The Security Mentor

The backups you keep in your home or office will help if you delete a file by accident.

What if you have a fire?

You could put backups in a safe deposit box or have an employee take them home. (Little hint: a mini-fridge, not plugged in, is better than nothing for fire protection. It's insulated and airtight.) What if your area gets hit by a hurricane/snowstorm/earthquake?

If you send backups outside the local area then you can recover from some really serious disasters. If the backups are available online you can recover from anywhere with a 'net connection.

That's where commercial offsite backup services come in. They send you software that encrypts your data and copies it over the internet to their servers. You can restore to anywhere you need to. The backup company can't read your data.

They're expensive. The way to use them is to figure out what data you'll need in a hurry after a disaster (accounts receivable? Address books?) and back up the minimum necessary.

Or take the small businessperson approach. You must have a friend or supplier or something outside your local area. Why not cut a deal with them where each of you stores encrypted backups for the other?