ones did you have? And, there are some things that can’t be replaced—photos are a great example. Finding a way to organize and digitize these things means that you don’t have to worry about stuff when you should be worrying about people.
All that to say, the more you can do to be prepared ahead of time, the better. That means not only having your documents in a place you can access, but also knowing what documents you need in the first place. While this type of file organization started out in response to natural disasters, it’s actually helped in many other ways—I always know where my files are to give to my tax guy, and I’ve implemented a good 3-2-1 backup strategy, which means I’m confident my data is protected and accessible.
As it happens, there’s a name for this type of intentional preparation when you’re building an emergency kit: folks call those kits go bags. It makes sense right? You have a bag that holds the things you need to go. These days, though, many of the things that you’d traditionally include in that physical bag can also be digitized. So, with all that in mind, let’s talk about how to build your (digital) go bag.
What Documents Do I Need in My Emergency Kit?
A little caveat here: just because you can digitize something, doesn’t mean that should be your only copy. There are some things that you just flat-out need to have in person, like your driver’s license, though some states have experimented with digital wallets that contain official, legal copies of those things. Nevertheless, having a digital backup of your important physical documents means that you’ll have the information to replace them should you need to.
After that, you can break your go bag checklist into a few different categories.
These are all the things you need to prove you are who you say you are, and to prove that your kids, pets, and spouse are, in fact, your kids, pets, and spouse. It may seem like this isn’t important, but there were whole organizations dedicated to reuniting pets with their rightful owners after Hurricane Katrina—and it wasn’t easy. And, imagine if you’ve divorced and don’t have custody papers in an emergency. Sure, courts have records of those agreements, but sometimes those papers take weeks or months to get copies of.
The List
Vital Records: Birth certificates, marriage agreements, divorce decrees, adoption or custody papers.
Identity Records: Passports, driver’s license, i.d. card, Social Security card, green card, visa, military service i.d.
Pet Records: Pet ownership papers, identification tags, microchip information.
Your dog, blissfully unaware that your legal relationship to each other is documented.
Financial and Legal Information
If your home or income is affected during a disaster, you’ll need documentation to request assistance from your insurance company or government disaster assistance programs. Remember that even after you get assistance, all that comes with tax implications down the road (for better or worse). Both of those processes take time, so in addition to having your information organized and ready to go, try to keep some emergency cash on hand during high-risk time periods.
The List
Housing Documents: Lease or rental agreements, mortgage agreement, home equity line of credit, house or property deed, lists of/receipts for repairs.
Note: Don’t forget to document your property! Make a list of items covered by insurance with their estimated values, and take pictures of all that stuff.
Sources of Income: Pay stubs, government benefits, alimony, child support, rent payments, 1099 income.
Tax Statements: Federal/state income tax returns, property tax, vehicle tax.
Estates Planning: Wills, trusts, powers of attorney.
Medical Information
Even more so than the other sections on this list, it’s important to make sure you have thorough documentation for each member of your household. Remember that there are some items on this list that you’ll need sooner rather than later—think prescription refills. And, make sure that allergy information is front and center, especially life-threatening allergies (like to seafood or nuts).
The List
Insurance Information: Health and dental insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, Veterans Administration (VA) health benefits.
Medical Records: List of medications, illnesses/disabilities, immunizations, allergies, prescriptions, medical equipment and devices, pharmacy information.
Legal Documents: Living will, medical powers of attorney, Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) documents, caregiver agency contracts, disabilities documentations, Social Security (SSI) benefits information.
Contact Information: A list of doctors, specialists, dentists, pediatricians.
(Emergency) Contact Info
Finally, you’ll want all of the contact information you may need in one place—it’ll save you time and headaches when you’re trying to make calls, plus you may be able to delegate some phone calls to others. The exercise itself is useful to help you remember any miscellaneous items you may have forgotten in your other documents. Bonus: you can keep a list of extensions or direct phone lines and skip the automated phone tree.
Press one for more options.
The List
Employers
Schools
Houses of worship
Homeowners’ associations
Home repair services
Relatives/emergency contacts
Utility companies
Insurance companies
Lawyers
Local non-emergency services
Government agencies
Valuables and Priceless Personal Items
Most of the things that fit in this section aren’t able to be digitized—your wedding dress, heirlooms, jewelry, and the like. Still, don’t forget that those things may have a paper trail you want to keep in your records, especially if you have additional insurance on things like the jewelry.
