Backing up data from your computer to the cloud. Automatic cloud backup

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Backup to Mail.Ru cloud provides free access to data backups via the Internet. The Handy Backup program can be used to automatically backup the Mail.Ru cloud both as storage and as a data source.

Backup technique on Mail.Ru

For backup to the mail.ru cloud, a WebDAV connection is used WebDAV plugin(included in all versions of Handy Backup). This plugin only works with paid Mail.ru accounts.

To backup free Mail.ru accounts, you can also use Computer plugin, a local mail.ru folder and a synchronization utility for reading data from the mail.ru cloud and sending a backup copy to another cloud.

Advantages of using Handy Backup for Mail.Ru backup

Work on a flexible schedule

You can configure a backup task on Mail.Ru to run at an exact time, with repetition in the interval from several minutes to several months, and also associate the launch of the task with an event (for example, logging into the system or automatic backup when connecting an external drive to the PC).

Free access and recovery of data

By default, Handy Backup stores your mail.ru backup data in its original data formats. You can manually view, modify, and even restore individual files and directories without having to undertake a full data recovery task.

Data protection during transit and storage

As an alternative to free access, Handy Backup offers built-in compression and encryption of data sent to the Mail.Ru cloud backup. Using these features, you can both increase data security and reduce traffic.

How to make a backup via the Mail.ru WebDAV interface with Handy Backup?

In the instructions below, we will create the “Mail.Ru Backup” task (of course, your real tasks may be called differently).

Open Handy Backup, create a new task using the menu or button on the panel.
Select the backup task in Step 1 and the required data in Step 2.
In step 3, select from available data stores WebDAV plugin
Create a new connection to the Mail cloud WebDAV by clicking "Create connection...".

In the connection creation dialog, fill in all the necessary parameters for WebDAV Mail.ru:

Server name: webdav.cloud.mail.ru
Port: 443
User: your email address mail.ru
Password: your password for the mail.ru service

When you're done setting up, click OK. Select a new connection from the list on the right.

Specify the directory in which you will store the WebDAV Mail.ru backup. Click OK.

Return to the Task Wizard window and continue working on the task as described in the User Guide.

Important: Handy Backup also works with other cloud services, including backup to Google Drive, Amazon S3, Dropbox, Yandex Drive, OneDrive. For these clouds, specialized plugins are used instead of Computer.

Data backup from Mail cloud via WebDAV

To make a copy of the contents of your Mail.ru account, select the WebDAV plugin in Step 2 in the Cloud group.

How to backup the Mail.ru cloud using the Computer plugin with Handy Backup?

The Handy Backup program allows you to create a backup copy of data from the mail.ru cloud through the Computer plugin and a synchronized folder on the local machine.

Select Computer plugin in Step 2 or 3 as a source or data storage, and in the plugin window specify the Mail.ru folder in the user's local directory.

Backup to the Mail.ru cloud via the Disk-O application

Attention! Despite the fact that you work with the data as the contents of a local disk, to backup Mail.ru using the Disk-O application you will need a working connection to the Internet!

The Disk-O program is a popular application that turns your cloud accounts into virtual disks connected to the system. If you have this application installed, you can use it to backup to the Mail.ru cloud via the Computer plugin:

Create a new data backup task. In Step 2, select the backup data.
In Step 3, select the Computer plugin. Expand the disk with "Mail.ru Cloud" in the location selection window. Specify the folder in which you will save the backup copy on Mail.ru.

Click OK. Continue creating the task as described in

A lot has been written about backup to external media in Windows 7 or 8.1. But what if you use multiple devices (for example, computer, tablet, Windows phone)? And you urgently need data, say, documents stored on a computer or some other device? In such a case, it is best to create a backup copy in the cloud. By the way, I would recommend placing your archives there too. For example, archives of the same documents. By the way, this is also very useful if you use an SSD solid-state drive in your laptop instead of a regular hard drive. In this article we will look at the main cloud storage systems - OneDrive from Microsoft, Google Drive, Dropbox and Yandex Drive.

Using OneDrive is quite beneficial if you are running Windows 8.1. In this case, the storage capacity can be 15 GB, and if you are also a happy owner of an Office 365 subscription, then the OneDrive storage capacity is not at all limited. New Google Drive users start with 15 GB. Dropbox starts out with only 2GB of free space, but most users quickly increase that to 5GB or more. A 1 TB subscription costs $10 per month or $100 annually.

