The security of our data and files is essential. There are many attacks that we can suffer that put at risk all the information that we have stored. For example, we can talk about ransomware, which aims to encrypt files and make them impossible to access. Luckily we can make use of tools and methods to at least improve protection. In this article we are going to talk about what types of backups we can use to protect our files and not lose them in case of problems.
Types of backups
Backups can allow us to protect our files and information. In this way they will be safe in the event that our computer is attacked by a threat, such as the example we have given of the ransomware. It can also happen that we lose a device, that a memory is stolen, etc.
Ultimately, backups can save our files. In this way we will avoid risks that may compromise our personal information. Now there are different types of backups, as we will explain.
Incremental
One of the options we have are incremental backups . What does this mean? In this case, a complete backup is made of all the files, and later only the new data or folders that we have are included.
Let’s take as an example that we have an external hard drive with a series of folders where we store information. Those folders remain unchanged but we are going to save other folders with new files. In this case it is those new files that are added to the existing backup.
Full backup
As its name suggests it is a complete backup . Every time it is done it includes all the files that could be. It doesn’t matter if there have been no changes since the last time we made that copy.
The problem with this option compared to the previous one is that we can take more time to make that backup. It will depend on the size, our system, whether it is online or not, etc.
Snapshots
A snapshot is a volume snapshot, a snapshot of existing files. This is interesting if we want to recover the state of the files at that moment. For example, if we have a problem after having made a modification to the system, we can always return to the previous state.
Differential backup
It is a faster backup since it only includes the changes made since the last complete copy was made. This makes the time to run shorter. It is similar to incremental. In this case, it includes the new data since the last full backup.
Mirror
Another option is mirror backups. In this case it is a reflection of what we are copying to another device. That is, if we make modifications or delete a file in the source, it will also be applied in the destination where we are creating that copy. It is not convenient if we want to safely preserve the data, as we see.
According to the location
We can also differentiate backups based on their location. In this sense we can speak of local or external backups. In the first case, that backup remains inside a company or a home. We can say that we have it at hand, physically accessible.
In the second case we are talking about external backups. This occurs when those files are physically stored elsewhere. It is an extra protection, since we would avoid problems in case of theft, fire or any similar circumstance.
Accessible or not on the network
This question is important. Today the network, cloud storage, has become very important. We can have backup copies available in the cloud and that we can access them from anywhere and on any device. It can also happen that this backup is only physically available.
