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  • HI folks the server that hosts the site completely died including the Hdd's and backups.
    Luckily i create an offsite backup once a week! this has now been restored so we have lost a few days posts.
    im still fixing things at the moment so bear with me and im still working on all images 90% are fine the others im working on now
    we are now using a backup solution

Why not to rely on "The Cloud"

mikejee

mikejee

Super Moderator
Staff member
I have always been dubious about relying on storage online, and have tried to always keep my data /photos/etc stored with me. Today's story confirms that I was right to do so:
www.theguardian.com

Myspace loses all content uploaded before 2016

Faulty server migration blamed for mass deletion of songs, photos and video
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com

Mind you I find it difficult to honestly believe that artists would only store their work online without it being available at any other place, and think/hope that this is over-emphasised in the article. However, as these artists are possibly the same people who think it desirable to post photos of their every meal online then perhaps they are as stupid as to do this.
 
i am like you mike,i try and keep my photos,on my h/disk or stick,dont fancy using storage banks.dont trust em.never did before the interweb.and never will
 
This issue reminds me of the problems on BHF when photos were removed, recently, or overprinted with a watermark. That particular company caused much anguish to railway photographers, in the United States and others who took interesting scenic photos. The demands for payment was not well received.
 
our backup routine is this: once a day the entire database and all files are backed up to a HDD and there are 3 days worth at any one point, this is then auto copied to another HDD outside of the server and once a week one of the backups is sent to cloud storage off site.

we also have a UPS attached in case of power loss with automatic graceful shutdown the entire network is plugged into to minimise sudden loss.
 
I never use the cloud, but have two large portable disks on USB 3.0 and four memory sticks. I never store my genealogical databases on Ancestry or FMP. I don't risk losing any important data or risk it falling into wrong hands by using any storage that is not under my direct control.

Maurice
 
I use the Microsoft cloud (OneDrive) every day mainly as a convenient network drive with it's free 5Gb. If I'm editing a pic on my laptop and feel like working on my desktop pc the pic is available on either. I also have the OneDrive app in my iPad so can see what the pic looks like on that. OneDrive looks just like a folder on my computers and iPad. I back up the cloud contents once a week to an external drive. I never use a cloud for sensitive or financial files.

I use Gmail so have access to 15Gb of their cloud but find it clunky compared to OneDrive.
And because I have an iPad and iPhone I have 5Gb of iCloud but it's full with apps etc and I'm not paying for extra.

I suppose we all use our computers differently ... my laptop is on my lap with a wireless mouse on the cushion ... my desktop box is behind a sofa with the monitor on a coffee table , and I sit on the sofa with a wireless keyboard on my lap.
I've never used a desk ... :)
 
I don’t think that there is a completely safe single method of storing data. Even with the best will in the world, technology fails, either by design, theft or accident.

If the data you hold is of value to you, then you should adopt a 3-2-1 Backup Strategy.
 
Would not argue with that. What my original post was commenting on was the statement that people had lost original work that was stored ONLY on that particular site
 
I have a feeling that My Space "lost" all these old files because they could not be bothered to migrate all this old data. This is always a risk with any data stored online or in the cloud.

However JUST having files stored in your house on any media (external hard drives, DVD etc) is at risk due to perhaps a major house fire or flood, or maybe theft (burglary) or technical failure if it is only on one hard drive..

So all backups should be a combination of files stored in your house, ALSO one or more "spare" backups stored in a friends or relatives house, and ALSO data stored in the cloud.

If data is REALLY important to you then it should be stored in multiple places on multiple media as you never know what is going to happen.
 
oldMohawk said:
In the days before computers I used to keep precious family photos in a shoebox under the stairs, birth certificates and other important documents in a metal case.... never thought about backing them up.
:)
Click to expand...
I still do and I guess many others do so as well. ;)
I had an email from Emsisoft today. Those interested look it up. It stems from the days when I used M/Soft Windows. Basically it was critical of Google re-directs and was scathing about Word Press. I use neither.
 
I use two external hard drives kept separately but also have a large case of old photos (from my Parents and Grandparents) too heavy to easily move. Keep saying I will scan them but it would take too long. Will have to pick out the important ones - if I can.
 
Never been confident enough to make use of clouds or similar.

I have only half met my original intention to scan every photograph and document and back them up
with external storage.

I intended to then back that up with a further storage drive but have never gotten around to it.

Would be a shame if over twenty years of research were to be lost after so much expense and effort.
 
As previously mentioned I had a go with Google Drive (cloud) some years ago but found it clunky so didn’t use it much.

Today I was surprised to see that I was using 7Gb of the available free 15Gb.

A quick look showed that Google Photos had backed up all the photos, images, and video clips I had in my laptop and desktop computers.

Some people say the ‘Cloud’ is just someone else’s computer.
 
oldMohawk said:
A quick look showed that Google Photos had backed up all the photos, images, and video clips I had in my laptop and desktop computers.
Click to expand...

A lot of people don't realise that if you have an Android phone and are logged on to your phone with a Gmail account ALL the photos and videos on your phone are automatically uploaded to Google Photos on the web (depending on settings on your phone).

You can logon to Google Photos on the internet here (just use your usual Gmail account, the same one you use on your phone)

https://www.google.com/photos/about/
.
 
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I've now sorted Google photos and limited the folders it can access. It can sync old street pics and general images but not my family personal photos. At the same time I've reset two factor authentication for when I need it. I'm happy with Google security.

All my Gmails auto-forward to my Apple email where I read them. The only time I need to use Gmail is when I send one. I never use Gmail on my iPhone but have GDrive in my iPad.