All services allow you to specify which files and folders you want to synchronize with the cloud. This means you can keep some files and folders in your cloud drive only and upload them as needed. Let's take a closer look at how this is done.

To get started with Dropbox, you need to go to www.dropbox.com, register and select the appropriate subscription plan for personal use (see Screen 1). You will then be prompted to download the appropriate package for installation (see Screen 2).

Screen 1: Dropbox

Screen 2: Registering with Dropbox

I would like to immediately note that when registering with Dropbox, you are asked to provide a password only once, so you need to be more careful.

Selective synchronization when using Windows 7, 8 or 8.1 systems is as follows. To create selective synchronization rules, right-click on the Dropbox icon in the taskbar - the settings window will open (see Figure 3).

Screen 3: Account Settings

In fact, selective sync allows you to specify which folders you want to sync with Dropbox. This is certainly convenient if you have a netbook or computer with a small hard drive (and don’t have an external one with you). Please note that selective sync folders must be inside your Dropbox folder. Thus, for selective synchronization, you need to copy the files that you want to transfer (copy) to the Dropbox cloud storage to the appropriate folder on the disk.

If you unsync a shared folder through the Selective Sync menu in the Settings window, it will stop syncing only with your computer. In this case, the folder itself will remain in Dropbox and will be synchronized with the accounts of other users who have access to it. To stop using a shared folder, you can either leave it on the Dropbox website or (if you created it yourself) unshare it.

To download Google Disk, you'll need to sign in to your Google services account and then select the Google Disk service (see Figure 4).

You can configure the following settings.

Account

Disable Account. Sync your Google Drive folder with another Google account (not recommended).
Expand storage space. Buy extra space.

Synchronization options

Sync only some folders with this computer. Check the boxes next to folders in My Drive to enable synchronization. Uncheck the boxes next to folders that you don't want to sync.
Synchronize objects that I have access to. If you're using the new Drive experience, move files and folders from the Available section to the My Drive folder to sync them with your computer. If you're using classic Drive, add the folders and files in the Shared with Me section to the My Drive folder.

Advanced

Launch Google Drive automatically when you turn on your computer. Google Drive will launch and sync the folder on your computer with the My Drive section.
Send crash reports and usage statistics to Google. Send information to Google so that the service can be improved.
Proxy server. There are two functions available to you: “Direct Connection” and “Automatically Detect Proxy Server Settings.”
Other. Display file synchronization status icons.

Select files and folders to synchronize with your computer. All Google documents, sheets, presentations, forms, pictures, and pivot tables sync to a Google Drive folder on your computer. To turn off synchronization, follow these steps:

1. Click on the Google Drive icon.

On Mac computers, you can usually find it in the Menu bar at the top right of the screen.

2. Select Settings.

3. Uncheck "Sync only some folders with this computer."

4. Click the Apply Changes button.

“My Disk” section (all files or individual folders). All files and folders in My Drive are synced to the Google Drive folder on your computer. To set up synchronization of individual folders, follow these steps:

1. Move the files to the folders you plan to sync.

2. Click the Google Drive icon on your desktop.

On Mac computers, you can find it in the Menu bar at the top right of the screen.
On Windows computers, the icon is located in the taskbar in the lower right corner of the screen.

3. Select Settings.

4. Select the "Sync only some folders with this computer" checkbox.

5. Select the folders you want to sync with your Google Drive folder.

6. Click the Apply Changes button.

Working with OneDrive

If you're using the Windows 8.1 operating system, One Drive storage is provided to you by default. OneDrive is free online storage that comes with your Microsoft account. Getting started with OneDrive is easy. You can add files already saved on your computer to OneDrive by copying or moving them. You can save new files to OneDrive so you can use them from any device and share them with others. And if your computer has a built-in camera, you can automatically save copies of your photos to OneDrive so you always have a backup. Unlike previous storage options, you can save files directly to One Drive without saving them to your computer.

