WinDataReflector is a free backup and synchronization solution which lets the users create backup and sync jobs and execute them with a click when needed. You can also schedule automatic backup and synchronization tasks. WinDataReflector also supports two way synchronization which means that the source and destination will always be kept identical. All the changes to source will be propagated to the destination and vise versa.

Although WinDataReflector is very easy to use, one needs to keep a close eye on each step of the backup and synchronization because some steps can be confusing. I will try to guide you in a step by step way on how to use WinDataReflector. The steps below are for backing up a folder and then enabling automatic scheduling. The synchronization, two way sync and restore operations are pretty similar and will be very easy once you go through the following steps.

When you start WinDataReflector for the first time, you will notice that it uses tabbed windows in order to create each backup and sync job. There are four main buttons in the toolbar.

1. Synchronization – create a new synchronization job
2. Backup – create a new backup job
3. Schedule – Create and manage schedules of all created backup and sync jobs
4. Options – program preferences whether you want to start WinDataReflector with Windows Startup and show it in system tray.

Since we are interested in backing up a folder, we need to click on the Backup button. This will open up a new window where we have to input the name of the backup (only to be used in WinDataReflector) and the type of the backup (normal or compressed to a ZIP file). The type of the backup doesn’t seem to be functional but we can configure this later in backup settings. So just leave this to Normal and press the OK button.

You will see a new tab in the main WinDataReflector window. Notice that the title of the tab did not change to the task name.

Now we have two fields labeled L and R. L field will contain the path of the source folder which we want to backup and R field will contain the destination folder where the backup has to be saved. You can select multiple folders in either fields. This means that you will be able to create multiple backups in multiple destinations. Just make sure that you click on the Add button after browsing and selecting the source or destination folder.

After filling in the L and R fields, click on the pencil icon next to the R field which will open up settings for the backup job.

In the settings window, you can configure different settings specific to the backup task. Here you can check the checkbox “Compress to ZIP file” which will create a single destination file in ZIP format. You can also copy the NTFS permissions along with the files to be backed up.

If you click on the Time menu from the left hand pane, you will be able to configure whether you want to run this backup task manually or automate the process by scheduling the backup. Please note that WinDataReflector needs to be running in order for this automation process to work correctly. You will need to start WinDataReflector with Windows Startup under options.

Clicking on the Process button will make the backup task ready to be executed. After clicking on the Process button, you will need to click on the Backup button in order to actually run the backup job.

The synchronization and restore jobs are created very similar to the backup job with some changes in the settings window.

You can create as many backup and synchronization jobs as you like and then schedule them as per your needs. I have been using WinDataReflector and the only problem I have had was the frequent crashes of the software. Otherwise, it does a good job of seamless automation of backup and sync job and make our lives easier.

What are your thoughts about WinDataReflector? Which backup and sync software do you use for backing up your data?

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1. Decide whether to install from scratch or upgrade your existing version

In my past experience, upgrading an existing version of Ubuntu to the latest version always left a bad taste in the mouth. Downloads are slow, upgrade took forever and the completed product always break things here and there. This is worst if you are two or more versions behind as the transition from GTK 2.x (11.04 and below) to GTK 3.x (12.04) would undoubtedly break some of your applications and settings. However, I have read news that the upgrading process in Ubuntu Precise is much smoother and less things are breaking, so it might worth a try.

My advise is: if you are using a much older version of Ubuntu (11.04 and below), it is good to reformat your PC and install from scratch. This will rid your system of any old and useless files, applications and settings. On the other hand, if you are inexperienced with PC formatting, don’t wish to spend the extra time and effort to install from scratch and don’t mind things breaking (the breaking could be minimal if you are upgrading from 11.10), upgrading using the Upgrade Manager is your best bet.

2. Backup, backup and backup

No matter what, you should always backup your system. In case the upgrade fails and you have to re-install from scratch, you still can recover your files from the backup.

There are several things that you will need to backup:

Files and documents

Needless to say, you should always backup your important files and documents. One good way is to back them up to the cloud, using either Dropbox, Ubuntu One or Box. When combined, the 3 cloud storage services give you a whopping 57GB of storage space to use, which should be sufficient for most users. Alternatively, you can also use the built in backup manager – Deja Dup to backup your system. That will require you to use an external hard drive or partition.

PPAs

Most of us don’t just use the default applications in Ubuntu. Most of the time, we will install new applications using third-party PPAs. To save you the trouble from sourcing these PPA again after re-installing, you can backup your list of PPAs and restore them after the re-install.

There are two main places where your PPAs are kept. If you are using the add-apt-repository command or the Software Sources to add your repository, they are kept at the “/etc/apt/sources.list.d” folder. To backup this folder, you can use the command:

tar -cvzf myppas.tar.gz /etc/apt/sources.list.d/

This will create a tar file in your home folder. You can then move this tar file to your backup drive or Dropbox.

To restore, place the tar file in the Home folder and use the command:

sudo tar -xvzf myppas.tar.gz
sudo apt-get update

If you have added your PPAs manually, they are most likely to reside in the “/etc/apt/sources.list” file. To backup this file, use the following command:

cp /etc/apt/sources.list /your-backup-folder/

Replace the “your-backup-folder” with the actual filepath to your backup folder.

To restore,

cat /your-backup-folder/sources.list >> /etc/apt/sources.list
sudo apt-get update

That’s it.

Note: You will most probably have duplicate or obsolete PPA in the list after the restoration. You might want to use “sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list” to remove the unwanted PPAs (follow by “Ctrl + o” to save and “Ctrl + x” to exit) before you run the “sudo apt-get update” command.

Backup config files

The config files are one thing that many people overlooked while backing up their systems. Failing to backup the config files won’t break your system, but you will have to manually configure the settings for each app again.

In Gnome, the config files are usually stored in the “/.local/share” and “/.config” folders, but some apps could have their own config folders like “/.gnome2″, “/.VirtualBox”,”/.Thunderbird”,”/.wine” etc.

One good way to backup your config files is to setup your UbuntuOne account and sync these config folders. On your next install, UbuntuOne will automatically restore your config files to their rightful locations.