And, you can never forget to mention photos in this section. While most of us are now in the habit of using our smartphones as cameras, so most of our new photos are already stored in the cloud, don’t forget to digitize all of your photos, including the ones passed down by relatives, taken by professionals, and so on. And, even though it seems like our phones are safer than other formats, you’ll want to back up your mobile devices as well.
Go Bag: Go for Backups
Here’s the short answer to the question of what to digitize: anything you can. Even if the digital copies aren’t legally acceptable, like in our i.d. example above, you’ll at least have the information to fill out online forms or re-order the documents as necessary.
Once you have digital copies of all of these documents, it’s also easy to backup your information. We recommend that you follow a 3-2-1 backup strategy: having three copies of your files in two separate locations with one of those locations off-site. That way, you can grab your documents and go if you’re at home, or if the worst happens and you can’t access that on-site information, you can access all that information in the cloud.
The 3-2-1 backup strategy: always a great idea.
Is My Go Bag Safe Online?
Good question. This is the most important information in your life, and we’re asking you to store it all online, the playground of cybercriminals. There’s a lot you can do to protect yourself, though. You’ve already achieved one of those things: setting up a backup strategy. You should also store your data in a secure location. Watch out for clever phishing attempts. And, make sure you follow password best practices, including setting up multi-factor authentication (MFA).
Make It a Holiday to Update Your Information Regularly
Remember that a lot of the information on this list will change over time. Maybe you’re the type of person who remembers to update their files continuously or when something big changes, but it’s a good idea to set one day per year (Around tax day? Maybe going into hurricane season? Groundhog’s Day?) that you intentionally set as Update Important Information Day. (We’re big fans of holidays that combine the whimsical and the practical here at Backblaze.) Feel free to workshop the holiday title and celebrate judiciously. Then, use a backup service like Backblaze Personal Backup that continuously and automatically backs up your data, and you’ll be pretty well prepared for whatever life throws at you.
Ah, football. A beautiful 18 weeks from September to January when we cheer for our favorite teams, eat an uncomfortable amount of dippable appetizers and hand-held foodstuffs, and generally have more exciting Mondays, Thursdays, and Sundays than the rest of the year. And of course, Super Bowl Sunday is the pinnacle of all that joy.
One of the things that we love about football is that it’s given us some incredible moments proving the importance of—you guessed it—backups. Sure, there are only 11 players on the field at any one time, but the team roster has 53 players total, and there’s a reason for that. At any time, the players toward the bottom of the roster could be called up to save the day. And we at Backblaze celebrate times when backups shine.
So, let’s talk about some of our favorite (football) backups of all time and relive those exciting moments.
The Highlight Reel
Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers, 2022
We’re based in San Mateo which means we’ve got a lot of Niners fans here at Backblaze. So, you can imagine the joy (and heartbreak) in our office this year. Brock Purdy was the final pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, therefore this season’s Mr. Irrelevant. (We know. It’s kind of mean, but we didn’t make up the name.)
As a third string QB in his rookie season, Purdy likely imagined he’d have little to no play time. Then, first string QB Trey Lance went out with an injury in week two, and Jimmy Garoppolo followed in week 13. Purdy started his first game against the Buccaneers and became the only quarterback in his first career start to beat a team led by Tom Brady.
Backup Steward Yev Pusin rocking his Purdy shirt in the Backblaze offices.
Backblaze’s Ryan Hopkins repping his love for the Chiefs.
After winning the Wild Card game, he suffered an injury to his right elbow, and then his replacement Josh Johnson got a concussion. Sadly, that meant the 49ers were out for the season, but there’s no argument that Purdy outperformed everyone’s expectations. What a backup! (And we hope everyone recovers well.)
We’d like to note here that part of the reason the Niners’ backups got to shine is that the offensive line was so strong this year, so shout out to all the players who put in that work.
The Backup Bottom Line: In our minds, the ability to protect your backups is the hallmark of any good backup strategy.
