How to backup your data on the cloud with ease and for free
Dr. Steenbarger’s recent harddrive failure reminded me about the importance of backing up my data. Everything that I do with trading is on the computer. Consequently, I have many files that are vital to my trading. From web bookmarks to chart templates to source codes, I would have to make a checklist to ensure that I backed up everything frequently. But only if I were to do my backup manually. Being the lazy and cheap person that I am, I don’t like the idea of forcing myself to backup frequently. That is why my folders are synchrnized automatically to an online file server using Mozy Remote Backup. I don’t have to do a thing to know that all my important stuff are safe.
There are two reasons why I choose Mozy. It is one of the two biggest names in the business (the other is Carbonite). It is the only one of the two to offer a free for lifetime 2GB online backup space (affiliate).
The benefit of using Mozy is that it actively synchronize my files to their cloud storage server. These are files that I change often. It makes sense to use Mozy to monitor and back them up automatically so that I don’t have to worry about them.
Still, I have another 50GB+ of personal photos, videos, and documents that won’t fit in this free 2GB space. Which is why I only use Mozy for my frequently changing or critical files (mostly trading related). For the rest of my 50GB+ data, they are typically static content (e.g. photos and media files). So there is not much point for me to pay a monthly fee. I rather spend a few minutes a month to make backup DVDs or upload them to my Amazon S3 account. That way, I have all my data backed up and get to keep my $5 a month (price of monthly subscription fee for an unlimited storage space backup) too.
I am not being paranoid. Another one of my computers died on me a few years back with no prior warning. Its power supply suddenly blew up in smoke and sparks one day. The scene was quite spectacular. More than a few components were damaged then. I doubt that I will see that kind of fireworks again. But who knows what else could go wrong with this aging computer (4 years and counting)?
A data failure with my computer would indeed be very costly for me. I invested a lot of time and energy on my trading work. If my harddrive were to fail, I may lose all of that work if I don’t have a backup. That is why I have a free automated data backup plan which doesn’t require me to lift a finger.
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You should also check out a product I’m involved with: http://www.buddybackup.com. The idea behing BuddyBackup is to let you easily backup your data to friends’ computers.
Like Mozy it has instant (a.k.a. “continous”) backup so your files are backed up straight away. Yes you need friends with a computer, but then it’s free!
John