How do I make an offsite backup?

In case of a serious issue, keep a backup in a safe place

The issue with on-site backups is the risk of something happening to them. Someone could steal your Mac and external drive, or if there’s a fire or other disaster, you could be left without any way to get your data back. An off-site backup provides you with an extra layer of protection, which is why it’s part of

the standard backup strategy for many businesses.

In the pre-cloud era, off-site backups involved taking backup tapes or drives out of the office and storing them somewhere safe. Today, we’re more likely to use online storage. It’s important to stress the difference between cloud storage and cloud backup, though. The former is designed to be a convenient sync service so you can access your data wherever you are. It’s not meant to be relied on in the event of data armageddon, though.

Back up and transfer

If you have access to an off-site server you can perform the backup yourself: many FTP apps, such as Transmit ($45, panic.com/transit), can auto-sync between local and remote folders. For minimum effort, an off-site backup service like Backblaze ( backblaze.com) is an excellent investment. It’s $5 per month or $50 per year for each computer and unlimited data transfer, and it backs up from your Mac and any connected drives. We’ve reviewed the latest version on p44, to get the full lowdown.

Backblaze is more than just a cloud-based backup service, though. It can also send your backup in physical form for a fee: a USB flash drive for personal accounts and a hard drive for business ones. The service also enables you to share files that you’ve backed up to it.

The Achilles’ heel of any online backup service is your internet connection, both in terms of speed and limits. The initial upload is going to take ages, so prioritize the stuff that really matters: by using the exclusion features to exclude the very big but unimportant stuff, you can ensure your first backup puts your most valuable files online first. Once that’s done, remove the exclusions and upload the rest.

The other issue is that some connections, especially bargainbasement broadband and mobile data services, cap data transfers and will cost money beyond the included quota. That’s a concern with services such as Backblaze since they run backups continually: as files change, the app automatically updates the backup. That’s fine when you’re on an unlimited, fast connection. It’s not so good with a data allowance.

Conserve bandwidth

To avoid bursting through a data cap, you can configure Backblaze so that it won’t upload when you’re on specific Wi-Fi networks. If you often tether your Mac to your phone, you can exclude that connection to prevent backing up over a very limited and potentially very expensive mobile data connection.