3. Test out with a Live CD first

This isn’t necessary all the time, but if you have some old applications that are critical to your business and you are not sure if they are supported in Precise, you can download the ISO file and test it with a Live CD or in Virtualbox. You can proceed to install after you have verified that it can fulfill your needs. In addition, for new user who are planning to switch to Ubuntu, testing with the LiveCD is the best way to find out if you really like the distro and whether you should switch from your existing OS.

Conclusion

It never hurt to be careful. While you are eager to jump onto the bandwagon and upgrade to the latest version, doing a little bit of housekeeping and backing up could save you tons of trouble later on.

What other precautions do you take before you upgrade your system?

Image credit: by BotheredByBees

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What You Need To Know?

Before you begin using Time Machine, you need to have an external hard drive. Apple has an official external hard drive known as Time Capsule that is selling for $299 – $499, depending on whether you purchase a 500GB model or 1TB model. You can also use your own external hard drive.

Before purchasing or using the hard drive, you need to make sure it can be used for the space you want to backup. If it’s not large enough of a hard drive to accommodate your initial and additional storage, then you’ll have to go through the task of purchasing and setting up a new hard drive. To find out how large a folder is follow these steps:

1. Activate Finder
2. Just click “Command + I”.
3. Once on the page, you will then see how large your internal hard drive is. Your external hard drive must at least be this large to be able to hold your computer’s memory.

The Hard Drive and Your Mac

You have a couple of hook-up options with external hard drives and with Time Machine. Your first option is Thunderbolt, second being USB, and third is FireWire. To put it in a nutshell, Thunderbolt is the newest, USB is the most well known, and FireWire is the fastest. This will reflect in prices as well. USB hard drives are the cheapest while Thunderbolt and FireWire are the most expensive options. Your best option is to purchase a FireWire hard drive. Thunderbolt ports aren’t on all Macs and USB hard drives are a little too slow.

If you find that you don’t want to backup every single thing on your Mac, you have an option to choose what item should be backed up and what should not. This can be an option if your budget doesn’t allow you to get a hard drive that is large enough for your whole Mac. In addition, this will work if you only want to save documents and multimedia that you’ll keep for a long time, and not other miscellaneous stuff.

1. Activate Time Machine
2. Hook up your hard drive
3. Click on “Options”
4. To exclude a section to backup, click the “+” button

More on Setting Configuration

After you have hooked up your hard drive to your Mac, the Time Machine application will show up. You should click “Use as Backup Disk” to back up your computer appropriately. This box will come up every time you connect. You should remember though that the first time, will go without saying, will be a long one.

Any back up after that will be much shorter because you are adding to your initial backup. After the hard drive has been backed up, you are done! That’s the hardest and longest part of your whole backup. However, the length of time is also due to how much space will be added. There is a point when your hard drive will get full.

A Filled Time Machine: The Inevitable?

If you have backed up your files regularly, there will be a time when the external hard drive gets full. When this occurs, Time Machine will delete the oldest backup to fit the newest. However, if you’ve only had two backups and the second was of an astronomical size, you may not want to delete the information that you imported maybe just a week ago. In this case, it’s time for you to clean up your Mac and get rid of those useless stuff. Alternatively, it may be time for you to get a new and bigger hard drive.

Making Time Machine Work For You

You won’t get the most out of Time Machine if you don’t have it regularly back up your content. Especially with a laptop, it isn’t the easiest thing in the world to walk around with a big brick of a hard drive just hanging on your laptop. However, if you remember to continually hook up your hard drive, Time Machine will back up every time you hook up the hard drive. Thankfully, the icon at the menu bar will have an exclamation mark next to it to show when a backup is recommended. Heed those suggestions as soon as you can, because your content depends on it.

Conclusion

If you take anything away from this article, remember that there are many hard drive options. From Thunderbolt, to USB and FireWire in between, the options range in speeds and prices. It all depends on what you Mac can support based on compatibility and ports. Once you find the one for you, remember it can take quite a long time to back up your stuff, so plan accordingly. Once backed up, you can keep the hard drive hooked to your Mac, which will back up your stuff every hour, or you can hook it up ever so often to keep information freshly updated. A hard drive is an important piece of hardware for both novice and veteran computer users alike

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Android phones have 3rd party application to help back up your SMS messages. While it isn’t exactly like your email inbox, you can still recover your old text messages if you need to. Here are a few applications to allow you to back up text messages on Android phones.

1. Go SMS Pro

Go SMS Pro is by the developer of some of the best Android applications out there. They are responsible for Go Launcher EX and many great widgets. Go SMS Pro is no different than those applications. Go SMS is a rock solid SMS application that among other things gives you the option to back up and restore your SMS messages. Backing up your messages to your SD card is only one of the many, many reasons you should give Go SMS Pro a try.

2. Handcent SMS

Handcent is a pretty popular SMS replacement application for Android. To use Handcent to backup your SMS messages or settings, you must have a Handcent online account. This is a little better than having your messages back up to your SD card because if you lose your phone, you will still be able to restore your SMS messages to your new device.

3. SMS Backup and Restore

SMS Backup and Restore is a standalone text message backup application. For those people who do not want to stray from the pre-installed SMS application, this is a good choice for backups. You have the option to set reminders to manually backup your messages or you can set your SMS messages to automatically backup. In the settings, you can configure options like backing up selected conversations and adding backups to a common archive.

4. SMS Backup +

SMS Backup + takes a different approach to backing up your SMS messages and integrates a little more with your Google account. Of course you will need to grant access to SMS Backup + to you Google Contacts and Gmail. What happens when you run a backup is, your SMS, MMS and call log are all sent to your Gmail account. Each will be assigned a Label. If you need to keep track of your SMS messages and your call log for any reason, you should really consider giving SMS Backup + a try. With the automatic upload option, it makes keeping a record of your messages and calls painless

Final Thoughts

No matter how you back up your text messages, it is a good idea to have a backup of the important messages. In most cases you wont have a need for them, but there are certain circumstances where you may need to pull a message from the archive. When this happens, you will be glad you have a backup. Depending on your specific reason to backup your text messages, the Android apps on the list will cover pretty much the majority of the situations I could think of.

