Experience with Carbonite? Other choices.
I'm considering Carbonite to back up images and other computer files. Advertising and websites always look good. Would appreciate any eperiences and if there are other choices that are available. T...
Forum Discussion
I go along with having a combo of local and cloud backups. I wouldn't rely on either as a sole archive backup.
Most cloud storage providers encrypt customer data on their servers. But, they also tend to hold the key for legal reasons. So if ordered to do so by court order, can decrypt your stored data.
Just encrypt your data locally first, such as using a encrypted container. Then backup the container to both local and cloud drives. Neither can be decrypted, in theory, without your key.
This is basically what I do. I encrypt both My Documents and My Photos on my Windows machines, including My Dropbox, email client and browser data. These are then auto backed up twice daily to a secondary encrypted drive. Important files can be auto backed up when any changes are detected. Of course, I also have full system image backups which are done less frequently but also encrypted.
I also tend not to encrypt the entire drive on my notebooks if they are still under warranty. That way, if the notebook ever requires service, a factory tech can have access to the OS and hardware, but does not have access to any of My Documents or My Photos which require a separate key to decrypt. You should always assume a repair tech is going to look at your personal and confidential info. So you really should consider encrypting these.
I've also made a one-click shortcut to log off my account, which also dismounts the encrypted containers, if I need to step away from my computers. So no one has access to my secured files even if they manage to crack my Windows account password.
Everything can be done with free, open source software.
Most cloud storage providers encrypt customer data on their servers. But, they also tend to hold the key for legal reasons. So if ordered to do so by court order, can decrypt your stored data.
Just encrypt your data locally first, such as using a encrypted container. Then backup the container to both local and cloud drives. Neither can be decrypted, in theory, without your key.
This is basically what I do. I encrypt both My Documents and My Photos on my Windows machines, including My Dropbox, email client and browser data. These are then auto backed up twice daily to a secondary encrypted drive. Important files can be auto backed up when any changes are detected. Of course, I also have full system image backups which are done less frequently but also encrypted.
I also tend not to encrypt the entire drive on my notebooks if they are still under warranty. That way, if the notebook ever requires service, a factory tech can have access to the OS and hardware, but does not have access to any of My Documents or My Photos which require a separate key to decrypt. You should always assume a repair tech is going to look at your personal and confidential info. So you really should consider encrypting these.
I've also made a one-click shortcut to log off my account, which also dismounts the encrypted containers, if I need to step away from my computers. So no one has access to my secured files even if they manage to crack my Windows account password.
Everything can be done with free, open source software.
