Backup files with your network

Preface

Sure, backing up your files is a good idea. Everything eventually breaks, so the day will probably come when your hard disk stores its last file before giving up the ghost. The trick is how to keep your backups up-to-date, so that a hard drive crash won't be your personal Year 2000 problem. One of the additional features of your network is the ability to easily back up your files to other computers. With the right software, you can even schedule your backups for some time when you're asleep or away.

You can always do it by hand

When doing backups over your internet, you always have the (free) option of doing them by hand. Just open a networked hard drive with adequate space and move the files you want to backup to the hard drive. The downside of doing it by hand is that you can fall victim to people forgetting to make regular backups or have to interrupt your own work to make a backup when you rather be doing, well, work.

Software overview: Dantz' Retrospect

Eager to serve all your network backup needs, Dantz Software makes a program called Retrospect (along with its smaller sibling, Retrospect Express). Retrospect is basically everything you could ask from backup software and plenty more. Retrospect will back you the files you want, when you want, exactly where you want it to go. It supports hundreds of storage devices, backup via FTP to an internet site, time-specific backup, etc. It can even backup Windows-based PCs on the network. If you are looking for the shiznit of backup software, this is it. If your backup needs are more modest, check out Retrospect Express. The complete Retrospect network backup kit retails for $339.95 from the Dantz site and Retrospect Express goes for $49.95.

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