Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Difference Between Onsite and Offsite Storage

By: Gail Dixon

Onsite storage simply means storing your critical data periodically or progressively over local storage media such as hard disks, DVDs or CDs. Offsite storage, on the other hand, stores data onto a remote server typically connected through the internet. Although both methods are commonly used in the industry yet there are some vital differences between the two that can help you determine which one to use under which circumstances.

DVD backup is an onsite backup term used to describe the process of backing up the data from a hard disk onto a DVD. The DVD backup is better as compared to CD backups. CDs can hold only 750 MB of data while atypical DVD can hold 4.7 GB of data. DVDs having a capacity of 8 GB are also available in the market. When buying DVDs for your DVD backup system, it is important to check the compatibility of the system where these DVDs will be used. If your DVDs are incompatible with the underlying system, you may not be able to backup or restore data with ease.

Blu-Ray DVDs are a latest addition to the DVD backup system. A single Blu-Ray DVD can hold up to 27 GB of data onto a single disk. Blu-Ray DVDs have eased the data backup processes but recovering 27 GB of data from a single disk can be really daunting especially in the absence of software to facilitate the process. However, unlike CDs, DVDs are faster and provide multiple recording sessions on the single disk. DVD backup has certain disadvantages. If you place your backup DVDs on-site with the source computers, you will not be able to save any of them in the event of a natural disaster. With an increase in the data, DVDs get piled up and become difficult to manage.


One of the major differences is of cost. Onsite data backup may cost in terms of software license and fees but on an ongoing basis, the overall cost is substantially reduced as only the storage media is to be purchased. Offsite data backup involves a 3rd party server and bandwidth costs. If your company’s data is huge, the remote storage and bandwidth costs actually cost a lot which can make you think twice before selecting a remote backup.


The performance of an onsite storage and recovery is much faster as compared to offsite backup system. When you share backup your data using a disk drive, CDS or DVDs you actually are doing it much faster as compared to storing it offsite. The same is with the recovery process which again involves internet and special remote client software. There is a considerable network delay as well in the case of offsite back up which is not an issue with the onsite data backup and recovery.


As a general rule, the backup data and the original source should not be at the same physical location. If you use CDs, DVDs or had disks to store your data, you should store them at another location. This is not a problem with the offsite data backups because they are already stored offsite and often replicated to ensure maximum data security. The data in a remote storage is encrypted too. It hampers performance but it is more secure as compared to onsite data storage and backup.

There are many companies in the UK that can provide professional backup solutions to companies and organisations in the UK. You have to perform an exhaustive search to look for any such company but alternatively, you can contact Quote Bean to locate any such companies and get free quotes. Visit this link for further information about remote backup, elated articles and more.

Spybot Search & Destroy Review

By: Mike Rothwell

As you or anyone that has ever owned a computer knows, keeping out the spyware and other harmful viruses that can destroy your computer is a daunting task. There is a constant bombardment of destructive forces that can significantly slow or in some instances crash your computers hard drive completely. In order to combat these damaging invaders you will need to find a program that can help you to seek out and destroy all of these vicious attackers before they can damage your computer. Spybot Search and Destroy is just such a program.

One of the best features of Spybot is how effortless it is to find and install on your computer. There is no need to drive around town to find which software supplier has it in stock. Spybot is an easy to find download that is available instantly. Simply search Spybot on any search engine and you will find the links to the download for your operating system. Simply click on the link for your OS and follow the onscreen instructions to download the program. As soon as the download is complete, you can launch the program to search out all of the harmful tracking cookies and spyware and remove them from your system.

Accessing the internet on your computer, while fun and very convenient, it opens the door to all sorts of threats that can potentially damage your computer. The best case scenario with these security threats is a notable slow down of your computer. WebPages may take longer to load. You may find yourself getting errors that you never got before. The worst case is your computer crashes completely and you lose every document, file and photo that you ever saved on your computer, but did not back up before the damage had been done.

Threats to your computer can range from things like marketing spyware and tracking cookies. Some sites that you visit will actually imbed a spy into your computer in order for them to track the sites that you visit. If you ever wondered why the day after you search out insurance for your car online your e-mail inbox is flooded with advertisements for insurance companies, you have fallen victim to a tracking cookie. If you ever opened and e-mail and you computer never ran the same way again, or possibly never worked again, then you have more than likely picked up a virus. Either way the sizable investment that you have made in your computer is in jeopardy from these ever present risks.

In addition to offering a way to search and destroy these damaging entities, Spybot has a unique function known as immunizing your computer. Enabling this function protects your computer from being invaded by these cookies and spyware in the first place. Instead of having to search for damaging things that have made their way into your computer, Spybot Search and Destroy will prevent harmful viruses and spyware from coming in. Like an immunization prevents a virus in people, the Spybot immunization feature protects your computer against viruses that can hurt them.

If you were to do the research on any of the products available on the market that are supposed to provide the same types of protection you will find that Spybot leads the pack in customer satisfaction. The reviews of the Spybot program by both computer publications and consumers have shown that Spybot Search and Destroy is an affordable and effective way to protect your computer. From its effectiveness at locating the harmful files that have already invaded your hard drive to the features that keep them from invading to begin with, Spybot Search and Destroy as created a reputation based on customer satisfaction.

