Backup: The Often Ignored Prep

Backup. It’s probably one of the most ignored preps against “everyday” SHTF disaster moments, and frankly there’s no excuse for electronics owners to not back up their equipment. None.

I get it, backup is totally un-fun!

It’s true, setting up a backup plan is not fun. Neither is going to the dentist to get that semi- annual cleaning, getting poofed in the eye during the yearly doctor’s exam or waiting in line at the DMV to get your vehicle plates updated.

As a good friend of mine would tell me when I get all whiny about doing something I know I need to do but don’t want to, “Suck it up, Salty, it’s time to put your big-boy pants on, man the heck up and get it done.” OK, he doesn’t call me Salty, but the rest? Yes.

In 2018, there’s really no excuse not to backup your critical files

Back in the 80’s, 90’s and 2000’s there WAS an excuse… backing up a large amount of data was both difficult and expensive.

That was then, this is now. Gone are the tape drives and the piles of floppy disks, CD’s or DVD’s.

Enter the new backup options, the online upload, the Network Attached Server (NAS) and the various USB devices. Your operating system now has a good backup built into it, and there’s also some really great third-party options for when things get a bit more tricky.

Cell phones pretty much all now come with their own backup plans, one simply has to make sure they are turned on. BOOM, that’s done. Tablets? Same deal. So I’m going to spend the rest of this article talking more about computers than these other devices.

Here’s a podcast I did on this subject to listen along to as you read.

What are we prepping for?

In part, what we are prepping for dictates the way we want to set up our backups. Obviously, our number one concern as private citizens is protecting ourselves from data loss by backing up our data in a way it won’t/can’t be damaged or stolen.

So with that our goal, I’m going to look first at the main backup scenarieos in 2018 when this is written. I’m going to throw out a basic (and by no means all-inclusive) list of pro’s and cons for each of these choices, and talk about things we need to consider, both as everyday people and preppers.

Time to throw in the disclaimer: As usual, we have zero financial stake in any product/service mentioned on this page. None. Nada. When links are provided we are not affiliate and we don’t get a dime, or any compensation whatever.

Online backup

There are many ways a person can backup their data online. There are various different services that give out a basic amount of storage space for free. Each of these services have different rules and limitations, I’m just putting them here as examples: As of the time of this writing, mimedia.com gives 10GB free; idrive.com gives you 5GB; jottacloud.com provides 5GB free; memopal.com offers 3GB free; mozy.com gives you 2GB free and elephantdrive.com offers 2GB free.

What are the pros of online backup (as considered by a prepper)?

1. Your files are offsite and protected against local disasters like fire, earthquakes, tornadoes, etc.
2. Most of these services offer free, automated backup software.
3. Big names like Google, Microsoft and Apple have backup services that are free (at least to start with). These are often built right into your device’s operating system, so they integrate seamlessly and automatically.
4. Online services often allow you to keep multiple versions. This is a GOOD thing.
5. They are generally easy to do recovery from.
6. Depending on where your data is mirrored, online backups may help shield your data against an EMP.

OK, sold! Sign me up, after all what could possibly go wrong?

1. Unless you have VERY fast internet or don’t back up many files, online backups can take days (or even weeks) to backup your files.
2. If you have a lot of BIG files (think photos and videos) online backup can be a bit of a fiasco.
3. Did I mention that big names like Google, Microsoft and Apple will have control of your information on some server they own sitting in some country somewhere?
4. You have ZERO control over your data once it leaves your hands
5. You can potentially be held hostage by your provider who can change their terms of service at any time.
6. When your data leaves your house, it passes through the internet. Do you know who monitors the data traveling around the internet? I do, and I don’t like it.

Network Attached Storage (NAS) backup:

What is an NAS? Generally, it’s a box with one or more hard disks in it that you plug into your network. That box acts as a file storage area (and often a lot more, such as a media server… but that’s way beyond the scope of this article).

These boxes can be stuffed full of some truly massive storage space. Salty’s NAS farm currently has about 30 tarabytes of storage (Salty also does a LOT of 4K video editing and high-resolution digital photography (Sony A7RIII).

When used with proper backup software (look for a separate article on this) the NAS is an interesting solution (or, as in my case, one of my solutions).

The pros of NAS:

1. As stated above, you can store MASSIVE amounts of data quicky and easily.
2. The system is yours when you buy/build it. You don’t have to worry about paying fees as your data storage grows.
3. It works great no matter the state of your internet. You can have anything from no internet whatever all the way up to being on fiberoptics, doesn’t matter.
4. You can set drives up to have redundant copies and to keep multiple versions (to protect against data corruption and virus attacks)

Sight me up! What could be bad about a NAS? Oh, wait.

