GBData remote backup servers send you an email progress report at the completion of each remote backup. This lets you know that your online backup was completed.

If our online backup software experiences any problem with the backup, the log files attached to the progress report email will identify the files that have not been archived or other trouble found.

Absolutely, Yes, this is one of the major benefits of using our service, as you can protect as many computers as you wish, and pay only for the total storage used.

If you occasionally forget to leave your computer on, this is not a problem. The GBData software will simply resume your backup schedule when you power back up your system.

Files that have changed since your last backup will be identified and properly archived when it is time for the next scheduled backup.

If a transmission is interrupted in the middle of a backup, the GBData online backup software client will attempt to re-establish a connection and resume the backup from where it was interrupted. It will continue to do this several times, during which your internet connect connection will normally re-establish itself.

For the ultimate protection, you can also plug in an inexpensive external hard drive, so that your files are backed up locally, as well as off site.

Unfortunately, encryption keys cannot be recovered. Unlike some companies that offer to be able to recover your password, we also call this a security leak or back door. GBData does not have such a weakness, you can rest in the knowledge that your data is encrypted ans unreadable to anyone but you. However this does mean that if you loose your password, your data will really be completely unreadable and unrecoverable.

GBData remote backup recommends keeping a record of your encryption key offsite in a safe location.

Very. You — and you alone — have access to your data files because GBData online backup software encrypts your data prior to transmission to our offsite backup storage vault. Military-grade encryption technology and a user-defined password (encryption key) ensure that nobody, including employees of GBData, can access your data. Compare this to the total lack of security on most tape, zip and CD/DVD drives.

Connection
To establish the secure online backup internet connection GBData remote backup software uses a SSL connection (Secure Socket Layer). This protocol is similar to the one that banks use for online banking. Despite the fact that your data is transmitted via the internet it is impossible for people to intercept and read the content.

* Point-to-point SSL communication between server and client.
* Supports HTTP/HTTPS Proxy and Socks v4/v5 firewall.
* The data is 128-bit encrypted and stored.
* Choice of different encryption algorithms, e.g. TwoFish, Triple DES, Advanced Encryption Standard (AES).
* Choice of different encryption modes, e.g. Electronic Cook Book (ECB) en Cipher Block Chaining (CBC).
* A random initialisation vector and iteration counter are generated automatically during encryption.
* Each backup user can restrict online access to his files to a pre-defined list of IP addresses.

Encryption key
When the online backup software is first installed, an encryption key is generated, that is used to encrypt all of your data. If you lose your encryption key your backup will be lost forever! The content of your online backup is absolutely unreadable to GBData remote backup staff despite the fact that we have access to the encrypted files stored at our online storage facilities. (Always keep your encryption key in a save place!)

Encrypting key are well protected The key which is used to encrypt your your business data is held only on your computer and is only ever known only to you and authorized members of staff. For obvious security reasons it is never transmitted anywhere across your network or the internet, therefore, even GBData online backup system administrators and support staff will not be able to decrypt and view the content of your files stored on the backup server without your permission. Please bear in mind, this means if the encrypting key is lost, you will never be able to recover your backup files.

Always use the Best encryption algorithm Available
Currently, the algorithm that we are using to encrypt your files is 256-bit. As already mentioned, this technology is currently being used by national banks and the military. It is a block cipher designed by Counterpane Labs. It was also one of the five Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) finalists chosen by National Institute of Standard and Technology (NIST). It subjects to frequent public reviews but no known attack against this algorithm has been reported.

Require 8.77 x 1017 years to crack the 128-bit encryption
A 128-bit key size has 2128 or around 3.4 x 1038 possible combination. Even if you have the world best super computer, ASCI White, SP Power3 375 MHz manufactured by IBM as of November 2000, it would take 8.77 x 1017years to test all combinations. Assuming your have the super computer, ASCI White, SP Power3 375 MHz has 8192 processors which totals a capability of 12.3 teraflops (trillions of operations/second), available to you. Also it just needs one computer operation to test a possible combination (which is already faster than what it can do). To use brute force attack (checking all combinations) on this encryption algorithm. It would take 876,530,835,323,573,935 years or 8.77 x 1017 years to successfully try all combinations. Let alone ASCI White cannot process as fast as what described here. You can be sure that your data stored on our server is 100% secured.

Online backup Account Access
Restrict access to data by IP addresses You can also restrict access to your backup files from the set of IP addresses you defined. If someone tries to access your data from an IP address not on your defined list, their access will be denied. This additional security ensures backup files are not open to all location, even if the username and password are known.

GBData Remote Backup Storage Facility
The Remote Backup servers are owned and managed by ourselves. They are protected from both power surges and outages, and can run indefinably without an external supply. All client data is duplicated to a second server on a continuous basis, and this second server is configured to be able to replace the first should the primary server fail.
The site employees access control with off site monitoring, and fire detection. Only authorised GBData online backup employees have access to the data, though data remains un-readable to everyone but the client with the encryption key.

Our GBData online backup service can be installed on as many PC’s as you want, and run from anywhere in the World, all that is needed is a good internet connection.

So install the software on those laptops, create a new backup set, and away you go, safe in the knowledge that should the laptop get dropped (yep they often are!) or stolen or crash, the data is safe, even though the operator has not themselves performed any actions’!

The online backup software will even remind the laptop users every so often, so that if they are often used without an internet connection, they will get reminded to connect and run a backup.

Absolutely, Yes. There is no limit to the data transfers or the number of offsite backups you can make per day, when you use the GBData online backup service. Create multiple schedules for different PC’s on your network, so that your internet connection is not congested. Backup several times a day to protect more important files too.

In fact using our new Continuous Data Protection (CDP) the transfers happen all day long.

The easiest way to answer this is to download our GBData online backup software and trial the remote backup service for the next 30 days.

during this trial you will get emails each time a backup succeeds, including showing you how much storage you are using.

During the trial you are limited to a massive 80G, and after the trial, there are no limits!

Raid drives are a useful tool in loosing data, and indeed complete operating systems, however, there are plenty of situations that do not involve a hardware failure, that result in a data loss.

This could be a virus, and accidental deletion, or a malicious act from a disgruntled employee. What ever the reason, the hardware is still intact, but your precious data is gone. Enter online backup from GBData. Out software will backup your data either continuously, or at pre-determined times, to ensure that should a data loss occur, you are still protected.