Can I Back Up a PC When It’s Off?

In what I’m guessing is a response to my post, Turn a PC Off or Leave It On? Many have asked if he can back up computers when they are not turned on?

No, you can’t. You have to back up your computers when they’re running. There’s really no way around that.

Unfortunately, a lot of backup programs, antivirus programs, and other maintenance tools default to running certain chores in the wee hours of the morning. The idea is that since you won’t be up working, you won’t be bothered when these chores slow down your PC.

The problem, of course, is that this convention assumes that you leave your PC on 24/7. As I described in the previous article, there’s really no good reason to do that, and several reasons not to.

If you are using network- or cloud-based backup, I suggest that you set it up to run at a time when your PC is likely to be on, but is generally near the end of your workday. If you’re backing up to local media, such as an external hard drive, get in the habit of plugging in the media and starting the backup when you’re done for the day. Many backup programs have an option to shut down your PC at the end of the backup, allowing you to start the backup, then walk away.

How long will a online backup take?

The time for a backup to complete depends on several factors:

1) Upload speed (Try our speedtest to find out. The results may vary from the actual speed).

2) Size of the backup set (i.e. how much data you selected to backup)

3) Number and type of files (for example, some data compresses significantly – like office documents, but other content like video doesn’t compress much at all)

4) Your computer’s speed and performance

Your original (baseline) backup can take hours or days to run. Your scheduled backup after this (usually daily) will only take minutes to run, because it only transfers files that have changed, and then not even the whole file, but just the binary ones and zeros that have changed.

How long will it take to restore from an online backup?

The time for a backup to complete a restore depends on several factors:

1) Download speed (Try our speedtest to find out. The results may vary from the actual speed).

2) Size of the backup set (i.e. how much data you selected to restore)

3) Number and type of files (for example, some data compresses significantly – like office documents, but other content like video doesn’t compress much at all)

4) Your computer’s speed and performance

5) Speed allocated for restore from your online backup provider

One suggestion with online backup is to only backup the critical stuff to the online backup. Restoring from an online backup service can take days to restore depending on the factors above. Online backup really should not be a replacement for backup to a external hard drive. This way if it is just a computer failure restore can be accomplished from the external drive which is very quick to restore. Also, if you loose all your data, most services will ship you CD’s to restore from if want to go that route.

One tip to speed up an online restore is to turn off everything that you don’t really have to have in memory, running, etc. This should help your speed and reliability.

Is my data safe in the cloud?

The most prominent online backup service providers stake their reputations on keeping your data safe and secure during both file transfer and the online data storage facilities. Before the files even leave your computer, they are secured using at least 128-bit SSL encryption technology. That is one of the same security measures that banks use while you are performing transactions.

Of course, in this day and age, nothing can be guaranteed to be 100% secure but that is about as close as you can get. The transfer and storage encryption techniques may vary depending on the online backup service you choose to use, but all of the reliable services will use one of the accepted security measures to keep your data safe and secure. I am not claiming to be a security expert but I will try to simplify the process.

How is SSL Encryption Used for Backup Transfer?

SSL, or Secure Socket Layer encryption is the standard for secure web communications and transfers and it is an encryption technique that is very reliable. When referring to SSL for an online backup solution, the security is handled on a software level. There is a client software that needs to be installed on the computer and server software that is installed on the server.

When files are chosen to be backed up over the Internet, essentially a handshake is made between the client and server to establish a secure connection. The client computer reaches out to say there are files coming and the server says, “I know you” and makes a secure connection that allows the data to be transferred with no fear of being hacked or interrupted. The same encryption standards are used when you need to transfer your data back to your PC.