I prefer Microsoft's OneDrive as a convenient way of moving files from one device to another particularly from iPad/iPhones to Windows etc. The app is in my iPhone and collects all the pics I take so they are quickly visible on my Windows devices.

I use Clouds as conveniences and not for backups.
 
I'm still using OneDrive (cloud) with it's free 5Gb on Win 10 so it's in my Dell laptop, my Acer Desktop, and Microsoft's free app in my iPad. OneDrive has become my convenient network drive but I never upload important files and data to it.

I can access Onedrive from any device and it looks like a normal folder on Win 10. It is ideal for moving items between computers or phones. With photo editing I use my laptop but other times I use my desktop with it's 24" screen, and sometimes my iPad to see how the photo looks on it.

My 'Then and Now' folder on the 'cloud' as seen on my iPad.
mIMG_1214.jpg
 
The internet speed here is far too low to make use of online (cloud) storage, and I'm quite happy with that. I don't use a mobile phone or a laptop, we're living in an old stone house with 19 inch thick walls 800 feet a.s.l. and nowhere near any watercourses or likely watercourses. We have no live fires, the oil-fired boiler is external to the house, and the village is well proected with storm drains. Serious earthquakes are unlikely and the older part of the house has stood for 200 years without any known problems.

That said, if I was living in an urban situation in the UK or any other country in the civilised world, I would seriously think about storing my stuff in an external online backup.

Maurice :cool:
 
Hi Maurice,
I suppose we do take fast broadband for granted when it is available. My son lives in a thick walled barn in the Yorkshire hills and although he has FTTC the copper wire comes a few miles across the fields so his broadband sometimes drops to 5Mbs down and never more than 1.5Mbs up. I have accessed Onedrive there although not continuously. The main problem he has is getting the wifi signal to come through the thick stone walls.

Phil
 
It is often said the 'Google' is your friend. To quote Victor Meldrew ! "I don't believe it".
I prefer Duck & Go as a search. Google is a must for You Tube but anything else, no.
 
KnobbyDave,

Sod's Law always catches you out when you haven't got another copy!

Phil,

When in March this year they put us on faster internet it was, for a few weeks only, 6.7 Mbps, but for some monthas now it has been stuck at 3.7Mbps. The upload speed isn't even 10% of that rendering the cloud very sluggish should I choose to use it. We still use hard-wired USB connections to the router as both our computers are in a dedicated room. Despite that, the router does perform in wifi as well, as my son found out accidentally when he came to stay in September. And it went through 19 inches of stone, travelled around 20 feet and then through about 8 inches of concrete into the new build bedroom that he used and still produced a useable signal. However, we do have a somewhat drier climate than Yorkshire, so maybe that helps.

Maurice :cool:
 
sospiri said:
When in March this year they put us on faster internet it was, for a few weeks only, 6.7 Mbps, but for some months now it has been stuck at 3.7Mbps. The upload speed isn't even 10% of that rendering the cloud very sluggish should I choose to use it.
Maurice :cool:
Click to expand...

Maybe not the best time to say I am very happy with my 200 Mbps on Virgin cable in Solihull :)
 
Radiorails said:
It is often said the 'Google' is your friend. To quote Victor Meldrew ! "I don't believe it".
I prefer Duck & Go as a search. Google is a must for You Tube but anything else, no.
Click to expand...
I use Google but regard it as something useful rather than a friend.
I've used their search since 2000 and still use it probably every day.
I use Gmail and find it very satisfactory and secure. Two factor authentication if required.
I use their Chrome browser although lately Microsoft's chromium Edge is nearly as good.
Chrome Extensions are very useful.
Youtube always interesting and useful.
Google Earth/Streetview/Maps. I like them and hope they keep them going.
Google translate. In Chrome it translates websites on the fly.
I don't use GDrive (15Gb Cloud) too clunky ... I prefer Microsoft.
I don't use Google Photos or any other Photo Apps. Prefer my own methods in my computers.

I know Google robots look for keywords in everything I type on the internet ... they are crawling over the BHF at present.
I have never responded or been influenced by an ad which makes it on to my computer screens.
:)
 
guilbert53,

No one on this island gets more than 24Mbps, so your speeds are in the land of the fairies! :) But if I had that sort of speed, I don't know what I would do with it as I don't do any mega downloads, very rarely watch films, and haven't watched TV for at least 15 years, not that I was ever a great addict. I'll content myself with the joys of rural living on an almost crime free Mediterranean island, while you enjoy and rain and the traffic of the UK! :) :) :)

Maurice :cool:
 
sospiri said:
guilbert53,

No one on this island gets more than 24Mbps, so your speeds are in the land of the fairies! :) But if I had that sort of speed, I don't know what I would do with it as I don't do any mega downloads, very rarely watch films, and haven't watched TV for at least 15 years, not that I was ever a great addict. I'll content myself with the joys of rural living on an almost crime free Mediterranean island, while you enjoy and rain and the traffic of the UK! :) :) :)

Maurice :cool:
Click to expand...
hoooooooo. lucky you
 
sospiri said:
guilbert53,

No one on this island gets more than 24Mbps, so your speeds are in the land of the fairies! :) But if I had that sort of speed, I don't know what I would do with it as I don't do any mega downloads, very rarely watch films, and haven't watched TV for at least 15 years, not that I was ever a great addict. I'll content myself with the joys of rural living on an almost crime free Mediterranean island, while you enjoy and rain and the traffic of the UK! :) :) :)

Maurice :cool:
Click to expand...

well said maurice...i certainly know where i would rather be and its not in birmingham...not now anyway

lyn
 
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