1. NAS systems won’t help protect your data if they are in the same building as your main computer is when a fire, tornado or other natural disaster hits.
2. They are every bit as vulnerable to EMP effects as your main electronics.
3. NAS are potentially open to damage from viral infection if your main system is hit (if you don’t set them up in the proper way… many times, following the manufacturer’s directions leave them vulnerable).
4. They can cost a LOT of money to set up. Basic NAS systems cost double what “regular” USB drives do.
5. The software for inexpensive NAS drives can be very, very annoying and restrictive.

So… what about a USB device for backup?

I’m going to throw in a caviet that when I talk about USB drives & devices, I mean devices that are stored (after the information is copied) a secure location that is temperature and EMP protected… i.e. in a EMP protective bag inside of a data media safe.

Prepare to have a heart attack at the cost of these media safes, but reality is that most “fireproof” safes let internal temperatures rise up the 350 degrees inside of them… that will melt electronics. You need something that keeps your media under 150 degrees during a fire. Still, you can put other stuff in the safe as well, other critical documents and your precious metals…

Me? I keep copies in a secure location offsite. I’m too cheap to spring for a media safe.

Thumb drives for backup

First, lets look at the smallest types of USB devices, the thumb drive. For many situations, thumb drives are an excellent choice for backing up critical documents. Paranoid Prepper talks about critical document backup in this MUST READ article here, and one great way to store those documents is on a thumb drive. An even better way to store those documents is on multiple thumb drives.

Additionally, I’m including SD/MicroSD cards in this category as well, they can be used the same was as a thumb drive.

Thumb drive pros:

1. Thumb drives are cheap
2. They are easy to carry, small and very light weight
3. You can use a bunch of them to give you many versions
4. They are not susceptible to virus attacks (unless you do something really dumb like inserting all of them in an infected computer)
5. Did I mention they are cheap?

Thumb drive cons:

1. No matter how big of a thumb drive you buy, they are still pretty small. You can get 256GB thumb drives and back up your whole computer on them (assuming you don’t have a ton of media files), and with USB 3 it can be done in a reasonable time… but… if you have a lot of big files? Nope.
2. Thumb drives tend to end up in pockets. They tend to end up then in the container with the change and keys. Thumb drives end up in washing machines. They end up being tossed in the area you put all that extra change in the car. You get my point.
3. It’s hard to remember which version is on which drive.
4. Reliability is an issue, failure rate is much higher for them
5. Are you REALLY going to store a thumb drive in an EMP proof bag in a media safe? Really? There’s like 2 people in the entire country that say they will and then actually do. Are you one of them?

USB hard drives

The last thing I want to take a look at today is the USB hard drive. These are big, fast and inexpensive in 2018, and they are quite reliable as well. They can be a great solution.

But.

They too have their pluses and minuses. Many are the same as thumb drives, so don’t be shocked at a bit of duplication on my list.

USB hard drive pros:

1. USB hard drives are relatively cheap, not as cheap as thumb drives (or free internet storage) but relatively speaking they are not as expensive as options previously were in the past.
2. They are easy to carry, small and light weight, and can hold a massive amount of information.
3. You can use a bunch of them to give you many versions
4. If you use multiple copies and keep at least one copy either at a secure offsite location or in a EMP bag/media safe, you have a really secure and complete backup solution that is also virus protected.
5. They work great with all operating systems backup services, as well as third party backups.

USB hard drive cons:

1. Pluging and unplugging the drives repeately can be very fiddly. Cables can wear.
2. There is a temptation to leave the drive plugged into the computer. With windows computers, this generally means that the drive remains visible as a drive to the operating system. Why does this matter? If it’s a drive available to the OS, it is vulnerable to horrible cryptographer type virus attacks, thereby entirely wasting the backup on that drive. USB drives MUST be removed from the PC when not actively backing it up.
3. It’s hard to remember which version is on which drive, assuming you have multiple drives.
4. Again, they have to either be stored properly if you keep them on the premises or offsite (at least in an EMP bag, wherever they go).

So… which do I use for my personal data?

Personally, I use a combination of most of these.

I store my most critical documents (stuff I want to carry with me on a bugout) on thumb drives inside EMP bags. We store these at a couple of different secure locations offsite.

I also use USB drives for my “main backup” of all the stuff I would “hate to lose”, personal pictures, etc., and I keep a copy in my safe deposit box at the bank, inside an EMP bag. We rotate it every 6 monthsI have about 1TB of photos on this drive, and I don’t want to lose all my vacation pictures.

I use a simple, free encryption program, VeraCrypt, on all my devices that leave the house. Data encryption for preppers is another area I plan to do an article here at 3BY for some day.

For my video/photo business, I use multiple redundant NAS’s, one of which is in a different structure outside the house but on the premises. I mirror everything inside the house out there (it’s a non-attached office). When I deliver product, the full resolution versions go to the clients via online upload, and I leave them in online storage from there on out. These are non-sensitive items, I don’t care who sees them.