How to organise home IT for emergencies

I’m thinking about quick evacuation of the house, for example, in case of fire. I intend to put all most important paper documents into one bag that I could simply grab it as I leave. Also, keeping all docs together is a convenient way to find them.
However, it is more difficult to organise myself with IT: yes, I can grab my work bag with work laptop, but I also want to create a home storage (at least 2 TB) accessible from internet. How can I create it that it be safe (backs up files in case one of HD packs up and be shockproof), portable, convenient and inexpensive?
I thought having external HD that I could immediately place into a bag and back it up from time to time from the main storage, but I think it is too much hassle and I will stop backing files up regularly. Taking the storage with myself – I don’t think it will be easy detaching all cables in emergency and the box itself might be quite bulky. Backing up into the cloud is too expensive, so I keep only important documents in the cloud.
What is the optimal option in your opinion?
Thanks

I'm not the IT guy in the family, my hubby is, but here's what we do. I keep hard copies of all important docs, along with a flash drive of scans, in a fire box in my desk. He keeps a back-up of everything (including scans of all docs) on an external hard drive. The plan is to grab both in the event of an emergency. There's also a flash drive of scans in our famly BOB.

I use an Apple iMac which has a programme called Timemachine built in. This automatically backs up to an external 2Tb disk every hour. Totally transparent and does not interfere at all with any use of the computer.

I am sure there will be similar software for other operating systems.

I back up to the cloud. It costs $60/yr and gives me remote access to my backed-up files. Portable hard drives are a great solution if you are diligent about keeping it up to date.

I pay $20 annually for 80 gigs of cloud storage. My favorite photos are already there and a lot of family photos going back 100 hundred years are now scanned and in the cloud.

Cloud storage is getting cheaper all the time.

Ditto Ian on the Apple Time Machine - my external hard drives are diminutive and I keep them in a briefcase when not hooked to my laptop.

A trusted family member at another location could also be a wise backup plan. Put everything digital you value on an external hard drive and ask them to keep it tucked away somewhere. You could probably password protect it.

An external drive need not be difficult to remove. For example,these units allow you to simply pull the drive out:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007XJIYRC

Likewise, you shouldn't set something up that requires you to manually back up your data. There are a zillion automated backup programs out there.

I've used this one for a long time. There are lots of other options out there tho:

http://www.novastor.com/en/software/windows-backup

That said it is not optimal to rely on a scheme that requires you to grab the drive in case of an emergency. It is possible you won't have time, or you might forget, or you might not even be home (think fire).

Using a local drive can work for this (rotating a drive somewhere off-site like a relative or friends house, or safety deposit box), but you have to be able to remember and make time to do it.

The cloud based solutions are a good way to get both an automated solution combined with a off-site solution. The thing I would be careful about is security. You want to get a solution that is encrypted because, remember, those files are hanging out on the Internet. Make sure you use a really strong password.

Depending on how much stuff you have will really drive the cost. You might consider backup up your most critical files automatically to the cloud, and all your files to a removable disk.

Also remember that a possible situation is that someone could steal your computer and/or your backup hard drive. Optimally you would want to encrypt your sensitive files, both on the normal hard drive, *and* on the backup media.

Truecrypt is a good free encryption solution, but has some limitations interacting with Windows (backing up in-use files in particular).

http://www.truecrypt.org/

There are some (commercial) Windows only solutions that don't have this issue because they are willing to pay license fees and sign NDAs that the Truecrypt people are not.

Windows also has encryption capabilities with their higher levels of Windows 7. If you have a lower version, I think they will allow you to electronically upgrade to the other versions at a cost.

Depending on what you have available to you and your capabilities, you could also roll your own. For example, if you have a web site, you could potentially back up to your web server.

Some folks have combined the use of Truecrypt with Dropbox for example.

