In the quick-paced business world, data is the key to a company’s survival. That data most flow and be protected at all costs from almost every imaginable problem. If the data concerning a customer, a product or an operation is misplaced, destroyed or scrambled; then your company could be in peril. The key to protecting your data is twofold. You must back it up on a regular basis and it must be kept in multiple and safe locations.

There are ways to achieve this protection using on-site physical protection, computer networking and internet-based protection and backup. While this project may sound daunting, it is very easy for a small business to set-up their own grid of protected storage. We’re going to show you a simple 3-step program that can be used as a frame and tweaked to fit your own small business. First, you need to be aware of two different types of storage. Network-attached storage (NAS) and cloud computing. These terms will be explained in steps one and three of the plan.

Step 1: NAS and the solutions it offers. A NAS network should be the core of your new program. Network-attached storage is a file-level computer data storage unit connected to a computer network. This server is connected to all the computers in your company or office and shares the files from one source. They are often specialized computers built from the ground-up for this purpose. They usually contain more than one hard drive; using logical, redundant storage containers or RAID arrays. If your business works with large amounts of data, a NAS network makes access, configuration and administration far easier. It can create such simpler and cost-effective systems as load-balancing and fault-tolerant e-mail and web servers. It’s a good choice because it takes the work and stress off individual computers and servers.  We list some great NAS products and the companies that make them at the end of the article.

Step 2: Combining NAS with a great product, the ioSafe SoloPRO external hard drives. IoSafe is famed for their construction of disaster-proof hard drives and their SoloPRO line is a great choice for small businesses to combine with their NAS networks.  There are 23 different products in the SoloPRO line and here are some that would be a great fit for your business. The 1TB SoloPRO USB 3.0 Desktop Hard Drive is an excellent choice because it comes with a three year data recovery service with up $2500 of forensic data recovery and replacement. It is Linux, Mac and PC compatible and its fireproof skin protects data from loss in temperatures of up to 1550 Fahrenheit for up to ½ hour. For your purpose, the most important feature is the USB 3.0 and/or the e-STATA/USB 2.0 connectivity which allows the SoloPRO to connect to any NAS network. This connectivity feature is shared by the 2TB model, the 300GB SoloPRO SSD, the 1TB SoloPRO Desktop Hard Drive and the 3TB USB 3.0 Waterproof/Fireproof Hard Drive. The ioSafe drives can combine onsite protection with your NAS network, providing new levels of security for your data.

NAS + ioSafe SoloPRO is great for SMB

Step 3: Cloud protection. This type of storage uses the internet as a utility where your company sends its data to an internet storage grid. It is called a “Private Cloud” when a company engages a third-party to host an infrastructure where the data is copied, stored and updated on a regular basis. Your company can have this service for a monthly or yearly fee. Updates and copying schedules depend on the individual plan and what internet company you use. There are definite advantages in the areas of scalability, security, performance and multi-tenancy. This article provides a great list for companies interested in securing cloud coverage, “Top Cloud Computing Companies to Watch and invest in 2011”.

HDDFiresafe.com is always interested in connecting you with great products. These three companies make quality NAS devices that could fit your small business’s profile.

Synology: This Company specializes in NAS equipment for a variety of clients. In their small business & workgroups section they have many products available. Such as the RackStation RS411, the RackStation RS409 and their DiskStation line has the following; DS411, DS410, DS211 and the DS111.

LaCie: This French company has several lines of NAS products available. Such as the LaCie Network Space 2, the LaCie Network Space MAX, the LaCie 5big Backup Server, the LaCie 12big Rack Network and the LaCie CloudBox (which works perfectly with cloud coverage).

Pegasus Promise: They have several NAS products available The SmartStor NSx700 series is ideal for high-performance environments. The Enterprise Storage line is ideal for corporate structures and the SMB Storage line provides medium and small businesses with cost-effective ways to keep their data online longer. Pegasus is also involved with cloud storage solutions.

This basic plan covers all the bases. NAS allows your data to flow and perform better; the ioSafe products offer onsite protection and high-quality performance and investing in private cloud protection will allow you the peace of mind of knowing your data is decentralized and off-site. The final layout of your plan is up to you but HDDfiresafe.com will be here to help you put the pieces to together.

Written by:

Joseph Fowler

HDDFiresafe.com

Easily recover & restore programs and files on your hard drive.

Ever had that sinking feeling you get when you empty your computer’s Recycle Bin, only to realize that an important file that you really needed to keep was inexplicably among the other junk files you just deleted?

