Megaupload takedown reminds users to always have multiple back-ups of their data
Following the government shutdown of MegaUpload, many users are complaining about their inability to access their files. Let this be a lesson for the rest of us.
Internet file-sharing website MegaUpload.com has been shutdown by the U.S. Department of Justice because of an alleged conspiracy to infringe on copyright. The company’s top executives have been arrested, the data centers that hosts files have been raided, and the MegaUpload.com domain is inaccessible – as are the files that people have stored on MegaUpload.
On Facebook, Google+, and Twitter, users are complaining because they are unable to access their personal files stored on MegaUpload. Some are musicians who used MegaUpload to store or send studio session files, some have raw video and .zip files of personal photos, and others have archives of files stored for work purposes. That’s an immeasurable amount of data suddenly lost because users committed the cardinal sin of file storage: keeping files in only one location.
Losing one’s data is a hard lesson to learn, but it’s one that must be learned – hopefully by someone else. I know firsthand that storing files in one place can be catastrophic. A few years ago, my computer hard drive was corrupted, causing me to lose a few gigs of music, family photos, and video files. I was fortunate enough to still have the bulk of the collection stored on an external hard drive, but a big portion of my collection had not been archived. It was all gone in an instant.
Cloud storage is often seen as a clever way to back-up files, but it is not fool-proof. Though MegaUpload was used mostly to send large files one at a time or for sharing purposes, there were people who used the service to store personal files and archives that may have been too big for storage lockers like Dropbox, SkyDrive, and SugarSync. Their misfortune is a reminder that having multiple clouds couldn’t hurt.
At the moment, I have my most critical documents stored on Dropbox and SugarSync. Should the unthinkable happen and either service gets shut down, corrupted, or suffer a temporary outage, I will still have access to my files. I’ve also started getting into the habit of syncing folders with Bitcasa, a new storage service currently in the invitation-only phase. These are just a few of the many companies that offer cloud-based storage for your files. And with the prevalence of these companies, who all offer a basic package of free storage and premium options should you need more space, now is as good a time as any to have a back-up for your back-up.
Again, as I have said many times cloud storage is not secure, permanent, self-controlled or recoverable if the provider is sold or goes bankrupt and you as the user have no legal recourse. You agree to the sites letter of agreement or you do not get to play and if you do play, you might lose big-time As the case above clearly illustrates. Plus you do not know who really owns the servers or if they are even in the USA or Canada.
According to my father who is a security expert, the best practice is to back up to a large hard drive, using a well-known and tested backup system like Norton Ghost or Acronis True Image. Then place the backup in a fireproof safe or in your bank’s safety deposit box. If you go to the bank on a weekly basis, then have two sets. Each time you’re at the bank swap the drives, or do it once a month. At least do it.
BTW Andrew, if you still have that old drive there are some great facilities in Toronto such as Data Recovery Canada who can get your files back. Disclaimer: my family has nothing to do with this company I have heard they are good. Even fire scorched HDDs are recoverable.
well said phil i agree if i didnt use multiple usb 1tb drives and i never ever will use the “cloud” then i would be up the creek for data. but those usb drives are inexpensive and a damn good investment and the drives can be stored and retrived at any given need. far better than storing info on some obscure data storage services. and im the only one responsible for what that happens to that data. there are many websites that are infected and most people dont use very much anti -software…. one antivirus program is not enough protection at all these days… u need anti spam – antiadware…antimalware–antivirus protection…and a recovery system that is fool proof…its all a damn good investment these days. here is an example…..at least once a day i play online in halo custom edition…. but after each session i find that the computer acts a little buggy. a quick scan and trojan horse are sitting there… but when i added the 4 security packages.. the worst that happens is the blue screen. because the malicious stuff gets stopped but conflicts with operating system so the blue screen happens… its a sign that i have not got totaly foolproof software yet. cant wait till someone figures a way to secure a computer totally. till then i ll use my own cloud. and so far i havnt lost very much at all thanks to those extra drives.
oooppps missed a point u should not in any case use a multifunction security package yet… if it crashes u loose every thing in one step… seperate security no doubles and at least 4 catagories of protection,,, bakup backup backup. as i mentioned no web site or server is secure and niether is any op system…… its a wonder that annonymous hakrs dont attack the little guys… thank god for that. and even that could change .