Backups to CD and other portable media
protect your data if it is corrupted due to mechanical failure or virus
attack, but it does not protect against fire or theft. Automated remote
backups are the best way of protecting your hours of hard work from loss.
Since you are most likely a web developer, you probably
have access to an FTP site that you might not even be using. Use it to
remotely backup your system data. The FrontLook Data Backup Pro
automatically compresses, encrypts and copies any set of folders to any
number of FTP servers. This month's tip is tutorial on how to setup a
scheduled backup.
Step 1: Setup the Backup FTP Server
After launching the FrontLook Data Backup Pro, press the "Add" button to
setup one of more FTP servers. The "Setup Backup Server" dialog will
appear.
Setup Backup Server Dialog
In this dialog you can set the name of the
FTP Server, its URL, mode, username, password, backup directory and
encryption password. You should be able to get most of this info from your
FTP hosting provider. Make sure you write down the encryption password
because if you forget it no one will be able to help you access your data
(not even us). Once this information is setup, press the "Test" button to
make sure the ftp server is accessible and writable. Repeat this process
for each FTP server or each folder on each server. Press the "OK" button
to return to the main dialog.
Step 2: Select the Files to Backup
To create a backup set, first select the folders from your hard drive that
you would like to backup from the Backup Folder tree list on the left-hand
side of the FLDBP main window..
Note: If you have files on other
networked systems you would like to include in the backup set, you should
map the drives to the system running the FLDBP program. This is done by
right-clicking on the "My Computer" desktop icon of the system running the
FLDBP program and selecting "Map Network Drive..." menu item. Then use the
"Map Network Drive" wizard to map the network drives to the system running
the FLDBP program.
Main FrontLook Data Backup Pro Window
Step 3: Schedule a Backup
After selecting the folders for the backup set, press the "Schedule"
button on the right-hand side of the FLDBP Main window. The "Schedule
Backup" dialog appears.
Schedule Backup Dialog
Set the frequency of the backup using the
"Run the Backup Every" popup menu. Set what date you would like the backup
to start with the "Beginning" control (usually today) and at what
time you would like the backup to occur at with the "At" control (we
recommend performing your backups on a daily basis after midnight). Press
the "Add" button to setup the scheduled backup.
Step 4: Check your Backup Settings
To check your settings, click on the new backup set in the "Scheduled
Backups" list and press the "Edit" button. The "Edit Scheduled Backups"
dialog will appear.
Edit Scheduled Backup dialog
From here you can add or remove folders to
backup set by pressing the "Add..." or "Remove" buttons. You can also
change the frequency, time, start date and FTP server for the scheduled
backup. Press the "OK" button to go back to the "Scheduled Backup" dialog
and press the "Close" button to return to the main window.
After completing these steps, the scheduled
backup is ready run at your appointed time. you can add other backup
folder sets to different FTP servers to further insure the safety of your
data.
Step 5: Set your Notifications and
Exclude Options
There are two options panels that you will likely want to setup:
