Q: Do we really need to backup our data?

A. Well, think about this: If you lost a very important file, would you be able to create it again from scratch? How long would that take? What would happen to your business in the meantime?
Every day, businesses lose vital information to hard drive failure, viruses, and accidental deletions. Not to mention the possibilities of theft, natural disasters, or just losing a laptop at the airport or in a cab. Automatic, online, offsite backup means you can always get your files back quickly, regardless of what happens to the machine they’re stored on.

Q: What are the advantages of online backup?

A. Backup has come a long way from the days when you had to do it all yourself. There are six big reasons why online backup is better.

1. MBS backups happen automatically. When you need to recover data (and you never know when that will be), you’ll have everything you selected to backup.
2. You don’t have to store anything offsite, or worry about losing your backup files to the same disaster that destroys the originals. MBS Online Backup provides disaster recovery.
3. Backing up to removable devices – tapes, hard drives, CDs, DVDs – runs the risk of the backups failing. Not an issue with MBS Online Backup.
4. MBS Online Backup scales up to fit your needs. You need more space? Easy.
5. Recovery is a lot easier with MBS Online Backup.
6. No hardware investment. MBS Online Backup requires just a computer and an Internet connection.

Q: Is there a difference between online backup and remote backup?

A. No, these two terms are used interchangeably. Of course, there’s a difference between online backup services. We recommend MBS Online Backup. See below.

Q: Why should I use MBS Online Backup?

A. While we could fill up the whole site with reasons, there are fundamentally three reasons why you should choose our solution.

1. MBS makes the benefits and features of backup systems used by Fortune 500 companies accessible to organizations of any size. Our intuitive file recovery means you can get back a lost file immediately after you realize it’s gone. MBS Online Backup is secure, reliable, automatic, offsite, encrypted online backup just like the titans of industry use.
2. We are all about customer service. You phone us, we pick up the phone. This helps us to both answer your questions, and to better understand your needs so we can make MBS Online Backup even better, which is why we’re here in the first place.
3. We’re the one designed for and dedicated to business users. So if you have a specific concern or problem or need, we hear where you’re coming from. Because that’s our neighborhood too.

Q: How does MBS Online Backup work?

A. What separates us from all the other’s is that we just don’t tell you to download our software and wish good luck, our technicians remotely install our software, select the files you want to protect, and set the automatic schedule to backup when (what days and times) you want to back them up. From then on, backups occur automatically.
When a backup begins, the MBS software searches all the folders and files in your backup sets. All new files and all the files that changed since the last backup are compressed, encrypted, and sent to the secure MBS Data Centers. You can restore files at any time by opening the software and selecting which ones you need. If you ever suffer a system failure, you have the option of reinstalling the software and then restoring all your files.

Q: How many different versions of the same file can I store?

A. As many as you want. By default, MBS Online Backup is set up to save 10 versions.

Q: How do I know if my backups are working?

A. You will receive an email notification that’s sent automatically after every successful backup. In addition, the MBS Online Backup software keeps a log of every file that was backed up, and you can view or search this log at any time. Also, as an added service, the MBS technicians monitor your backups 24/7/365 to make sure they occur  when they’re supposed to.

Q: Can my data get a virus while it is backed up and stored on MBS servers?

A. No. Viruses cannot spread to files that are backed up and stored on the MBS servers. If one of your files gets a virus at your workplace and that file is then backed up, the virus will be contained to that one file.

Q: What are the minimum hardware requirements for the MBS Online Backup service?

A. The minimum hardware requirements are a 200 MHz Intel Pentium Pro computer (or equivalent), 64 MB of RAM, and 100 MB free disk space.

Q: What are the recommended hardware requirements for the MBS Online Backup service?

A. The recommended hardware requirements are a 400 MHz Intel Pentium II computer (or equivalent), 128 MB of RAM, and 300 MB free disk space.

Q: Will MBS Online Backup work with a dial-up Internet connection?

A. Yes. MBS Online Backup will work with a dial-up Internet connection, although you probably realize that backups will be slower than with a broadband connection.

Q: What operating systems work with MBS Online Backup?

A. MBS Online Backup will work on the following operating systems: Windows 98, ME, NT 4.0 Pro/Server, 2000 Pro, 2000 Server, 2008 Server, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server and 2003 Small Business Server, Vista and Vista Pro.

Q: Will MBS Online Backup work on a Mac or Linux based computer?

A. Unfortunately, not yet. MBS Online Backup is currently not designed to work on a Mac or Linux based computer. We are planning to add Mac and Linux support in the coming months.
You can, however, backup files that are contained on a Mac or a computer running Linux if the hard drives on those computers are mapped to a Windows-based server.

Q: Is the amount of storage space that I use calculated on a compressed or uncompressed basis?

A. Storage space is calculated on a compressed basis. In other words, the storage space you are using is calculated on the minimized amount of data that is actually sent and stored on the MBS servers. Thanks to data compression, and depending on the types of files that you backup, you may actually receive two or three times as much storage space than you pay for.

Q: Will MBS Online Backup work if I have a firewall?

A. Yes. If you have a physical firewall (a hardware device), you shouldn’t have to make any changes to your firewall configurations for MBS Online Backup to work properly.

Q: Can I also backup to a local drive at the same time?

A. Yes. With the MBS Online Backup software you can make a local copy and an offsite copy at the same time. This can speed up the restore time should you need to restore all your backed up data.