Desktop app features built into Windows

OneDrive syncs files when you sign in with a Microsoft account. If you install the desktop app on a computer running Windows 8.1, the installer does not appear. A component will be installed that will allow you to use Office to work with OneDrive documents at the same time as other users, but other components will not be installed. If you're running Windows 7 or 8, you can download the classic OneDrive management app at onedrive.live.com/about/en-us/download/.

For Windows 8.1 users, just do the following (see Figure 6):

Open OneDrive in Windows Explorer.
Right-click the file (folder) and select “Make available offline” or “Make available online only.”

As shown in Screen 8, to synchronize Yandex Disk, just copy the corresponding files to the Yandex.Disk folder. At first glance, this approach to synchronization is most reminiscent of Google Disk. This is partly true.

Using the Yandex.Disk web application, you can download the corresponding application for Windows. For selective synchronization, you need to enter the Yandex Disk settings panel and select the “Synchronization” tab. If you uncheck the corresponding folder, it will not be synchronized. To upload files to a folder where synchronization is disabled, you can simply drag the files into it in Explorer. Thus, in this case, the contents of the Yandex Disk root folder are always synchronized, and the contents of subfolders can be synchronized at your choice.

The main difference between Yandex Disk and Dropbox and Google Disk is that you can save files to Yandex.Disk directly from Microsoft Office.

Thus, using cloud storage, you can not only increase the free space on your hard drive, but also provide a backup copy of your most important files (documents, photos, etc.). If we compare the ease of using selective synchronization, the conclusion is clear. Both Dropbox and Google Disk configure selection at the folder level. Thus, you need to go to the “Settings” dialog of the corresponding service and manually specify which folders are synchronized and which are not. A solution that supports the context menu in Explorer and allows you to configure file synchronization and placement exists today only from Microsoft.

The difference between a cloud backup and a classic local backup is that your backup is stored on remote servers, which in turn can be located anywhere in the world. This may be interesting if the necessary hardware resources are not available or if the organization’s internal security policy requires storing a backup copy in a geographically remote location in case of fire, flooding or other emergencies. This method is the most reliable, but has some peculiarities.

Unlike local backup, in which the connection of storage devices and data transfer occurs via high-speed channels such as USB (up to 5 Gbit/s), Ethernet (up to 10 Gbit/s), Fiber Channel (up to 8 Gbit/s) or SAS (up to 6 Gbit/s), the speed of backup and recovery from the cloud is limited by the Internet channel and the bandwidth of the storage itself.
Cloud storage can be used as primary or secondary backup storage. Often, the cloud is considered as second-tier storage (for replicating backups) or an archive for long-term storage (for replacing tape devices).
To back up and restore data from cloud storage, you need a backup system that will ensure the search and recovery of the necessary information, as well as the security of data transfer and storage.
The backup system server can be local or cloud. Using a server in the cloud imposes restrictions on information security, because... The data transmission channel requires additional protection.
When choosing the type of backup storage (local or in the cloud), you need to calculate and take into account RTO (Recovery Time Tolerance) and RPO (Data Loss Tolerance).

BACKUP TO PUBLIC CLOUDS

Almost all modern corporate backup systems by default already have built-in functionality (connector plugin) for backup to public clouds. For example, Backup Exec, Commvault, Networker, Veeam support public clouds (storage) from Amazon, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud and others. If you already have a backup system, then all you need to do is register on the site (trial period) and activate storage in the system. The cost of using services starts from $2.5 per terabyte per month, which is significantly lower compared to local data centers. As an example, let's look at the capabilities of one of the most popular object storages, Amazon S3.

Storage of backups in the Amazon S3 cloud

Amazon S3 has four main types of storage that differ in purpose and cost.

Storage type	Amazon S3 Standard Storage	Amazon S3 One Zone	Amazon S3 Glacier - Storage	Amazon S3 Glacier Deep Archive
Cost of data storage (per 1 TB per month)	from $30.2	from 13.3 $	from 6.1 $	from 2.5 $
Cost of data recovery (per 1 GB per month)	No fee	0,012 $	from 0.004 to 0.048 $	from 0.007 to 0.032 $
Purpose, recommendations for use		Frequent restores / high throughput / small data volume	Periodic restores / average throughput / 1 to 10 TB of data	Rare recoveries / low throughput / more than 10 TB of data
Speed of data recovery from storage	from seconds to minutes	from seconds to minutes	from a few minutes to 12 hours (3 options)	from 12 hours
Data Availability	99,9 %	99.5% (one zone)	99,9 %	99,9 %
Minimum shelf life	No restrictions	30 days	90 days	180 days