Max McGee, Green Bay Packers, 1966
This one is truly the stuff of legends, and we need to set the historical stage a bit to truly squeeze the juice, as they say.
The Super Bowl we know and love today pits the two conferences of the NFL against each other. But, back in the day, the Super Bowl was created because oil heir Lamar Hunt created an upstart league called the American Football League (AFL). After a contentious draft, player poaching, and so on, the AFL was looking to prove its legitimacy by challenging the established NFL teams—and so, in 1966, the first Super Bowl was held.
Backblazer Crystal Matina at a game.
Her daughter Chiara (right) showing Niners love from a young age.
The Green Bay Packers, helmed by the great Vince Lombardi, won the NFL Championship versus the Cowboys and earned the right to face the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl I. Lombardi was reportedly extremely invested in defending the honor of the NFL, and he raised the penalties for breaking curfew to record-high levels. However, that didn’t stop Max McGee.
McGee had gone pro in 1954, and, at that point in 1962, was seemingly close to retirement. That season, he’d only caught four passes total and did not expect to play in the Super Bowl. So, he made plans with two flight attendants and spent the night before the big game drinking, eventually returning to the hotel at 6:30 a.m. game day. (We won’t speculate on what else happened, though Sports Illustrated wrote a fantastic article about McGee.)
In what now only seems fateful, starting receiver Boyd Dowler suffered a shoulder injury in the second drive and was out of the game. A few plays later, hungover and sleep deprived, McGee made a one-handed catch and ran 37 yards to score the first touchdown of the game—the first touchdown in Super Bowl history. By the end of it all, he had 138 receiving yards and two touchdowns, contributing to the Packers’ victory.
McGee went on to retire the following season, but he will never be forgotten.
The Backup Bottom Line: Just like a computer backup, McGee was there when the team most needed him and least suspected it.
Nick Foles, Philadelphia Eagles, 2012–2013
Nick Foles is a great example of someone who found himself bouncing between backup and starter. If you’re not familiar with the Eagles’ 2012 season, their overall record was a dismal four wins, 12 losses. Midseason, starting QB Michael Vick suffered a concussion and Foles got his chance. He started Week 14’s game against the Bucs, and delivered the Eagles’ first win since game four.
When the 2013 season rolled around, the Eagles weren’t quite ready to part ways with Vick. Vick won the starter spot with excellent preseason play, while Foles only gave an average performance. But, when Vick suffered a hamstring injury, Foles again stepped in. By weeks nine and 10, Foles was putting up extremely high passer ratings, and became the first quarterback in NFL history to post passer ratings above 149 in consecutive weeks. He led the team to the NFC East division title and the Wild Card playoffs, and then lost to the Saints who scored a last minute field goal to advance.
Ryan Ross bringing the Bills pride!
Backblaze Editor Molly Clancy showing up for the Steelers.
Still, the Eagles ended the 2013 season 10–6, a huge improvement from 2012. After an unsuccessful 2014 season, Foles was traded to the Rams. Since then, he’s repeated this same story with the Eagles in 2017 and 2018, but couldn’t seem to make the same magic with the Jaguars (due to injury), the Bears, or the Colts. Ultimately, Foles may be a backup, but he’s responsible for some insane stats—including the best touchdown-interception ratio in the season (2013) and putting up a perfect passer rating in a game (2013, Eagles vs. Raiders).
The Backup Bottom Line: You can never count out your backups. Just when you think they’re an artifact, they bring your best moments back to you.
Darren Sproles, San Diego Chargers, 2005–2011
Speaking of insane stats, let’s talk Darren Sproles. Calling out my bias here, I’m a huge Darren Sproles fan. Also, like Sproles, I spent my youth with the Chargers, then moved onwards and upwards to the Saints. (Yes, San Diego is still salty about the move to L.A. No, I didn’t randomly choose the Saints.)
If you’re unfamiliar with Darren Sproles, he has what is likely the least-probable body type for football, at just 5’6, 190 lbs. I can’t imagine how many times he was likely told to consider football an unrealistic dream by a well-meaning adult in his life. On the other hand, he’s incredibly fast, super powerful in the pocket, and can change directions on a dime. (Plus, it goes without saying he can take a hit.) When Sproles was on the Chargers, word on the street was that he benched more than any player on the O-line.