Some useful DIY components:

Webdrive (mount a remote web based entity as a "drive"):
http://www.webdrive.com/products/webdrive/index.html

Dropbox (mount a cloud drive on your computer with some free space):
https://www.dropbox.com/

Truecrypt (serious encryption, free, open source, multi platform)
http://www.truecrypt.org/

Cygwin (provide linux utilities on windows)
http://www.cygwin.com/
This can be useful because it includes the "rsync" utility which can be employed as a backup tool.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rsync

Good luck,

-john

I use Windows with Skydrive backup, same concept as Time Machine. Great for gigabytes, but as you've found all these solutions aren't tailored to terabytes yet.

If you're looking for a grab and go solution for 2 TB of data I'd recommend running a Network Attached Storage (NAS) device with ejectable drives, those scale up to 3-8 TB right now. I have one of those running now for video and archival purposes, 3 TB capacity (actually about 2.2 TB I think) in a RAID configuration: if I had 5 minutes to 1 hour to evacuate my home I could eject the drives and conceivably carry the data with me, if I wanted it. Frankly its not in my plans, like others I have my vital stuff in the cloud and am happy to kiss goodbye the copies of TV and film which make up most of the terabytes I have. Its just stuff, and I'm pretty sure I could find copies of Duck Dynasty if my NAS device were to disappear.

EDIT: Some other posters have touched on data security, I use Win7 with Bitlocker drive encryption on my work devices (desktops, laptop, Windows Phone) admin'd by my employer and run my own Bitlocker on personal PCs - why let the scum that steals your PC have access to all your data. Encrypting your cloud backup can work, mebbe - for me a better solution is to scan and put my most important docs on redundant thumb drives and put them in my safe deposit box. Twox4 GB thumb drives cost about $40 for what I consider to be the more reliable types (Lexar, Kingston), and my important docs don't change often.

Since I am "remote computer support" for my parents and several others, I am allowed some of their disk space to store my important stuff. Most of these folks I support are elderly, and have tons and tons of unused disk space that they will never have any use for. So I have remote copies of my stuff (encrypted, of course) on their computers in different states. Just like "cloud storage", but it's free. This is easy since I use Linux and the people I support do also. It may not be as trivial to accomplish using Windows, or might require some programming effort. Cloud storage is easier for non-programmer types, but you end up paying for it. And I would worry about the cloud company you're paying going out of business at just the wrong time...

Oh, also, consider keeping the most critical information like account numbers, account username/passwords with you, encrypted at all times.

I use a package called eWallet.
http://www.iliumsoft.com/ewallet

There is a Windows client, as well as an Apple IOS and Android client.

The Windows client keeps a copy of the data encrypted on your PC. The mobile clients keep it encrypted on your phone/tablet.

But the best part is they can sync wirelessly. This way you can use the Windows client when you are on your PC or the mobile client when you are away but keep them in sync easily.

Note, eWallet can now also sync to the cloud, but I choose not to do that since it provides an extra security risk that I don't feel is necessary for this type of information and doesn't really provide me with any significant benefit.

-john

As Haertig noted, Linux is a different story. I assumed you meant Windows, but each OS is a bit different.

Linux is really nice in several ways:

1) Your personal data stays in your home directory. Windows spreads stuff around making it necessary to back up a lot of locations where with Linux typically you just back up your home directory.

2) Recent versions of Linux allow automatic encryption of your home directory which fits very well with #1. I like Xubuntu using the "alternate" installer which gives you the options to select the home directory encryption at install time.

http://xubuntu.org/getxubuntu/

3) Utilities like "rsync" and "sshfs" built in.

4) Plays well with Truecrypt.

-john

A Wireless NAS 2.5 inch enclosure and the biggest 2.5 SSD available might be the solution. Unfortunately 2TB of SSD (flash drive) is very expensive. But then again who needs 2TB off line data storage. SSD has a high MTBF and is lighter, more robust (no moving parts) and faster than conventional drives.