We’ve probably all done it at some point, and likely suffered the consequences for it too, but did you know that it isn’t really gone for good?

Because of the way a typical hard drive reads and writes data, the chances are high that with a little bit of digging, you will be able to retrieve a whole host of deleted files from an external hard drive. You don’t need to be a data recovery specialist; you just need the right tools for the job.

Recuva, from Piriform, is a free disk utility that was designed for one purpose – restoring deleted files from your hard drive. Once installed, the included program  wizard will ask you what type of file to look for, and will ask you for its location before it was deleted. This is not essential information, merely a way to filter through the large volume of files Recuva will likely find.

Once it has scanned your hard drive, Recuva will display a list of files that it found. All that is left for you to do now is check the boxes next to the ones that you want to resurrect, and click Recover. Then, as if by magic, you will quickly have access to files that were once deleted from your computer.

There will, however, be times when Recuva is not a viable option. Not everyone is comfortable using tools like Recuva to restore files, and you may have some physical damage to your external drive from vandalism, fire, or flood damage. In cases like this, you will be glad you invested in an external hard drive from ioSafe.

Not only are ioSafe’s disaster proof hard drives among the most rugged in the world, but all ioSafe hard drives come with a unique Data Recovery Service (DRS) as standard. It covers any data loss, for any reason, whether accidental or on purpose. This one-time use, no questions asked service is the ultimate insurance for all your data needs, and it ensures that you never have to worry about lost data every again.

ioSafe’s expert team of forensic data recovery specialists will recover any and all data that it finds on your  external hard drive, and ship it back to you on a replacement device free of charge. The DRS is just one more reason, if it were needed, as to why ioSafe hard drives are the best option for businesses looking to secure their important data.

Contact our team today for more information, or to receive a quote for this industry leading product.

One of the best options available to consumers is the hard drives from ioSafe. This company produces many rugged pieces of equipment that are perfect for copying and protecting data such as your music collection. One such product is the ioSafe 500GB Portable Hard Drive; this drive can fit in your backpack or briefcase and is built to MIL Spec standards. It’s water-proof, crush-proof, shock-proof, and chemical-proof and has full Extreme Environment protection. Combine that with data encryption, theft protection and a no-hassle warranty and you’ve got a great backup for your laptop or desktop.

If you’re looking for something larger for your office or home then check out this ioSafe drive; the 1TB SoloPRO USB 3.0 Desktop Hard Drive. Styled in a sleek black box, this product has the fastest interface available on the market today. It is Linux, Mac, Microsoft Sever and PC compatible and has data transfer rates of up to 3GB/s and it can connect to a NAS. It is water and fire proof and has Active Airflow Cooling so it operates at the optimum temperature and with the built-in security slot; it can secured to any surface.

This ioSafe product combines a lot of great options. The 1TB ioSafe Solo, this hard drive is a fantastic way to protect a separate copy of your music and videos.  Its water-proof, you could soak in 10 ft of water for three days and still recover your data; along with its fire protection, you don’t have to worry about the weather. The drive has SUB 2.0 connectivity and with its In-Home Media Vault, you never have to worry about losing your music library or photo albums.

All of these ioSafe products come with the Data Recovery Service which offers you unmatched protection. No matter what happens to your hard drive, DRS will recover your data files and it comes with one to five year warranty plans. This service is an essential part of your ioSafe package.
If you’re a Mac user, you have another great opinion open to you. It is called Time Machine for the Mac OS. This utility backup creates incremental backups of files that can be restored at a later date. Time Machine keeps an up to date copy of all your files, music included and it’s compatible with the ioSafe external hard drives.

The process of moving your iTunes is a very simple and straightforward procedure.

First thing you need to know is that iTunes stores all your music in an iTunes folder (Mac users can find them in their Music folder) and XP users will find it in their My Music folder within their My Documents and Windows 7/Vista user will find their iTunes in their Music folder in their libraries.

If you can’t find your iTunes folder, you can locate it by going to the Preferences menu in iTunes and clicking the Advanced Tab. At the top of this window will be a dialog box called iTunes Media Folder Location and you’ll be able to see where your music is located.

Once you find your folder, click on the folder and drag it over to your external hard drive icon. The folder itself doesn’t move but a copy is made and stored. It is just that easy, find the folder, click on it and drag it over to your external hard drive.

Never depend on one hard drive to hold your audio/visual libraries and save yourself the trouble of buying and looking for the same music you’ve already acquired. Your favorite playlist will sound all the sweeter when you know your music is secure.

Written by Joseph Fowler

Step One…Don’t Panic!