A computer is a very expensive investment that is a necessity for most people in today's society. Whether you or your kids are in school, you work from home or it is simply to keep in touch with friends and family, there is at least one computer in almost every home in the country. Protecting this investment is crucial and Spybot Search and Destroy software is the simplest way to ensure that your investment is protected from destructive forces that could slow its function or even totally obliterate your hard drive. With its proven ability to clean out existing viruses and spyware and the immunize feature that protects you before they get into your computer, Spybot Search and Destroy is a great way to ensure that your computer continues functioning at an optimum level.

Best Spyware Blocking Software Online

By: Mike Rothwell

The major threats to your computers security include viruses, adware and spyware. These are scripts or programs written to infect your computer and they often spread from one computer to another.

Spyware is designed to covertly infect a computer for the purpose of "spying" or obtaining personal information from that computer or from other computers on the same network. When used effectively the computer user is unaware of the spyware's presence. The user continues to use the computer in a normal matter as the software collects information and sends it to the party, generally known as hackers, who are spreading the spyware. In some cases, the spyware may send the collected information to some other third party. Spyware blockers are software programs designed to protect your computer from spyware.

Anti Spyware software usually detect spyware before it reaches a user's computer. Generally they will detect websites that are known to infect computers with malicious software. The spyware blocker software regularly updates itself from the software provider's website so that it is familiar with the latest types of malware threats.

If your anti spyware software detects a threatening program trying to install itself on the protected computer, it directly blocks the installation. If spyware is already installed on the protected computer, the spyware blocker will remove or quarantine the malicious software.

Because hackers are continuously creating new spyware threats designed to beat the latest blocking software, there is a constant need to keep protection software updated. Companies that provide spyware blockers constantly monitor internet traffic in search of new threats. When a new spyware program is detected, the spyware blocker developer team must quickly assess the threat and develop a protective solution. This solution is then placed on the provider's website for downloading during automatic updates by the spyware blockers installed on remote computers.

In order to keep your personal computer safe at all times, spyware blockers usually provide realtime protection against threats on your network. Spyware is different than viruses or worms in that the software is usually not spread from one computer to another. Instead the users are generally tricked into installing programs that they think are harmless, or that are deceptively bundled with other reliable software. Some spyware software will use phishing techniques pretending to be another well-known program, or at times they will even take on the guise of free security systems.

One common trick used by spyware designers is to create a program that pretends to check your computer for updates, speed, security, or some other problem, and then asks you to download free software to fix that problem. The spyware may even claim to have detected other spyware programs on your computer, after which it requests that you download a security solution that is in reality a spyware program.

Because of the constant presence of threats, and the great difficulty of the average user in detecting all these threats, real time protection is necessary to make sure none of your personal information, or other confidential information, is compromised. With real time spyware blockers, your computer is constantly monitored for possible threats. If you attempt to download malware, for example, the real time monitor will instantly act to block the installation and warn you by identifying the malicious program.

Malware Blocking and Removal Software

By: Mike Rothwell

Spyware is malicious software that is installed on a computer without the users even knowing about it. These programs are designed to spy on the computer's activity. The presence of these programs is usually hidden from the users, and they save all of the information that the computer processes so a third party can review the data at a later time. Although some businesses employers and schools use these spyware programs to monitor their users, the majority of spyware programs secretly work their way into the computers' memory banks through unscrupulous ways, such as viruses and hacked programs disguised as videos or games. Spyware is 99% of the time produced for malicious prepossess, and it can cause the computer to randomly stop responding and run much slower than normal. Sometimes spyware programs even changes the computer's default settings and causes the appearance of unwanted pop-up windows.

Because more people now spend a lot more time online, Spyware has become a major head ache with, and many software designers have designed spyware-blocking software to fight back against these unscrupulous programs. Spyware blocking software works by deleting the spyware and preventing it from collecting the information it seeks. People wonder how to know if a computer is infected with spyware. Usually, the only fool proof way to know if a system has been exposed to spyware is to run spyware blockers that scan the operating system for these parasitical spyware programs.

Spyware blockers have become a small industry of software development in response to the emergence of spyware. Because most users leave their computers connected to the internet at all hours, spyware has become quite prevalent on today's computers, and it sneaks its way onto computers through online downloads and shady websites that offer free programs to the computer then it enters the site. The only way to prevent these horrible programs from entering the system is to run spyware blocking software on all computers that access the internet. Running these spyware blocking programs has become the industry's standard security practice for protecting computers, especially those running Microsoft Windows.

The problem has actually become so serious that the race to design the newest spyware and anti-spyware has become sort of a war. Because there are so many new anti-spyware programs, hackers and under-ground software designers are constantly trying to design a new, undiscovered spyware that will slip through the anti-spyware detection. Because the online "landscape" is constantly evolving, new spyware programs, which are essentially unwanted viruses, continue to pop up on computers across the world. The anti-spyware industry routinely seeks out the newest spyware programs and then designs programs that recognize and block the new spyware. The best way to ensure that a computer is protected is to install regular updates from anti-spyware manufacturers to keep the system protected from the latest online threats. Many of these spyware programs do more than just monitor activity, they compile loads of personal information and surfing habits which are illegally used to steal identities.

Many of the newest antispyware programs have evolved into real-time protection programs that constantly monitor your computer against any new threats from programs that do not have the authority to be in your system. These real-time protection programs keep your computer safe by actively preventing any unwanted programs from being installed on your computer, and they continuously monitor the computer's system to make sure no new threats have arrived.