Startech Wireless 2.5 NAS enclosure

Would 0.5T be sufficient;

http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-2-5-Inch-S...mp;keywords=ssd

Cloud based data storage is pretty risky as this depends on viable networked hi speed communications as well (provided by an ISP, mobile service provider etc). During an wide area emergency this might not be available.

The Startech Wireless NAS also only requires 5V 2A so is also relatively low powered. The ability to set up the device as a Wireless LAN Router is quite handy as well.

Thanks for advice.
House fire and burglary are the highest risk items on my list. I like the idea having back-up with friends and other family members who live separate from me. However, is it possible to back up 1-2 TB of data remotely and inexpensively so that the remote storage got updated automatically without my involvement?

I am doing that right now, and like I said it costs $60/yr.

Yes.

Not given my definition of "inexpensive".

Yes.

One possible downside of a NAS device is that if you pop the drives from it in an emergency, you have to find the same hardware elsewhere to read the drives. The same is true for most RAID cards.

On the upside, running an Ethernet to a detached building and securing and possibly hiding it can give you cheap and relative easy protection against fire (and possibly, theft). Although you still want to encrypt in case the device is stolen.

The most typical way to back up with family members/friends, is to get a "business" Internet service with a fixed IP address. This allows a "fixed" location to connect to and terms of service compatible with doing this kind of thing. This typically increases the cost of the Internet access. Around here, I think business Internet typically starts at around $100/mo.

This enables an automated solution, however it will also require some technical capabilities to set up a service that can take advantage of it.

The most common solution with reasonable security would be to get a router that had a firewall with VPN to place at the friend's house. The VPN allows you to make a secure remote network connection so that you appear *inside* of that firewall provided on that device. This can basically extend access from your local network to the network at your friend's house.

Then, you can simply drop a NAS on their network and remotely access it from yours.

Don't forget, you still need a software solution (backup program) to send your files to that NAS.

Note you only need the business Internet w/fixed IP + VPN capable firewall + NAS at the site you want to use to provide a backup "service". Of course, the optimal thing would to set it up on both ends so you can provide a reciprocal value to everyone involved.

-john

It would probably be useful to note what specific service you are using and why you choose that specific one.

-john

I just signed up for Amazon Glacier. .01 cent per GB Storage costs.. backup to the cloud. They have free apps you can put on your server so that data can be backed up regularly to it.

I'll be backing up my family photo's/videos and music collection to it. That's about 300GB's of data Cost? About $3 per month.

The only downfall? 2 - 3 (hours?) to get a recovery. But if you have a Bunch of data that you need protected, and don't want to pay a bunch of money, and you don't need "instant" recovery, this solution is golden IMHO.

Nope!

Remote backup over multiple/single ISPs networks would be very expensive and might not even happed as the ISP will throttle your connection speed to make it impossible when uploading/downloading continuously. Most ISPs will restrict your upload and download use and or speed due to terms of service contracts. In the UK the business broadband service has a very generous 100-150 Gbyte/month FUP (Fair Usage Policy) even with their 80Mbit/s fiber or 20Mbit/s ADSL connection @ $45/month. To back up 2TB remotely would probably take you about 18 months to complete and cost about $1500.

If Business Broadband in the USA starts @ $100/month then you may be looking at $3000 to perform a single 2Tb Backup.

One of the cheapest and quickest ways to send large data files is to get a number of 32Gbyte MicroSD cards and duct tape them to a postcard and then to post it..

As you noted, your two biggest concerns are fire and theft. Off-site storage has already been addressed and is probably your most secure option, but it has limited space and speed. For a 2TB capacity, you may want to look at business packages instead of home computer packages.

For onsite storage, you will need a media and burglary rated safe ($$$). A second option is a media rated only box (i.e. Fireking Mediavault) and rely on file encryption and hiding it to deal with the theft issue.

A combination of both are going to be the safest. And remember, encrypt everthing that could be stolen or hacked.