Do you prefer a stand alone SMS backup app or backup as part of a more full featured SMS application?

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2. Extract the zip file. Open the backup.php with a text editor and edit your database and Dropbox credential.

Optionally, you can create a backup folder in your Dropbox and insert the name of the folder to the backup.php. Your database will then be backed up to this folder.

3. Save and close the file. Upload the whole backup folder to your server. Note the uploaded location relative to the server root.

4. If you are using cPanel for your web hosting, log into it and go to the cron job section.

5. Create a new cron job. You can set the time and frequency to backup the database. Under the command field, copy and paste the following command:

/usr/bin/php -q /path-to-backup-folder/backup/backup.php

Change the “path-to-backup-folder” to the location (relative to the server root) where you upload the backup folder.

6. Save the cron job.

That’s it. Now, your server will backup your database and upload it to your Dropbox account.

Note: This is a generic method for backing up any database on a Linux server. However, if you are using WordPress, there are plugins that you can use to back up your database to Dropbox. One thing to note: if you have a big database, using the plugin to backup your database will use a lot of system resources and and might slow down (or even crash) your WordPress site if your server is not up to par.

Image credit: Backup word on white keyboard by Big Stock Photo.

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Installation

If you are using 32-bit Linux, all you have to do is to download the tar file (from here) and extract it to your Home folder. After the extraction, simply double-click on the “SuperFlexibleSynchronizer” file to run it.

If you are using 64-bit Linux, you will have to install the 32-bit libraries before you can use it:

sudo apt-get install ia32-libs

This is how it looks when you first run it.

Usage

To configure it, click on the “Advanced Mode” link at the top right corner. This is what you will see. Click on the first button (the + icon) to setup a profile.

1. Give a name to this new profile.

2. At the next section, there are two input fields – 1 on the left and 1 on the right. The left is where you select the directory to backup and the right is the backup destination. For file restoration, select the “right to left” option. For the backup destination, you can select a local folder, an external hard drive, or a network drive. The “Internet” option allows you to setup cloud storage, such as FTP, WebDav, Amazon S3 and Google Docs. Note that to upload files of any type to Google Docs, you will need a premium Google App account. For basic and personal account, you can only upload documents that can be converted to files in Google Docs (such as Words, Excel spreadsheet, Powerpoint presentations etc).

3. At the “Sync Operation Mode” section, you configure whether it should just backup the source directory, or perform a synchronization. The “Standard Copying” and “Move Files to Destination” serve the same purpose, except that the latter will delete all files in the source folder. The “Smart Tracking” option refer to a 2 ways synchronization between the source and destination folders.

4. Once you have setup your backup source and destination location, you can continue to schedule a time to run this profile. Additionally, you can configure more advanced settings like version control, zip archive your backups, number of retries and so on.

5. Lastly, click the “Save as” button to save the profile.

Back to the main window, you can now press the “Play” button to run the profile.

More Configuration Options

There are tons of things that Super Flexible File Synchronizer can do than just simple backup. You can setup a password protection so only you can access the backup settings or set it to send you an email when the task is completed. It also comes with a version controlling system so you can restore to files that you have amended or deleted accidentally. What I love is the scheduling tool that allows you to control the particular timing (down to the seconds) to run the profile, not to mention that you can setup multiple profiles for different backup jobs. You just need to set it up once and it will automate the backup process. Cool.

Conclusion

The Windows and Mac version are available for US$59.90, so the free Linux version is definitely a steal. I am not sure if it will be free forever, so grab it while it is still available.

SuperFlexible File Synchronizer

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With some, that can be fairly easy. With many others, it can be difficult, if not impossible. But you should be able to get your information – no matter what the information is – out of any online service easily and in a format that other services or software can read. After all, it’s your data!

Thanks to the work of the Data Liberation Front project, Google has been making the process of getting your data out of its various products easier. The result is Google Takeout. While not complete and not perfect, Google Takeout looks like it’s a step in the right direction.

Let’s take a look at how to use Google Takeout and see where it falls flat.

Using Takeout

Obviously, you won’t be using Google Takeout unless you have a Google account. Just go to the Google Takeout site and log in.

Takeout only supports the following services at the moment:

• +1 (web content that you’ve rated)
• Buzz (short updates and conversations)
• Picasa Web Albums
• Google Profiles
• Google+

With Google+, you can back up your circles (your groups of friends), your contacts, and your stream (any posts you’ve made to Google+).

On the main screen, click Create Archive. Takeout collects your data into a zip file and downloads it.

By default, Takeout creates an archive of everything. You might not want to do that too often. If you have a lot of data, especially a lot of photos in Picasa Web Albums, the zip file that Takeout creates can be large – several hundred megabytes.

Instead, click Choose services. You can select the data that you want to download, and Takeout will give you an estimate of the size of the archive.

Once you’ve selected the services, click Create Archive. Takeout collects your data into a zip file and downloads it.

The Backups Themselves

What you get in the archives the Takeout creates depends on the product. Takeout uses different file formats to backup your data.

Like what? Picasa Web Albums backups are, obviously, image files. Buzz, +1, and Google+ streams are HTML files. Your contacts are vCard files. And your Google Profile data is a JSON file.

While you might not be able to easily read some of those formats, other software and web services should be able to. It’s just a matter of importing the files.

What About My Other Data?

Takeout only lets you back up a small set of your data in Google’s services. But what about your other data? Well, there are some options for that. They’re not centralized, and force you to do a bit more work, but those options can be effective.

You can back up Google Docs using the information in this MakeTechEasier post. The Data Liberation Front website offers suggestions for other Google products.

If you’re willing to part with some money, then you might want to give Backupify a look. It can backup your Gmail, Google Docs, Google Sites, Google Calendar, and Google Contacts. Mac users can take advantage of CloudPull to backup their data from Google Docs,
Google Reader, Google Calendar, and Google Contacts.

Google’s products and services aren’t a black hole for your data. With Google Takeout, it’s gotten a lot easier to get your data out.

Google Takeout

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Whatever the reasons, rather than relying on plugins, a better alternative is to use a cron job in your server and schedule it to backup your database everyday.

Note: The following instruction can be used to backup any database. The only requirement is that you are using a Linux server to host your files.

Here is how you do it:

1. Login to your web host control panel. If you are using cPanel, look for a Cron Job icon.

2. You can set the time and frequency to backup the database. Under the command field, copy and paste the following command:

mysqldump --opt -Q -u dbusername --password=dbpassword dbname | gzip > /path-to-store-the-backup-file/db_backup.sql.gz

• Replace dbusername with the database user
• Replace dbpassword with the database user password
• Replace dbname with the database that you are backing up
• Replace the path-to-store-the-backup-file to the file path in your server where you want to save the backup

Note: In some server, you might need to put a pair of single quote around the dbpassword for it to work. For example:

mysqldump --opt -Q -u dbusername --password='dbpassword' dbname | gzip > /path-to-store-the-backup-file/db_backup.sql.gz

Email yourself the database

Storing the database on your server could take up plenty of storage space. One way you can do is to email the backup file to yourself.

1. Download this php script.

2. Extract the zip file and open the backup.php with a text editor.

3. Change the database detail:

$dbhost = "localhost"; // usually localhost
$dbuser = "dbuser"; //enter your database username here
$dbpass = "dbpass"; //enter your database password here
$dbname = "dbname"; // enter your database name here
$sendto = "Send To <sendto@email.com>"; //the email address to send the database to
$sendfrom = "Send From <sendfrom@email.com>";
$sendsubject = "Daily Database Backup"; //the subject of the email
$bodyofemail = "Here is the daily backup of my database.";

4. Save the file. Upload the whole folder to your server. Note: The folder includes a .htaccess file to prevent any access from the browser. If you want to access from the browser, remove the .htaccess file.

5. In the cron job section of the cPanel, enter the following command:

php -q /path-to-the-php-script-folder/backup.php

That’s it.

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While there are many CDN providers around, the one that I will go for is Amazon CloudFront. The reason is because it is well-integrated with Amazon S3 (and other Amazon Web Services). If you are not aware, Amazon S3 is a cloud storage services provided by Amazon that allows you to save a great amount of files for cheap. You can use Amazon S3 to backup your personal files or to store your web content such as images and videos. There is no monthly charge and you only pay for what you use, so you don’t have to worry about any long term commitment.

By itself, Amazon S3 is only a storage services. To use it as a CDN, you have to activate CloudFront and configure your Amazon S3 with it.

Note: This tutorial assumes that you already have an Amazon Web Services (AWS) account and using Amazon S3 to store your website images/videos.

1. Login to your AWS Management Console.

2. Click the CloudFront tab.

3. Click the “Create Distribution” button.

4. In the “Delivery Method” field, choose “Download” if you are serving static content (like images) or “Streaming” if you are serving media files (like podcast, videos etc.). Next, select the Amazon S3 bucket that you want to serve as CDN. Click “Continue”.

5. The next step is to configure the CNAME. The CNAME is a masked URL (usually a sub-domain name of your website, for example, http://cdn.maketecheasier.com) that points to the actual CDN URL. To illustrate this, Amazon CloudFront will serve your content from a http://xyz.cloudfront.net domain. By using a CNAME, you can serve the content from your domain, such as http://cdn.your-domain-name.com rather than the cloudfront URL.

In the CNAME field, enter a sub-domain that you want to use to serve your content.(Note: Do not put “http://” infront of your sub-domain).

The logging option is optional. If you set it to ON, it will log all the events and details onto a log file. You will have to specify a bucket for it to store the log file.

Make sure the distribution status is set to “Enable”. Click “Continue”.

6. Lastly, review your settings. If everything is correctly, click “Create Distribution”.

Amazon CloudFront will now take a while to configure itself. When you see the “Deployed” status, your CDN is now ready to use.

Configuring your CNAME

Still in the AWS Management Console, copy your CloudFront domain name for this particular distribution.

Contact your webhost and get them to create a CNAME record to point the sub-domain you have entered previously to this CloudFront domain name.

That’s it. As long as you use this sub-domain in your website, all your static files will be served from the location closest to your readers.

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Since your user profile has all your important documents and settings, it makes sense to back up a copy so that if your PC crashes, you can easily restore back the settings. However, you can not back up the user profile folder by just copying the folder to a safe place because it will always be in use when you’re logged in. There is a risk that files are not copied properly and leads to data loss.

There are several methods by which we can backup the complete user profile.

1. Backup User Profile Using Windows Backup

The Windows Backup method is the easiest method to back up a user profile in Windows 7.

• Go to Windows Start Menu Search and type “backup and restore“. Select the first search result which will be Windows Backup and Restore utility.
• Select the destination where you would like to back up your user profile. You can either choose a drive in your computer or a network share. There is no option to select a specific folder to back up to.
• Once you have selected the drive, it will create a folder called Backup and back up all your data in the Backup folder.
• On the next screen, you should choose “Let me choose” radio button to select the profile to back up.

On the next screen, you have to choose what you want to back up. You should un-check everything and only select the user profile folder that you want to back up. Also make sure that you have unchecked “Include a system image of drives: (C:).”

Clicking on “Next” will take you to the next screen to check your backup settings. Make sure everything is correct. Click “Save settings and exit”. You may also schedule the backup to automatically backup the specified folder at regular intervals. You can also run the backup now from Backup and Restore Control Panel item.

2. Backup User Profile Using Windows User Profile Tool

The second method is much simpler to use. Windows provides a User Profile Tool to copy, delete or move a user profile.

• Go to Windows Start Menu Search and search for “View advanced system settings“. Select the first result which will open Advanced System Properties.
• There are three settings: performance, user profiles and startup and recovery. Click the Settings button under User Profiles.
• This will open up the User Profiles settings. The user profiles of all the users are listed here. You can select any user and delete the profile or change its type.

In most cases, you will find that the “Copy To” button is disabled. To enable it, download Enabler and run it (the Enabler is portable, you just need to unzip and run. There is no need to install).

Run Enabler and click Enable.

Note: When you run Enabler, make sure that only the User Profiles settings window is open. If there is more than one window open, Enabler will try to process each window and will hang in the middle if there are many windows open.

This will, most probably, enable the “Copy To” button. If it is not enabled, just close the window and open the User Profile settings again. You’ll need to select the user profile from the list to enable to “Copy To” button.

In most cases, the Enabler will work but there are times when it will not be able to enable the “Copy To” button. You’ll need to try again and again until it works.

3. Backup User Profile Using DataGrab

DataGrab is a portable user profile backup tool with lots of options for backup customization. Once you open DataGrab, it will automatically find the user profile folder in the system drive. You can also select other drives if there are user profile data placed in any other drive other than the Windows system drive.

You can select which folders in the user profile to back up. DataGrab will automatically list all the folders under the user profile of that user. It also gives options to back up application data of important software like Outlook, Firefox etc. There are several other options that you can configure if you want further customization. The last thing to check out before hitting the Copy button is the Backup Location. You should change the backup location from the default C:\\ClientData to some other drive other than the system drive. This will give you more security of the backup. DataGrab also allows you to append the date to the backup folder. This is beneficial if you are taking regular backups through DataGrab.

The biggest advantage of DataGrab is that it can also be use to back up an Offline Windows installation. If your Windows get corrupted, you only need to attach that hard drive to a running Windows System and backup the user profiles from the dead Windows. You can even burn DataGrab on a CD-ROM and boot from the CD-ROM to back the problematic system.

Another feature of DataGrab worth mentioning is the different copy methods supported. It supports different methods to copy the data to a safe location. This ensures that if one method fails, there’s always another method to work on. The recommended copying method is using Unstoppable Copier. By default, Unstoppable Copier is not included in DataGrab and you need to download it and place it in the DataGrab folder. If DataGrab finds Unstoppable Copier, it’ll will automatically use this preferred method.

You can download DataGrab from the author’s site.

What other ways do you use to back up your Windows user profile?

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• CloudBerry Backup Review + Free Giveaway
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Doing The Prep Work

This may sound obvious, but before you begin, you will want to round up all of your iPods and their cords. iPods tend to accrue as we upgrade, so unless you traded in or gave them away, now is a really good time to find them. They may have hidden gems that you were not listening to (or watching) recently, that you do want to keep in your collection in general. While you are at it, dig up any old CDs you have with media you want to add to your collection or external storage (such as flash drives) with parts of your media library on them. This will lead to maximum restoration of your files.

[feedomit][/feedomit]

Importing From Your iPod

Now, you can plug in your first iPod. When you do so, iTunes will open automatically and you should get a pop up window with your syncing options. Choose “Transfer Purchases”

If you are adding to a new system, or you needed a complete reinstall of the OS, you will have to re-authorize the computer. Choose “Authorize” and enter your username and password for iTunes. Remember, if you copy your songs back from a friend with similar music tastes, you will need to use their login to authorize and not your own.

The automatic transfer should happen now.

Eject this iPod when the transfer is complete and repeat with any other iPods you happen to own.

Note to iTouch users: In some cases, when a library was wiped but the software is intact, you may have to follow a bit of a different procedure. Once you plug in and open iTunes you will see tabs labeled with titles like “Music”, “Movies” and “TV Shows”. Check the box next to the word sync in each media category, then click on the button labeled “Sync” in the bottom right hand corner of the screen. This will sync your library to the system.

Importing From A Flash Drive

Plug in your drive. When it appears on your desktop, double click it to open the drive. Double click on the songs that you want. When iTunes opens to play them, a box will appear asking if you want to “Add to Library”. Click on “Ok” and your songs will import.

Importing from Your CD’s

I know, if you have an iPod, you probably don’t have a large CD collection, but get out what you do have and get ready to import. This will take the longest, and work only for your music, but it will get back things you cannot retrieve any other way. Insert your CD into the slot. If iTunes is not still open, it will open again and take you to the disks information. Click on the words “Import Disk” and the songs will be copied to your library.

There you have it, as good of a restoration as you are going to get from external media sources. If you had a real favorite that you just cannot restore, you should ask apple to let you re-download it. Just be ready to prove (with your digital receipt) that you own it, and know that asking is a bit of a shot in the dark. Sometimes it is a yes and sometimes it is a no, depending on how much you want to re-download and your proof.

Next time, back up your files please.

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• A Comprehensive Guide to iTunes U [iOS]
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• Keep Your Music Library Synced Across Multiple Computers With iTunes Match

1. Faster User Switch

If you happen to share a computer with one or more individuals, switching users is very important. This little plasma widget makes it easy to select a currently logged-in user and switch to that account. It can display user avatars, their names, or both. It is a nice widget to add to a panel for easy access. It also provides a quick interface for starting new user sessions.

2. Kbackup

Kbackup has been around for a long time, but it just received an update. With it you can quickly and easily backup any directory on your computer, specify where you want the backups to go, and have them archived in the folder or device of your choice. This app is lightweight, simple, and does exactly what it says.

Packages for Kbackup are available in Ubuntu repositories and other Linux distributions.

3. Converseen

This nifty little application is a must for anyone who works with a great deal of images. It is a pure Qt app, rather than a KDE one, but that means it still integrates perfectly with KDE. With Converseen you can convert batches of images to any format, any size, any resolution, and to any naming scheme you want. It allows you to make multiple changes on the fly and then save the new images wherever you want. Best of all, Converseen supports just about every image format you can imagine.

4. Muon Package Management Suite

The graphical package manager frontends for KDE have always felt a bit like second-class citizens to Synaptic for GTK. Muon comes very close to evening the playing field. With it you can search, update, install, and receive update notifications for packages with ease. Muon Software Center provides a more visual approach to installation, similar to Ubuntu Software Center. Based on QApt, the entire application suite is lightweight and fast, without some of the hiccups of other frontends.

