Backing up files

[Wortle]

Has anyone tried this site?

www.
backupmytree.com

I would be glad to hear from any one, I have googled them a bit and all references on forums seem to be people advertising for them. On the face of it it looks like they provide a very useful service, but why? Too good to be true etc etc.

[Peter Goodey]

In view of recent news reports I would steer clear of any important long term storage in the cloud - particularly something that uses Amazon's servers. Much better to make your own local arrangements.

[arthurk]

I have a general distrust of things that run in the background and upload stuff automatically. I see that this site offers manual uploading as well, but it's not clear whether they allow you to store other (non-FH) files; other more general sites might be better for this, as well as allowing you to store files without them being auto-deleted when you've got too many.

As Peter says, online backups shouldn't be the only ones you do, but they can complement other methods. Sometimes sites can go out of business with little or no warning, or free sites start charging, etc etc, but if you can get the space you need for free, then as long as you keep an eye on them I think they have their uses.

Arthur

[DorothySandra]

I'm deeply suspicious of filing things on the internet.
I can't think of a good reason why anyone should want me to do it.
It's so easy to make a backup on a memory stick that there's no need to do it.
I like to know where my data is.
Am I just being old-fashioned and harking back to the days of floppy disks?

[arthurk]

In one sense I agree with you, DorothySandra - I don't like to store sensitive data online, so I take care that the FH files I upload don't contain anything that anyone might object to if they should happen to fall into the wrong hands. Other than that, the only other thing I generally put online are copies of some precious photos, though I've also used a storage site as a way of sharing photos that are too big to email.

As an insurance against fire, flood or theft it's a good idea to keep a backup away from your home; for some people using a website is the most convenient.

Arthur

[Peter Goodey]

It's so easy to make a backup on a memory stick that there's no need to do it.

Wise and simple. Do a deal with a friend to look after each others data and your data is safe if the house burns down!

[MarkJ]

Wise and simple. Do and deal with a friend to look after each others data and your data is safe if the house burns down!

A friend? Geeks don't have friends

But seriously, backups are vital. And if you can keep a copy elsewhere so much the better.
I have seen far too many people whose computers have died or hard drives packed up who failed to keep any sort of backup. Although we can recover files from "broken" memory cards and even some hard drives (and if you pay an awful lot of cash, even seriously damaged hard drives can be at least partly recovered), it is almost impossible to recover all the data.

Mark

[Guy Etchells]

Not sure whether our American and Australian cousins would agree Peter.
Here in the UK we seldom face the area wide floods and fires that affect some parts of other countries.
If your friend is in the same neighbourhood his/her house could be detroyed by the same event that destroys ones own home.
Cheers
Guy

[Ultramum]

After reading this thread I have just exported my tree as a GEDCOM and sent it to my online webmail ... not foolproof but don't want to risk my computer dying with it all on! Will try and do this regularly from now on!

[arthurk]

A friend? Geeks don't have friends

You got me!

After reading this thread I have just exported my tree as a GEDCOM and sent it to my online webmail ... not foolproof but don't want to risk my computer dying with it all on! Will try and do this regularly from now on!

If space is tight and/or files are big, you can compress a GEDCOM file to about 10-20% of its original size, depending on the program and compression method used. Some programs also allow you to set a password to protect the file, which would increase its security. I use a free program called 7-Zip, but there are others.

Arthur