Take a deep breath and look at your situation. Your hard drive has just crashed and this is problem that needs to be addressed right away but it’s not a catastrophe! You can fix this and you can prevent the loss of not only your data but also the pictures of your family and friends.

An ioSafe + Cloud Backup is a great way to prevent data loss from a crashed hard drive. This will allow you to recover programs very easily and quickly.

We live in the age of the digital camera and snapshots taken with our phones and people are moving away from the habit of having physical copies of their pictures. While the technology has changed, this core concept has not; you need to protect your collections of photos. We used to order multiple copies of pictures and keep them in photo-books for protection and presentation. Now people show their photos on social media sites, blogs and their various electronic devices and they still have to worry about losing their memories.

We’re going to walk you through some troubleshooting techniques that you can use in response of a hard drive crash. There are many options open to you in a situation like this and remember the most important thing is not to lose your head; you’re not on a sinking ship, you just need to plug a hole in the boat and fish your luggage out of the water.

If your hard drive is making clicking, whirring or grinding noises turn it off and unplug it. Then carefully remove the hard drive from the computer (remember that hard drives are very sensitive to static electricity and physical jolts). Do not assume that the files are unrecoverable and if you don’t have a backup in place, you’ll need to turn to commercial services.

Often the best options for laypeople are on the internet and with recovery software. One such company available is DriveSavers. Since 1985 this company has been helping people and businesses protect and recover their data and they have various options for recovery plans and will service a wide range of devices. The website Kroll Ontrack has developed protocols to meet virtually any recovery need and they offer helpful user guides and software for sell.

The website savemymemories.org is a good resource for tips and troubleshooting advice about recovering photographs. Their advice is straight-forward and is geared toward educating as well. They talk about hardware and software, how to prepare and protect your photos from disaster and they a great page of links about not just about protecting your memories but about many different aspects of digital photography.

One of the best options you can take to protect your photographs is be prepared before anything happens. One of the best ways to go on the offensive against potential crashes is to invest in an ioSafe hard drive; one of the best features that ioSafe offers on these hard drives is the Data Recovery Service. This product is available with numerous drives like the ioSafe Solo, the Rugged Portable SSD and the SoloPRO SSD. These hard drives are a great choice not only because they are disaster-proof and protect your photographs from outside threats; the Data Recovery Service ensures an unmatched safety net in the case of internal loss. With such features as access to expert technicians, up to $1000 of forensic data recovery, replacement hardware pre-loaded with recovered data and a three-year limited warranty.

No matter which option you choose; your best plan to prevent these types of emergencies before they happen. So when investigating plans to fix your crashed hard drive, look for the best way to prevent this from happening again.

Written by Joseph Fowler

Safety First…Backup Your Data

A combination of onsite disaster proof hard drives, off site and online or cloud backup are the best bet.

One of the largest technological concerns a business or individual can face today is the loss or corruption of their files and data.

It is vital for your company, clients and to your own sense of security that you have a ready and adaptable backup plan in case a disaster scenario occurs. Research conducted by the University of Texas shows that only 6 percent of companies that suffer from a catastrophic data loss survive while 43 percent never reopen and 51 percent close their doors within two years.

A recent NFIB poll shows that man-made disasters affect 10 percent of small businesses and natural disasters have affected 30 percent of small businesses and in the United States hurricanes are by far the most destructive natural force affecting businesses with losses. The International Data Corporation analyst firm shows that 70 percent of all successful attacks on computer networks are carried out by employees and company insiders.

You need a plan.

Here is a three-step, easy to follow plan that will help your business protect its data files.

1. Archive Your Business Data Regularly:

There two steps to correctly archiving your data; identifying the critical data that needs to be saved and using an archiving method on a regular basis. Executables like software programs don’t need to be saved, if they are lost, reinstall them. All files that you have created and or modified should be saved and archived. From accounting numbers to individual e-mails.

After you’ve selected which data to archive, select and use a backup software program. There many different programs you can choose from. The key is to remember to archive your data regularly, on a nightly basis is often suggested.

2.  Creating Physical Data Backups:

Having a physical backup is necessary because of the chance of computer failure. Even dropping your laptop on the ground or spilling coffee on office unit could be disastrous.

One of the most reliable and cost effective physical backup methods for a small business is the external hard drive. They are simple to use (with most you only have to plug it into your computer’s USB port) and the price range is usually only several hundred dollars. Many external hard drives are also disaster-proof, like ioSafe’s SoloPRO

3.  Off-Site Data Backup:

To be truly secure, the best option is storing copies of your data off-site from the main archive. There are many options for this method; many businesses keep copies in bank vaults or at the homes of different employees.