If your electricity ring main powering the gateway router has a spur that goes to an out building, garage, shed etc, you could always use a pair of Ethernet over power adapters. The NAS could then be secured in a remote location without the need to run unsecured Ethernet cabling from the gateway router to the remote location.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Netgear-200Mbps-...0472&sr=8-9

Hmmm ..., "1 to 2 terabytes", let's call it 1.5 terabyes and do some math. You'd need about 50 of those 32Gb memory cards. The cheap and slow ones run about $20 each here in the US. So we're already at $1000 for the memory cards.

I guess it would work if you were OK with doing it sequentially in small chunks, one memory card at a time. Assuming a 4 day turnaround to mail the card and then have it mailed back, we're talking about 200 days to complete the task.

I think I would just buy one big hard drive myself, load it up with the complete 1-2 terabyte backup, and then ship it. You can buy a 1.5 terabyte oem drive for much less than $100 these days. Then maybe $7 to mail it and another $2 to buy good quality packing materials to assure it gets to its destination in tip-top shape. Add another $1 for insurance so the post office would replace the hard drive if they lost or broke it.

That is certainly is the quickest way to send 1.5 Tb of data.

A pair of these would make the job easier.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/NIKINGSTORE-SATA...2552&sr=8-5

The microSD Duct tape comment was really to compare something that sounded pretty silly compared to transferring 1-2TB of data using a pair of commercial ISP Internet connections/VPN tunnel etc despite the advantages of secure Network to Network communications

I've been using Carbonite for a number of years. It works very well, it's low-impact on my PC, support is very good. I've used it in a full-on recovery-from-disaster scenario and it was flawless. Security is as good as your password. No affiliation.

Mozy costs the same, haven't tried it but people say good things about it.

If most of the data is static, this actually works fine. The data gets backed up for the first time over a period of hours to over a week, depending upon your upload speed, and then changes are synced regularly. I'm backing up just over a TB this way. Before I got the extremely-fast Internet connection I have now, I did this over ADSL and it just took a bit longer to get started.

I have ran into the same issue. Backups can be done, its the restoration that is the problem. If you are forced out of your home and stuck with a limited internet connection then you may never get a timely restore.

2 Tb?! All of my important docs fit on a 2 Gb flashcard.

Photographs? A friend of mine has never deleted a single image from his camera's SD cards. When it's full he's just buying a new one and storing the old one in the portable safe. So 50 of 32Gb cards is not that unrealistic in a long run for him.

Personally, I think that the photographic memorabilia's importance is overrated. I'm keeping about a gigabyte of really good family images, which I might want to print out some day, on another 8Gb flash card. The rest goes randomly to the free cloud storage (i.e. google drive, dropbox, spideroak), and to the social networks albums, blogs, wiki's, e.t.c.

You need kids I'm just over 100G in pictures and my oldest is 6.

Must be your first kid. Quantity goes down with subsequnt kids.

Just like a diary. For the first kid you document every burp, fart, and activity. The second kid? Well, his diary is more like, "Bob was born, and then went to college. The end."

By the time #3 rolls around - "Say, did I hear a baby crying the other day? Nice job, honey"

+1 on the cloud storage. Encrypt your sensitive documents and put them on USB key as well for instant access. Chances are you won't need your mp3 collection or pictures from 2004 on short notice during an emergency.

By the time you add up the cost of NAS, Drives, setup time, checking on it time, upgrading it time, etc. then the cloud is cheaper (assuming your time is worth something). Also having access anywhere, anytime from any device is worth a lot! When you're in the hospital after you've been mugged, have lost your wallet and 75-item keychain and are asked for your insurance info you can answer "Sure, can I use your computer or smartphone?"

Try that if you're one of the folks checking into a hospital right now up there in the northeast, in the electricity void following storm Sandy.

Luckily, hospitals are required to treat your true emergency conditions with or without insurance. That all gets sorted out later.