Muon is available in many Linux distribution repositories.

5. Clementine

Not everyone was in love with the new interface and features of Amarok 2 that came with KDE 4. For those who still love the old Amarok 1.4 look and feel, Clementine is a Qt music app, inspired by that code tree with quite a bit of its own unique features. Features include lyrics, artist bios, tabbed playlists, Wii remote support, visualizations, iPod, iPhone, and mass storage USB support, album cover art, Internet music (Last.fm, SomaFM, Magnatune, Jamendo, and Icecast), and music format conversion.

You can download Clementine for Linux, Windows, Mac OS X, or the source code for other operating systems.

There are plenty of other great apps hiding on KDE-Apps.org. Many are updated regularly and well maintained. If you have a favorite third-party KDE app, feel free to share it in the comments section. Also, if you would like to read a review of any app, make sure to suggest it to MakeTechEasier.

Recommended reading:
5 Intriguing KDE Apps

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Note: It should be mentioned that in order to use these powerful features, you must have a rooted Android device. If you have not done any modification to your phones before, most probably your phones are not rooted.

Go to the Android market and initiate a search for Titanium Backup (or go to the web-based market here). Doing this will yield a search page that displays the actual application as well as the donate version license. Although the free version can be had, the paid-for version truly displays the applications full brilliance and potential. Download both applications and install them as you would any other app from the market.

Open the Titanium Backup application and select the “problems?” option. The application will then do a variety of system checks to ensure that its capabilities will not be prevented from functioning in any way. Once you receive the green light from the application, you will be free to make any backups that you see fit.

One feature that is especially handy is the Dropbox sync feature. In order to enable this, hit the menu button and select Preferences. Select “Enable Dropbox” from the menu. Directly beneath this option, select Dropbox settings to enter the appropriate credentials. After this you will be allowed to sync all apps directly to your Dropbox account. This feature is especially useful should your SD card fail for one reason or another.

In order to initiate backups, select the Backup/Restore option located at the very top of the application’s screen. After selecting this icon, all of your available apps will be displayed in a list. Press on an application entry and you will be presented with a series of options for backing up that particular application. Also remember that you can perform batch operations, allowing you to backup multiple applications at once. To do so, hit the Menu button and select Batch. This will allow you to perform multiple backups.

A final feature to be aware of is the ability to schedule backups.for your applications. Selecting schedules at the top right hand of the screen will allow you to create schedule recurring backups.

To summarize, Titanium Backup truly provides a powerful set of backup features for the Android power user. Not only does it perform its job intelligently, it also provides secure backups of all of your paid-for applications. Use and abuse your Android with total peace of mind.

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Deja Dup Backup Tool can be found at Applications -> System Tools. The main interface is a small window with only two big icons – Restore and Backup.

Clicking the Backup button will bring you through a short series of steps. At the first run, you will be asked where to backup your files/folders. Other than your local hard disk, you can select an external drive, connect to Amazon S3 or even backup to your own FTP server.

Next, it will prompt you to select the folder to backup. By default, the Home folder is automatically included in the backup list. You can remove it or add new folder to the list.

Deja dup comes with encryption support so you can backup and encrypt your files. If you have enabled encryption, it will prompt you for a password. Once the password is provided, it will proceed to backup the files/folders.

This is what you will see after the backup.

Restoring files

The Restoration process is even easier. Just click the Restore button and it will check your backup folder for previous backup.

Next, it will ask if you want to restore to the original location or another folder. Once you picked your choice, the restoration will start.

What is missing from Deja Dup?

Deja Dup also comes with a schedule backup feature where you can schedule the backup to run at regular interval. However, it doesn’t come with the incremental backup. Everytime you perform a backup, it will encrypt the whole folder and dump to the backup location. it would be good if it can detect what have changed since the last backup and backup only the changed files. Update: Deja Dup does come with incremental backup feature.

If you are not particularly concern about the incremental backup feature, Deja Dup Backup Tool can be a really simple backup tool. it may not have complicated features, but it works reasonably well, and best of all, it is really easy to use. What do you think? Is such a simple backup tool sufficient for you?

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Note: There is a free giveaway for this great software. Read on for more details.
Update: the free giveaway contest has ended.

Why Amazon S3?

Amazon S3 is a online storage service offered by Amazon. It is a paid service and users have to pay for the storage space used and the utilized bandwidth. While it is not free, the true advantage of Amazon S3 is that it is secure and reliable. For your info, you are using the same infrastructure that host millions of Amazon products and transaction detail. If that is safe enough for Amazon, you should have no worry about the security of your data. Furthermore, there is no monthly fee to tied you down. You pay for what you use, nothing more, nothing less.

CloudBerry Backup

Most of you will have heard about the CloudBerry Explorer that allows you to manage your Amazon S3 account from Windows desktop. CloudBerry Backup is built on top of the explorer technology and allows you to backup your files to Amazon S3. There is also a restore option to restore the files in the event that your computer crashed.

Setting up a Backup Plan

The usage of CloudBerry Backup is simple. After you have installed the software, you have to spend a whole good 5 minutes to setup a backup plan. The backup  wizard is lengthy, but is nonetheless important. Once you have finished setting up the backup plan, all you need to do is to run it manually, or schedule it to run automatically at regular interval.

On the dashboard, click the link “Setup Backup Plan”. It will guide you through the backup wizard.

There are several useful features in CloudBerry Backup that are worth mentioning. First is the ability to compress and encrypt your data. This will reduce the size of the file (and reduce your cost) and also add an extra protection to your file.

Secondly is the data versioning. it can keep several versions of the same file so you can restore to an older version if you have mistakenly make some changes.

Thirdly, other than Amazon S3, you can also configure it to backup to other location, such as external hard drive, Azure, Mezeo, Dunkel and Walrus. That should give you enough options to choose from.

Once you have setup your Backup Plan, you can go to the “Backup Plans” tab and click the “Run Backup Now” button.

Restoring your files

Restoring your files is as easy as running the Restore Wizard and follow its instructions. It will prompt you to choose the version to restore and the destination to restore to.