One of the most popular methods is online backup; these websites will backup and save your data for a monthly or yearly fee. Here are some of the most popular companies that offer this service.

• Carbonite: Since 2005 this company has backed up over 100 billion files and recovered 7 billion of them from being lost. They offer a program for small businesses that is $229.00 a year for 250 GB of storage space with the option of upgrading, automatic backups and a free month-long trail. http://www.carbonite.com/en/
• Mozy: Also founded in 2005, this company has over 70,000 business customers. They have many options for businesses such as encryption, custom configurations and automatic backups. The pricing is different for desktops and servers; learn more here: http://mozy.com/
• SugarSync: This company offers different features such as Apps for smart phones and pooled storage for multiple users. Their business plan is 100 GB of storage for three users at 29.99/month and 299.99/year and is upgradable. Learn more about them here: https://www.sugarsync.com/

The fact that you’re thinking about data backup and considering a plan is a great step in the right direction. It is also important to remember that when it comes to the safety and success of your business and clients, redundancy is the magic word. If you use online backup then also have an external hard drive in your office or a disaster-proof lockbox filled with zip-drives. If you backup your data every night then make sure that a copy gets sent to a secure off-site location.

Whatever system you decide to use to backup your data, backup that backup system!

Author: Joseph Fowler

Spikes in electrical voltage are often referred to as “surges” in power. These power surges of high voltage can cause unwanted damage to electronics and appliances that cannot handled a voltage that is larger than what the components are rated for.

A surge protector or surge suppressor is designed to decrease or limit the amount of voltage that supplies your computer electronics or hard drives by way or one or more methods. This includes the blocking of the surge or shorting the surge to ground. Many times a surge is caused by a lightning strike during a thunderstorm or severe weather.

What Can I do to protect my electronics and data?

For many consumers, the idea of protecting or preventing electrical surge damage has been a guessing game. Buying surge protection equipment generally isn’t too high on the “To Do” list and that said there are many ways that you can protect your entire house from damage.

Be happy, even if lightning strikes :) By implementing a plan to prevent data loss from a computer crash as a result of a surge or lightning strike you'll save yourself a big headache down the road.

One solution is to buy a surge protector power strip for every bit of electronics in the house from your HD television set to your iPhone, iPad and laptop computer. While this isn’t the most realistic scenario, it might work for you and it’s certainly better than zero surge protection in your house.  If you don’t have power strips with surge suppression do you unplug every appliance and  gizmo during a storm? Of course not, you don’t have the time or care to get shocked!

Another method is to rely on your homeowner’s insurance policy to cover losses, but this is less than ideal. While insurance coverage is necessary, it’s not the right thing simply rely on taking your losses against your deductible. The best solution is to improve upon your surge protection insurance policy from lighting by preventing surge damage before it happens with SurgeAssure whole house surge protection.

Surge Protection Systems

How does a whole house system work? Well, it’s a series of protectors that work in conjunction with each other. Often called Zoned or Zones protection, your entire home, the appliances such as TV, oven, microwave and washer and dryer will all become protected from lightning damage and lightning strikes.

Data Loss on your computer hard drive can occur from a surge or lightning strike.

How SurgeAssure Works

1.       First, surge protectors are applied and installed to the incoming electrical, cable/satellite, and telephone utility services to keep externally generated surges from entering your home. This step ensure that you have a primary surge protection in place where most damage enters the home.

2. At key locations throughout your home, localized secondary surge protection is installed to safeguard against any residual surges from the main electrical service and any internally generated surges.

At the heart of a whole home system is a breaker panel protection system, telephone line protection, cable internet and cable tv protection, and then outlet surge protection for electronics, hard drives, computers and more.

By the Numbers

According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) the  direct annual structural lightning losses at $138.7 million as averaged over 1989-1993 (13). This information came from the nation's fire chiefs, who also reported 20,000 lightning-caused residential fires. Surge damage can be caused by lightning and claim costs reported by State Farm Insurance Co. in Colorado, Wyoming and Utah have been extrapolated to national figures indicating  there to be 307,000 separate lightning claims totaling $332 million annually.

In closing, no one wants to have any type of loss or claim with their insurance company. The smart choice is to take extra steps to protect your home and possessions, electronics and that precious computer hard drive from damage with surge protection from SurgeAssure.

