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lowplainsdrifter

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Idea: use Hotmail Plus (Paid for extra 2gb of storage) as a secondary, online backup

Here's the idea:

 I back up two important items (about 6 megs each) different apps, to one of two Zip
 cartridges just about every time I use each of the applications.
 
 I also periodically image the whole drive, verify the image works, then put the copied
 drive high on a shelf at my parent's house a few miles away.

 However, as extra insurace, I was thinking of sending myself a zipped copy of
 those two files to my Hotmail Plus account, which I just paid for.
  Nice safe, easily retrievable storage that I paid for and no one else has access
 to.

 Can anyone tell me what may be wrong with that idea?

 Thanks...
 
 
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PsiCop
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The major heartburn I get from this includes the following:

0) You're trusting a historically unreliable service from a mega-corp that couldn't care less about you as a backup archive

1) Your data is not secure in transit unless your E-Mail client support S/MIME or SMTP-TLS and the support extends form your ISP to Hotmail

2) You'll need to encrypt the ZIP files before you send them, as you have no control over them in transit or while sitting on HotMail's servers - is it really wise to encrypt a backup?

3) E-Mail was never designed as a file archive, nor is it highly dependable. It is a best-effort delivery system. If your data is so important you need to have yet another storage site, why would you want a Rube Goldberg contraption like this?

Basically, I don't see the point. You already have offsite backup storage. If your data is so critical that you need something more than what you're doing with the ZIP cartridges, then get another, more-reliable storage media.
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lowplainsdrifter

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   Well, I back up very frequently on the zips, but I really don't take them offsite.
    The only thing I do take offsite is the once every six month image I create of my whole hdd.
    Although my parents' house is very close to my home, it's in the oppsite direction of
    most of my clients and places where I shop for computer and other goods.  
   
     
    You describe my idea as a "Rube Goldberg Contraption" but really, what's so complicated
    here - I zip up the files, send them to myself, log onto Hotmail, and put them in a special
    folder.
 
    I like the idea that I can very quickly do this with a few keystrokes and mouse clicks,
    and time day or night without leaving the premises.

    What do you think about a service like XDrive, or something similar???
    (My preference is still the Hotmail idea since I've paid for the extra storage
      for one year).

   
Well, you seem to have ignored the security and privacy implications in sending your critical business data across an insecure medium to be stored on servers over which you have absolutely no control, and where you have no recourse if your data is lost, stolen or mangled.

If your sole criteria is how easy this is for you to do, then go right ahead.

If the security and integrity of your data is more important to you than minimizing the number of mouse clicks, then I'd look into improving your locally-stored backups.
 It's more about driving logistics (saving time and gas, since both mean money) than saving mouseclicks or keystrokes.
  Any other ideas on a fairly secure solution for online backups?
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PsiCop
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 OK, you've given me some real food for thought.
  Thank you!
Glad I could help. Its my opinion that there are no really easy answers to this sort of question. You're doing a lot better than most people, tho ... you're *thinking* about this, and *before* some disaster strikes you.