There are plenty of backup tools in the market, but CloudBerry Backup has its own niche by allowing you to backup to Amazon S3 and several other services. The backup wizard might be lengthy, but it is really a set-it-once-and-leave-it solution. With the security and reliability of Amazon S3, it really take worries off your mind.

Free Giveaway

Here’s what you have been waiting for…free giveaway. The developer of CloudBerry Backup has kindly sponsored 5 license keys for CloudBerry Backup desktop edition. The usual price is $29.90, but you stand to get it for free today. Just follow the steps below:

Step 1

Be our Facebook fan or follow us in Twitter :

(If you have already done this, skip to step 2)

STEP 2

Fill up the form below. This is to make sure that we can contact you when you win the license. We promise that we won’t spam you.

Update: the free giveaway contest has ended.

STEP 3
Share this post either in Facebook or Twitter, or leave a comment below.

This giveaway begins now and ends Wednesday, 10th Mar at 2359hrs Eastern Time. The winners will be selected at random and announced via email.

Share and enjoy!

CloudBerry Backup

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For the example, we are going to use a folder with the name “Important Files“. Right click the folder and select “Properties“:

Click “Advanced“:

Select “Encrypts contents to secure data” and select OK:

You can either just apply the attribute to a folder or apply it to all subfolders and files as well. In this case, I will apply the encryption to any children object, as files or subfolders:

That’s it. As you can see, it is very easy to encrypt a file/folder.

Now, most of you will start asking “where is the encryption key and how do I back it up?”

Backing up your encryption certificate

Windows store all the encryption detail in a certificate. This certificate acts like a key to your safe. If you lose your certificate (the key to safe), you won’t be able to access your files anymore. That’s why you need a backup file.

Go to the Start menu. Using the search function, type “manage encryption” (without quotes). Select “Manage file encryption certificates“:

A window appears. It shows information about what you can do with the utility. Press Next:

Select the certificate you want to backup. In this case, there is only one:

Select the location to backup your certificate and enter a password to protect the file. It is very important that you copy this file to other device, and of course that you remember the password:

Now, the program allows you to associate this certificate to previously encrypted files. In this case, as we are creating a backup copy, just press Next:

The utility will show a message with information, just press Close. Done!

For those who are looking to encrypt your USB drive, check out the Bitlocker to Go

Have you ever use Encryption File System before? Do you think is a handy feature or do you prefer something like Bit Locker?

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While there are applications offered at a low price, most of them are offered for free. Even though you can access those free apps anytime you like, it will take much of your time reinstalling all of them should your iPhone fails.

The point is, why should you spend a day of two trying to remember and figure out what the apps you previously used when you can have them back in few clicks?

I believe that most of us agree that backing up our iPhone data is one of the most important things we cannot afford to neglect.

I have written an article on how to manually back up your iPhone apps but a lot of people cannot seem to follow as it is a bit complicated especially for a new users. So, this article will walk you through on how to back up your Cydia apps using PkgBackup.

PkgBackup Overview

This iPhone app is offered at Cydia for $3.99. The price is just low enough considering that it offers a very good backup service for your apps. It is developed by Jibril Gueye of Pragmatix Consulting and sponsored by Big Boss.

PkgBackup Installation

The installation is straightforward and simple. It’s just like you are installing any other apps from Cydia only that you have to purchase this package before you do. I will perform a step-by-step installation so that new iPhone users may find it even easier.

Step One: Launch Cydia and tap on “Sections” tab located below your screen.

Step Two: Found inside Sections is the “Utilities” option, tap on it to open.

Step Three: There will be a list of packages under Utilities. Try to search for PkgBackup, and tap on it to open the package.

Step Four: As mentioned earlier, you have to purchase this package to continue using it. You can find a “Purchase” button at the top-right corner of the screen. Tap on it to continue with the purchase; currently, it is offered $3.99.

Step Five: After the purchase, the “Install” button appears in the location where you found “Purchase” button.

Step Six: And of course, every installation needs confirmation, so just tap on “Confirm” button to proceed with the process.

Step Seven: Now tap on “Return to Cydia” button.

Backing Up Your Cydia Applications

After you’re done installing PkgBackup, you will be able to see its icon from your Springboard. If you are ready, you can follow these steps to back you app packages up.

Step One: Launch PkgBackup from your Springboard.

Step Two: Once it’s opened it will automatically scan and detect all of the packages installed in your iPhone. It may take a little while depending on the number of apps installed.

You may tap on the small arrow to view the list of all active packages in your iPhone.

You can choose specific apps that you don’t want to include in the backup process from the list.

Upon choosing a specific app, you can toggle the ON/OFF button.

Step Three: If you are ready to proceed with the backup, you can go back to PkgBackup main screen and simply tap on “Backup” button. Moreover, should you want to keep your layout, toggle Include Layout button to ON. The backup process may also take a little while to complete depending on the number of packages installed in your iPhone.

Step Four: When the backup process is completed, you will be prompted with a reminder to sync with iTunes; you must do as advised. Tap on “OK” button and sync your iPhone with iTunes. Make sure that backup is completely performed during the syncing process as this is the only key you can restore your previous packages.

So far, that’s how backup is performed using PKGBackup. Supposing you have restored or upgraded your firmware and all of you Cydia apps are gone, you simply have to restore the backup you made with iTunes.

That’s your starting point in restoring all of your Cydia apps that you have backed up with PKGBackup.

Restoration of Cydia Apps

Of course, when all the data in your iPhone are wiped out, you’ve got to reinstall PKGBackup; just follow PKGBackup Installation guide at the beginning of this article. When everything is set and ready, please proceed to the steps below.

Step One: Launch PKGBackup to begin. It will automatically detect new packages installed in your iPhone as well as the previous apps that you’ve backed up.

You can tap on the small arrow to choose specific packages that you want to include or exclude during the restoration process.

Step Two: When everything is ready, tap on “Restore” button from the PKGBackup main screen to begin the restoration of your Cydia apps.