It's true.... many moons ago ioSafe manufactured a NAS storage device called the ioSafe R4. This network attached storage server could house up to 4TB of storage and provided the end user with all of the bells & whistles you would expect from a NAS including RAID, hot swap hard drives, remote administration and even a built-in backup manager. Alas, ioSafe no longer makes the ioSafe R4 but there are still many ways in which you can reap the benefits of a NAS and still get the fireproof & waterproof protection that ioSafe is famous for.

NAS meet ioSafe. ioSafe meet NAS.

At our office we recognized many years ago how important RAID is to our own data

The ioSafe R4 was a 4TB NAS that was fireproof & waterproof. This product is no longer available.

backup strategy. We value redundancy and multiple backup copies of client information, databases as well as Exchange and .PST files. We also recognized that the missing link was disaster protection. What if the hard drives crashed or a fire ripped through our building. The simple solution was to connect the ioSafe hard drive directly to the NAS. It may sound elementary ( and it very well is) that for $500-$1,000 small businesses could now afford a solid data backup plan that may very well keep them in business should disaster strike.

Our Setup

In our office we have an Exchange server, ReadyNAS 1100, ioSafe Solo and the first generation ioSafe S1 (the ioSafe S1 is no longer manufactured).

We run a mixed environment with a combination of PC and Mac. [Our graphic designer prefers the Mac platform for all of the wonderful imagery you see on our website today - thank you Mr. Maximumedia :) ]  The ReadyNAS 1100 acts as our office file server with seven (7) workstations connecting to it on a daily basis. The ioSafe Solo is directly connected to the ReadyNAS and we utilize the built-in backup manager to backup our RAID 1 hard drives to the ioSafe. This set-up gives us TRIPLE REDUNDANCY, fire protection, water protection as well as the best in class ioSafe Data Recovery Service (DRS) with up to $5,000 of forensic recovery should our ioSafe hard drive break for any reason, no questions asked.

Cost

As the cost of storage has dropped tremendously in the last few years you can now get an ioSafe + NAS for as little as $500.00. A quick Google search reveals that the ReadyNAS Duo can be found for under $160.00, add in 2 x 1TB hard drives for $55 each and an ioSafe Solo starts out around $150.00.

Total Cost of NAS + ioSafe TODAY: $420.00

Shown above is the ioSafe S1, 1st Generation fireproof hard drive from ioSafe. This product has been replaced with the ioSafe Solo and ioSafe SoloPRO.

Several years ago when we first implemented our setup the price was much higher with the ReadyNAS 1100 priced at $2,300 and came with 4 x 500GB hard drives. Toss in the ioSafe S1 at $3,000.00 and you were digging deep into your pockets.

Total Cost of NAS + ioSafe 5 YEARS AGO: $5,300.00

That's an 80% drop in cost over five years! 

Comparing the PROS & CONS

At first glance combining the benefits of NAS storage and an ioSafe hard drive may seem confusing (especially to small business owners that are not IT or tech junkies at heart). However when you start to break down the benefits and compare apples to apples there is a tremendous value to the SMB to implement this or a similar data backup plan.

PRO's

RAID. RAID. RAID. Yes, the value of redundancy cannot be emphasized enough and multiple backup copies are always better than one.

Standby Hot Spare - with a 4 disk RAID set up you can run two (2) hard drives in a RAID 1 (mirrored backup copies) and have an extra hard drive on standby in case one of the drives in the RAID crashes. The standby drive will automatically kick in and begin making a backup

Remote Access - With the NAS in your backup loop you have access to your business data without sending it to the cloud where it may be subject to more risk than it might be worth. We'll leave that up to you to decide.

Disaster Protection - fire, flood, accidental deletion, you name it and the ioSafe DRS has you covered with no questions asked. It's remarkable that ioSafe is the only hard drive manufacturer that offers this service with their product.

CONS

More Equipment - yes, with this setup you must now purchase two (2) pieces of equipment. For many small businesses or mom & pop shops extra equipment is often a no, no.

Price Points - While many of our readers with say that the ioSafe + NAS set up is a cheap way to get data protection they are presuming that every business has the same cash flow as they do. The reality of the small business world is that budgets are tight and most of the time non-existent until year 3,4 and even year five.

To sum things up if I could help all of our small business clients implement the ioSafe + NAS system I would. This setup works very well for the majority of our clients and without a doubt a mixture of brands still achieves the same goal. Whether it's a Seagate BlackArmor NAS, NetGear ReadyNAS, Western Digital NAS or an HP MediaSmart server the point is that combining ioSafe hard drives with network attached storage is a very wise choice for the small businesses around the world.