BACKUP EXEC: SETTING UP A BACKUP TO THE AMAZON CLOUD

Backup Exec's built-in connectors make it easy to set up a secure connection to Amazon cloud storage. The system allows you to work with storage in three modes:

direct backup to the cloud
replication (duplication) of a previously saved backup copy on disk
archiving legacy backups for long-term storage

Copying data from the Backup Exec server to cloud storage is protected using SSL encryption. To connect cloud storage, you must perform the following steps:

Storing backups in the cloud allows you to configure additional settings:

Cloud backup retention period
Protection against changes or deletion
Duplicate to another storage
Access rights management

CLOUD BACKUP SERVICES

Cloud backup is a comprehensive service that includes rental of storage and backup systems. To connect, you need to install an agent (client) on the protected server or workstation and connect this agent (client) with the backup server, as well as configure policies. The cost of such a solution is calculated based on the volume of data and the number of protected devices. This method has a number of difficulties in ensuring reliability, since the transfer of data between the server and the client does not have built-in protection, as well as remote recovery of client systems over the network.

BACKUP SETTINGS

The “backup window” is a period of time during which you can perform a backup without any special consequences on work processes and network loads. In the basic version, backup is performed at night (not working hours), i.e. this is 8-10 hours, during which you can make both full and incremental backups. Depending on the organization and its business processes, the backup window can be hours, minutes, or even seconds for 24/7 systems that cannot be stopped. Thus, before choosing a local or cloud backup, knowing your volumes and network bandwidth, it is not difficult to calculate the required backup window time. The backup window can be significantly reduced by properly configuring the backup plan and using additional features such as deduplication, incremental and differential backups. This functionality is supported by all modern corporate backup systems: Acronis Backup, Commvault, Backup Exec, NetBackup, Veeam. These and other techniques can be used to fine-tune your local or cloud backup strategy.

Regardless of the option you choose, please be aware of the security and confidentiality of the information you entrust and review the service level agreement and service guarantees.

Cloud backup– convenient organization of online storage for copies of your data, providing convenient access from anywhere in the world. Handy Backup can create backups to popular clouds, or to any services using the WebDAV and S3 protocols.

What storage clouds are supported by Handy Backup?

Handy Backup supports several types of access to cloud storage services: direct cloud access via API, access via WebDAV or S3, or access using third-party folder synchronization programs.

All of the listed plugins do not require external utilities or web services for backup and restore from the cloud, as well as the use of a local synchronized folder; instead, they use their own cloud services interface (API).

Backup to cloud data storage via WebDAV

The WebDAV interface is supported by both many commercial cloud storage services and private clouds organized on NAS devices or dedicated servers. Handy Backup allows you to use WebDAV for backup to the clouds, for example:

Mail.ru cloud backup via experimental port https://webdav.cloud.mail.ru;
Access to backups in the Apple iCloud data storage cloud via WebDAV;
Work through the WebDAV interface with OwnCloud, NextCloud, etc. clouds.
Using WebDAV for home storage clouds.

Synchronization with the cloud via a local folder

Many cloud servers provide synchronization utilities that automatically link a dedicated folder on your local computer to the cloud; To make a backup copy to such a cloud, you just need to save the data in the appropriate local folder.

Advice: Handy Backup can save backups in local folders. To automatically back up to cloud storage using a synchronized folder, just create a local backup task to this folder using the Computer tool.

Own cloud for data backup - HBDrive

The best cloud service for storing backup files is a specialized cloud! All Handy Backup solutions have access to HBDrive storage, designed for cloud backup of corporate data and user files.

Benefits of the HBDrive cloud for data storage: highly reliable protected physical storage; the ability to seed (transfer offline) large initial volumes of data; fast data transmission channel; affordable price for storing information.

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Version 8.1.1 dated December 16, 2019. 106 MB
Backup program Handy Backup. 9200 RUB for a license

The most powerful solution for one machine in the Handy Backup line, Office Expert allows you to back up any data to the cloud!