I can't imagine any hospital allowing you to insert a thumbdrive into one of their computers. If they do, and it actually works, their I.T. department is a bunch of idiots. They may even block you from accessing cloud storage, but I don't know about that. At least using one of their in-hospital computers all this should be blocked, and they should not even allow you to touch one of their in-house computers. They may have DMZ computers, off their LAN, that they will allow you to use. But with the advent of smartphones and the ability to access the internet via 3G/4G, the need for a dedicated computer is diminishing for some things. For things like insurance numbers, why not encrypt them right there on your smartphone? Adding cloud storage into the picture just makes you dependant on another layer of technology maintained by a third party out of your control.

I use a paranoid approach:

1. Main storage is a server using a RAID array.
2. I use robocopy to copy data to a workstation with a larger hard drive using a scheduled task. Here is a link if you are interested in the free tool from Microsoft: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=17657. Way better than xcopy.
3. I use cloud-based backup service
4. I use robocopy to copy data to an external hard drive using a scheduled task. The external hard drive is located on a shelf positioned right by the most likely fire egress door. I call this my 'run for your life' backup.

I also make it a habit to clone and replace hard drives every three years in my server. I just recently started moving my workstations to solid state hard drives.

IMO, for backing up it's best to have multiple strategies rather than relying on one strategy.

One is none, two is one...

Funny....and true.
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I can't imagine any hospital allowing you to insert a thumbdrive into one of their computers. If they do, and it actually works, their I.T. department is a bunch of idiots.

Yup,get ya fired on the spot.

At a minimum get on-board with a free backup system -- don't loose your files.

The replies here are excellent (as usual!) but they are mostly tactics, not strategy. Establish a strategy first, then select tactics to achieve that strategy. Nailing down the right strategy helps you 1) discover threats you didn't think of and 2) avoid wasting resources on poor tactics. It takes a little more up-front effort but the payoff is worth it.

A good example of a valid strategy (followed by tactics) is Listening to Katrina. Use it as a starting place, not gospel, then decide on YOUR strategy and follow up with appropriate tactics.

I agree you should have the numbers on your phone and in your wallet - this is much quicker than looking them up online. But I like Google Docs, DropBox, etc. for keeping a backup copy in the event you are without wallet/phone. Most hospitals have Guest WiFi and I can't imagine I couldn't find someone in the room to lend me their phone/laptop for 5 mins to look it up.

While I agree with your InfoSec standards my IT consulting time says most businesses are overwhelmingly wide open (including many major hospitals). :-(

For a strategy start by risk ranking your information, i.e. decide what is most valuable to you.
I have an Accounts folder that gets backed up, it has my spreadsheet where I list each bill and when I paid it on a 12 month grid as well as a budget based on those, then subfolders with statements and documents from each.
Then a personal folder for each person which has their medical records, school records, individual accounts, etc.
Then the pictures, music, etc like most people have. Then an Archive folder, if you change jobs, or close an account then those subfolders move under Archive.
So priority 1 is the accounts and personal, then priority 2 is the pictures, music, archive. Then priority three are things I could recreate such as Reference which are documents downloaded from the internet or the virtual machines I test things on or the general Downloads folder.
Priority 1 stuff gets copied to a pair of drives in USB enclosures,one online on the server the other in the safe, going to add the third back in shortly for the offsite. Those Priority 1 folders also get burned to a DVD and stored with the paper version of them in the important documents binder in the safe as well as offsite. I actually have a bluray burner but since I don't have another bluray reader at my home or my parents home yet I still burn on dvd's.
Another strategy is to ensure data is in as open format as possible, no issues accessing data due to a program not activating or new versions not supporting the old file format after an upgrade. So my spreadsheets are done in OpenDocumet format for example.
My electronic copies are organized the same way as the paper so I could easily make a copy of the whole important documents binder by opening the master document and printing it. Originals are color scanned and linked into the master and the paper version is organized similar with one section for the shared things and one section for each person.
Then I always have more than one laptop, if we buy ourselves a new one the old one becomes the file/backup server. Should we loose one laptop the old is kept up to date so we could just use it to access the backup copy of our data.