The author in her natural habitat, diligently writing this article for you.
Lily, a very gifted linebacker and roommate of Backblazer Nicole Gale.
At the time, first string running back LaDainian Tomlinson (LT) was—there’s no other word for it—crushing it. Widely regarded as one of the best receivers of all time, he has a career 624 receptions, with 100 of those in the Chargers’ 2001 season. He’s currently 7th place in overall rushing yards, with 13,684 career yards. When Sproles joined the team in 2005, he was third string behind LT and Michael Turner (also an incredible running back, and he almost made our list here).
As Sproles became a big part of the Chargers’ offensive strategy, things became more balanced. That’s not because Darren Sproles was in competition for the top spot; Sproles is a scat back and a specialist in conversions. When it’s third down and you need yards, you want Sproles to have the ball.
Sproles is also an incredible special teams player, so he was often doing double duty in games. When the Chargers played the Colts in 2007, Sproles made history by returning a kickoff and a punt for his first two NFL touchdowns. In 2008, he became the second player in NFL history with 50 rushing yards, 50 receiving yards, and 100 return yards in one game. In 2010, he appeared in all 16 games, with 59 receptions, 50 carries, 51 kick returns, and 24 punt returns.
Sproles went to the Saints in 2011, and in that season, he broke the NFL record for single-season all purpose yardage—2,696 yards. At this point, he’s ranked 6th in career all-purpose yards in NFL history, with 19,696 yards. LaDanian Tomlinson is ranked 10th, with 18,456 yards.
The Backup Bottom Line: Your backups fulfill a totally different purpose than your active data, and often they’re working better (by some measures).
The 49ers fans are back with Backblaze’s Nico Azizian.
Earl Morrall started his career in 1956 as a quarterback and occasional punter. To summarize the first decade or so of his NFL career, he played capably and suffered a few major injuries at key times.
In 1968, he found himself playing for the Baltimore Colts as second string to Hall-of-Famer Johnny Unitas. When Unitas was injured during preseason, Morrall was left to lead the offense, and the team went 13–1 in the regular season. Morrall led the league with 26 touchdowns, and threw for 2,909 yards. After a shutout in the NFL Championship (remember: this is in the days where the American Football League existed), the Colts advanced to Super Bowl III. Widely regarded as one of the greatest upsets in sports history, the Colts lost the Super Bowl after Morrall threw three interceptions, and Unitas came in late in the game and scored the only touchdown of the game. The Colts later won Super Bowl V—which was also the first year after the NFL bought the AFL, and thus the Super Bowl was the ultimate championship in the NFL.
Despite his success, backing up was as far as Morrall would get with the Colts, and in 1972, Morrall went to the Miami Dolphins. Football fans probably already know: In 1972, the Miami Dolphins achieved the first and only perfect season in NFL history. And in game five of that perfect season, starting quarterback Bob Griese broke his ankle—leaving Morrall to start the remaining nine games of the season. In the postseason, he started the Divisional playoff game and the AFC Championship, though Griese came back in the third quarter to finish that one out and then started in the Super Bowl. To make that math simple: That means that in the 1972 Dolphins perfect season, Morrall started 11 of the 17 total games.
Backblaze’s Juan Lopez-Nava shares another perfect thing in football: his pup and dedicated 49ers fan, Mila.
Morrall went on to retire from the Dolphins in 1977 with only sporadic playtime marking the time in between.
The Backup Bottom Line: It just goes to show: having a great backup means that you can rely on the system to work, even if key parts of your initial strategy go down.
Even Our Backup Stories Had Backups
When we first started talking about this article, we were sure there’d be great backup stories, but it’s incredible how many we found. We have a whole list of players whose moments didn’t get highlighted in this piece simply because we ran out of space, and, frankly, some of them are just as impressive (maybe even more so?) when compared to those above. If you want to do some further investigation, check out Geno Smith, Teddy Bridgewater, Michael Turner, Kurt Warner, Jeff Hofstetler, Trey McBride, Cordarrelle Patterson, Devin Hester—and then let us know who else you turn up in the comments section, because we’re sure we missed some good stories.
By continuing to use the site, you agree to the use of cookies. more information
The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this.