Benefits of storing backup data in the cloud

Physically dedicated information storage

When storing data on a cloud service, no damage to the physical equipment of the main data source (fire, breakdown, theft) will affect the information contained in the cloud backup storage.

Convenient access to data from anywhere in the world

Backup to the cloud allows you to access backup copies of your information from anywhere on the Internet. This can be used for quick cloning or mirroring of the working environment (for example, when backing up 1C to the cloud).

Sharing backed up data

Cloud services allow you to distribute access to backup copies of data among several users; for example, by using a cloud service to store photos or videos, you can give other users access to backup copies of your files.

Automatic backup to the cloud using Handy Backup

Automatic backup to the cloud is easy when using Handy Backup. Just select the desired cloud in the list of tools and configure access settings to get all the capabilities of automatic backup!

Handy Backup capabilities for backup and recovery from the cloud

Handy Backup provides the following key features and benefits when working with cloud data storage services:

Storing data in original format– quick access to any file in the copy;
Various backup methods– incremental, differential, mixed;

Encryption and compression– if necessary, backups can be compressed and encrypted;
Scheduled work– launch at a designated time or according to a specific event;

Storing multiple versions of data– with conveniently organized time stamps.

On a note: you can use the clouds not only as storage, but also as a source of data for backup; thus, you can copy data from one cloud to another, or even from one account to another on the same cloud!

With Handy Backup, you can implement any complex strategy for backing up user data - for example, backing up files received via FTP to the cloud; storing the database in the cloud; retrieving 1C working data from the backup cloud, etc.

Try cloud backup with Handy Backup right now by downloading the full version of the program at
30-day free trial!

see also

Special project with Acronis

We all sooner or later face the need for backup. And believe me: better early than late. Once upon a time, in 2009, I lost all my data. Back then I made backups on DVD-R/RW, which was not very convenient, so they were rarely made. Some of the data was sent by colleagues (it’s good that they kept it), but a lot of it was lost. It was from that time that I regularly make backups, and today we will talk about finding the ideal product for the family budget.

Where will we store backups?

Before choosing software, we need to decide where we will store the backup. You understand that DVD-R is of little use for backup. Firstly, it is small, secondly, it is slow, and thirdly, it is noisy. And since I switched to laptops a long time ago and don’t recognize stationary devices at all (although I have them on the farm), I had to buy several external drives. First 250 GB, then larger.

I did not consider the cloud for one simple reason - there is not enough space:

You understand that even 15 GB is not enough, especially if the minimum size of the external screw available on the farm is 250 GB. Extra space? You could, of course, pay $2 a month for 100 GB on Google Drive or $10 for an additional 1 TB, but 100 GB will not save me, and 1 TB is a little expensive. Ideally, 500 GB would be suitable for 2-3 dollars per month :)

Later, the family acquired two Android smartphones and one tablet, from which they also made backups to an external screw from time to time, the old fashioned way (after all, I was used to just such a process). Here one could safely use the cloud, but habit is a strong thing.

Search for backup software

Now we come to the most interesting part. How to make a backup?

In principle, you can use the free Clonezilla. The capabilities of this program, if not impressive, are at least quite good. Here are some of them that I consider the most important:

support for Linux/macOS/Windows file systems: from ext2 to ext4, xfs, jfs, FAT16, FAT32, NTFS, HFS (macOS);
MBR and GPT support;
support for data encryption (AES 256);
the ability to deploy one image to several local devices;
support for SSH, Samba, WebDAV and NFS.

If you need to make a backup of a server in a corporate environment, and even on a shared server, there is no better option. For cloning systems in the case of deploying one operating system on many machines with the same configuration, that’s it: they brought in a fleet of computers, installed an axis on one of them, configured everything, made an image of it and deployed it to other computers. An admin's dream!

I have also been familiar with Acronis products for a long time, but mainly with server versions. I won’t compare them with Clonezilla now, since we are talking about home backup: after all, you have one or two computers and several Android devices at home, and you don’t need to constantly create images of all these devices. In general, CloneZilla is not suitable for home use. Once, I remember, I made a backup at home with it, when I changed the system disk to a larger disk and was too lazy to reinstall all the systems. Then this program, of course, saved me.

