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Frequently Asked Questions

What is Direct Backup?

Direct Backup is a highly secure, online data backup and recovery service.  Small businesses and individual customers use Direct Backup to store valuable data in an offsite location safely and privately.  It’s secure, easy to use and very affordable.

Why do I need Backups?

Losing important computer files can be devastating and expensive.   You can imagine how easily it could happen.  What if a power surge damaged your business servers, your hard drive crashed, or you lost your laptop in a fire or flood?

You need to backup your important files regularly to protect your business and personal information such disasters.

How does Direct Backup help me with this?

Direct Backup is an alternative to traditional backup methods like tape, disk and CD.  Traditional methods are still widely used but they can’t offer the advantages of secure, automatic data backups to an offsite location.

To get started, you download and install the Direct Backup client on your own computer. Then choose your backup options using Direct Backup’s easy, intuitive Windows interface. 

Direct Backup automatically backs up your data according to your instructions and sends your backups to our storage data centre through a secure encrypted connection over the Internet. 

It’s easy to restore data.  Simply specify the files you would like to restore, and click the Restore button.  You have immediate access to your data 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Why not use Tape Backups?

Tape has been the traditional backup solution for a long time, but tape is far from the best choice today. A tape backup drive costs anywhere from $500 to $5000, and tapes needed for backups are expensive – about $100 each.

Tape backups rely on significant manual intervention to load, check, unload and store the tape safely.  Regular maintenance is needed to keep tape drives operating properly.

Tapes have a limited life span.  Your backups will start to fail once a tape loses its magnetic strength.  Most sources agree that tapes can deteriorate seriously in as little as 5 to 10 years.  For example, right now your VHS home movies are probably succumbing to tape rot – destruction through hydrolysis and oxidation.

You can’t be 100% guaranteed that data can be retrieved from the tape if you need it.  Often, people don’t realise backup data is corrupt until they are unable to restore it. Worse, many tape backups are not encrypted or password protected.  If a tape falls into the wrong hands, someone will have easy access to all your data.

Why not backup to CD's or disks?

CD and disk backups can be a viable solution, but it’s difficult to maintain a disciplined schedule when you rely on human intervention to monitor changed files and write them to a CD.   

If your business files change frequently, it’s easy to lose track of where files have been recorded on CDs.  Commonly, CD backups are not encrypted nor password protected.  If a CD falls into the wrong hands, someone will have easy access to all your data.

Direct Backup stores your data on redundant hard drives in a secure offsite location. 

Your backups are completely automated so there is no human error to let you down. Your files can be backed up almost the instant they are created or modified. You can restore your data at any time, day or night.  It only takes seconds to start the process.   No waiting to retrieve tape backups from offsite storage and no more shuffling through CDs to find the right file. 

What are the requirements for using Direct Backup?

• Any computer with 300 megahertz (MHz) or higher processor clock speed recommended
• 128 MB memory
• 25 MB of disk space
• Internet connection (e.g. ADSL, DSL)