Apple Backup Software

If you’re a Mac user, you know that even though Macs are pretty safe when it comes to virus, as only a few virus can infect a Mac computer, there are still several things that can go wrong and cause data loss. It’s nearly impossible to predict when a hard drive will fail or if some software conflict or misconfiguration can lead to a full operating system reinstall with potential data loss.

That’s why it’s always a good idea to keep an updated backup of your important files and settings, as some data just can’t be replaced. If you have photos of your last travel and they are lost… what will you do? Take the same travel again just to get your memories back? Even if it’s work information, replacing it might take countless hours and sleepless nights. Besides users’ files, there are lots of settings that would take you some time and a few calls to your providers in order to be fully restored.

That’s why it’s always good to have some backup software that will assist you through the boring and somewhat tedious process of creating backups. New releases of Mac OS X include an utility called Time Machine, which does the work pretty well, however there are dozens of products from independent vendors that can achieve the same results, or even better, provide specific results.

Let’s say that you want to keep aun updated backup of your settings but you don’t really care about user files since most of them can be easily replaced or because they are not really yours… to make it clear, let’s say that you own an Internet Cafe, where you lease computers to your customers and they download all kinds of files. You really don’t care if those files are lost, but you would still benefit from a settings backup, so if there’s a problem with one of your workstations all you have to do is a clean install of the operating system and a restore of your settings. In such case, a software that specializes in settings backup like iBackup will work better than Time Machine and will also take far less storage space, as it doesn’t keep backup copies of all your files, just your settings.

On another hand, if you need online remote backup, you could benefit from programs like Jungle Disk, which uses Amazon’s S3 service to store your files securely online. That way, if you need to do a restore, all you need is an Internet connection.

To sum it all, you shouldn’t stick to what’s placed before your eyes, you should look deeper and make sure that the backup software you’re using in your Mac does exactly what you need and doesn’t waste precious resources by backing up things that you don’t really care about.