CloneZilla is a good program, but it’s 2016 and I want something more modern, but it’s stuck in the past. I want some kind of automation, management of backups from all devices, including mobile ones, I want to copy photos from my profile on social networks, I want to search inside the backup copy in order to find the file I need. I want a lot of things. Sometimes I even think about buying a NAS specifically for storing backups.

Actually, I started searching for the ideal software for myself. I came across the “File History” function in Windows 8/10. I somehow missed “Eight”, and “Ten” is installed on only one computer. Although “File History” was created in the image and likeness of Apple Time Machine and should be convenient, in practice it turned out to be not very convenient to use, moreover, it is not compatible with computers running the “Seven” and Android smartphones.

If anyone is interested, while I was looking for the necessary software, all this time I was making backups using Total Commander by simply copying files. But this is very inconvenient. Firstly, no automation: you need to go to each computer with an external screw and make a backup. Secondly, irrational use of space. I didn't use compression. Why? Yes, because I periodically need to search for information on a backup. Have you tried searching for something in an archive of several GB in size?

Quite by accident, I remembered Acronis True Image and discovered that version 2017 had been released. Let's see what it can do now:

It looks like the perfect backup software exists! However, it’s not very ideal, but I’ll talk about the shortcomings later, but for now I’ll brag about the capabilities: Acronis True Image 2017 is a completely modern backup program, and unlike ancient software like CloneZilla, it has everything a modern person might need. This is what I personally really liked...

Firstly, saving space on the screws that are used for backup. The backup is made in compressed form, but Acronis allows you to search inside the backup.

Secondly, now I don't have to worry about data on mobile devices. Over the past two years, two microSD cards have failed: one on my wife’s phone, the other on her tablet. One photograph was at least partially saved, but the second was not, it “died” completely. Acronis True Image 2017 allows you to backup an unlimited number of Android/iOS mobile devices to your local computer.

Thirdly, you can (as I already noted) remotely control the backup on all home devices. Using the web panel, you can check the status of backups and configure data protection in real time.

Fourthly, there is support for copying Facebook profile content. A lot of information is now published on social networks: photos, videos, comments. A backup of this data will protect against page hacking or accidental deletion.

Finally, cloud orientation. I couldn’t even imagine that Acronis now has such powerful cloud support: by purchasing a subscription, you get 500 GB of cloud space! This volume is quite enough for me for home purposes (unless, of course, I upload entire hard drive images to the cloud, although Acronis allows this too).

About the disadvantages

Everything has its drawbacks. I hope the Acronis developers will listen to the criticism. Personally, I didn’t like two things about the program.

The first is the lack of Linux support. Data stored in Linux will have to be done the old fashioned way: either by copying, or using Clonezilla by creating an image of the partition with the data (fortunately, I have /home on a separate partition, out of habit).

The second is the lack of support for other social networks other than Facebook. I think, however, that over time it will appear. But whether Linux support will appear is a question. Of course, Acronis has a Linux Server product, but I don’t want to use it for several reasons: firstly, using the server version for home use is tantamount to shooting sparrows with a cannon, and secondly, I don’t want to pay for another product (and this is the minimum 792 rubles per month), and thirdly, I want everything to be managed from one product.

About the price

We all know that Acronis has never been free. However, the prices also pleasantly surprised me: on the official website there is a calculator that allows you to find out how much Acronis will cost you.

A one-time license for 1 computer (the number of mobile devices is unlimited) will cost 1,700 rubles (approximately $27 at the current exchange rate). But it’s more profitable to buy a subscription: in this case, you will get both the program itself and 500 GB of cloud storage. The cost of a subscription for a year will cost 1400 rubles. (~22$), for two years - only 2000 rubles (~32$), which is approximately 1.83$ or 1.33$ per month. For that kind of money you can only buy 100 GB of Google Drive! And here I got an excellent backup tool + 500 GB in the cloud.

If we calculate a more realistic configuration: 3 computers and 1 TB in the cloud, then a subscription for a year will cost 2400 rubles, and for 2 years - 3600 rubles. Only 150 rubles per month compared to 600 rubles for 1 TB on Google Drive! To me, the conclusion was obvious. 150 rubles is an amount quite affordable for a home user and will not put a strain on the family budget.