Create bulletproof backups in the cloud
YOU’LL NEED THIS
DUPLICATI
(www.duplicati.com) Suitable online storage. Duplicati supports most popular services as well as WebDAV, FTP, and SSH, and can store backups locally too.
THE FIRST RULE OF BACKUPS is that you can’t have too many backups. Better to have redundant copies of your data than a single copy that fails when you need it. Hopefully, you’ve already accumulated two separate backup devices, say a USB drive and network-attached storage, with backups alternating between them. You now need a third backup, stored offsite in case of fire, damage, or theft. The obvious choice is the online storage offered by Microsoft, Dropbox, or Google. But does your backup tool support cloud-based backups, and can you even trust your cloud provider—who controls the encryption keys that could unlock your data without consent?
Remove this worry by wrapping your backups in another layer of encryption, one whose keys remain in your possession, out of reach of others. The tool for the job is Duplicati—it’s optimized for cloud backups, straightforward to use, and completely free.
–NICK PEERS
A
1DOWNLOAD AND INSTALL
Duplicati supports all major platforms—you’ll find links for Windows, macOS, Linux (.deb and .rpm packages), and Synology NAS. Synology users can install the package directly, but other platforms require additional packages—Mono in the case of macOS and Linux, and both .NET Framework 4.6.2 and Visual C++ run-time components for Windows.
» Windows users can open Settings > System > Windows Update and view the Update history to verify if the .NET Framework is in place (look for updates related to .NET Framework 4.8.1), then navigate to Apps > Installed Apps and search for ‘Visual C++’ to see if a reference to Visual C++ 2015 (version 14.x) is present. If it is present, then you’re good to go, but if not, visit (https://duplicati.readthedocs.io/en/latest/02- installation/) for installation instructions for all platforms.
» Once both are present, head to (www.duplicati.com/download) and choose the latest Windows build (2.0.6.3 at the time of writing). Once downloaded, double-click the installer and follow the prompts. Stick to the recommended defaults— leave ‘Launch Duplicati at startup’ enabled [Image A] and ensure ‘Launch Duplicati now’ is ticked before clicking Finish.
2FIRST-RUN WIZARD
After a short pause, your web browser will open with a ‘first run setup’ wizard. First, you will be asked if you share your PC with others—if you are concerned about security, regardless of the state of your machine, click Yes to switch to ‘Settings > Access to user interface’. Tick ‘Password’ to set a strong password (we recommend using your password’s passphrase generator to create a lengthy, but memorable passphrase) [Image B].