Step Three: It may take time downloading and installing all the Cydia apps, so you need a little patience. Let your iPhone do what it has to do and wait. When all the apps are restored, you will be prompted that it is done and that you need to reboot your iPhone. Do as instructed.

Once your iPhone is up, all of your Cydia apps are restored (except for those you’ve excluded).

I hope this tutorial can help you back your apps up. Don’t hesitate to leave your comments, reactions and suggestions.

Image credit: Yutaka Tsutano

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• How to Export Your iPhone SMS As CSV To Your Mac

All the SMS or text messages inside your iPhone are handled by a database. Jailbreaking your iPhone open the possibility of manipulating your SMS database and export all the data within. The CSV file can also be accessed using Microsoft Excel and equivalent program.

This tutorial will walk you through the process to backup and export your SMS as a CSV file to your Mac.

Download the Tools Needed

These are the tools you will need for this tutorial.

1. iPhone Explorer

2. SQLite Database Browser

These tools are available for Mac and Windows platform; make sure you download the correct version.

Backup SMS Database

Connect your iPhone to your Mac through USB.

1. Launch the iPhone Explorer and navigate through “/private/var/mobile/Library/SMS.“.

2. Look for the file SMS.db and download it to your Mac.

Export iPhone SMS

1. Launch SQLite Database Browser you have downloaded a while back.

2. Click “File -> Open Database“. You will then be asked to choose a file to open. Navigate through the directory where you have download SMS.db.

This is an example of the structure of iPhone SMS database.

3. When SMS.db is open, you can export it the way you want. Click on “File -> Export” and choose “Table as CSV File“.

4. You will be prompted to “Choose table to export as CSV text“. Choose table name as “Message” and click on the “Export” button thereafter.

5. You will then be asked for the location to save the CSV file. Locate the directory you want to save it to and give it a filename.

6. Try to open the CSV file with iWork’s Numbers or Microsoft Excel to manipulate the data inside. When you open it, you will see a few columns with corresponding values. You can actually edit those values and save the file as CSV, still.

The point of this tutorial is to help you backup, export and even import all your SMS data to your other devices. Or, you can also use this method to archive your text messages for future reference, that way, you will not be able to lose messages you treasure most.

What other way do you use to backup your iPhone’s SMS?

Image credit: Frank Spin

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The beauty of the automatic backups is you do not need to change your saving habits. The reason most people do not back up their devices regularly is because they forget or they will “do it later”. SafeCopy helps by continuously backing up your documents folder so you do not need to worry about forgetting to backup or sync your files.

What can you backup?

After you download the application and install it, the setup is pretty standard. You will need to go through a few steps to configure SafeCopy. You are given 3Gb of free space which won’t expire. If you need more space, paid plans are offered.

If you have less than 3Gb in your documents folder, you can select to back up the entire thing. However if you have lots of pictures, music, documents or whatever else in there, you may need to be selective. For myself, I keep pictures and music on a separate hard drive and DVD backups. Most of what is on my computer is documents and spreadsheets.

Configuring SafeCopy

The way SafeCopy saves you time is because it is pretty hands off. This dream comes through by setting SafeCopy up in a way that works for you. Configuring SafeCopy is a breeze.

When you start it up for the first time, you will be asked to either sign in or create an account.

Next you need to select the folder(s) you’d like to backup. As you can see in the screen grab, it recommends the My Documents folder. If you would like to save only files in a specific folder, you have an option as well.

The Custom option lets you drill down a more specific grouping of folders. This is great is you have a more complex organizational system than dumping everything into one folder.

Advanced settings

The advanced settings are where some of the magic happens. You set things like a hotkey combination, proxy info and the size of the files to ignore. Also on this page, you need to select how often to backup your info. I have it set to hourly, but the default is to continuously backup your the folders you selected.

After the backup

Once you have the initial backup under your belt, there isn’t a lot you need to do. Like many other backup applications, you can access your files from SafeCopy’s website. You simply login with your info.

The super cool part is, not only can you browse through the folders by clicking through folders, but you have a search option. Type in the name of the item or folder you’d like to find and voila, there it is. You can also access the search and the browse option from the desktop application.

Sharing files

Another good use for SafeCopy is for sharing larger files. Once backed up, you can choose to share a file by sending a link via email. You can select how long the link will work, choosing from 1 day, 1 week or unlimited. It’s like your own Mission Impossible message that self destructs.

Conclusion

The ease of use (or lack there of) and layout are great. It is similar to Mozy, but offers 1Gb more space and a little more in the way of advanced settings and searching options. It didn’t seem to be a resource hog either. The search and sharing features coupled with the 3Gb of space are a step up over many other backup options.

Another perk is the iPhone app and mobile access to your files. This anywhere access is pretty important to the on-the-go users.

What do you use to safeguard your files automatically?

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A couple weeks ago I gave some reasons why Hotmail is worth another look. Piggybacking off that post, here is another way Microsoft is listening to what people want.

Skydrive basics

For starters, you get 25GB of web-based storage. This is a very good size for the average user. You have a little extra space so you do not need to worry as much about how many pictures you are uploading.

Skydrive is linked to your Hotmail/Live login. This means when you want to share a picture, file or link, you send it right from the email account you are already using.

Because it is online, you can access things from anything with an internet connection, including mobile devices.

If you think that 25GB is too much for you, here are 5 ways to help you fully utilize your Skydrive account.

1. Backing up of files

While Skydrive is web based, you can easily access it on your Windows desktop with Gladinet. Having a 25GB of online storage for backing up of files is definitely much better than a 2GB Dropbox account.

On thing though, for uploading of any file, you will need to make sure the size of the file is at most 50MB.

Alternatively, you also can sync up to 5GB using Live Mesh.

2. Docs backup and edit docs online

If you are using Microsoft Office 2010, you can easily upload/sync your documents to Skydrive. No addons required. The best thing is, Skydrive is also integrated with Microsoft Web Office, so you can access and edit your documents anywhere with a computer and Internet access.

3. Picture storage

If you are a Picasa user, you know 1GB is not a lot of storage for all of your precious moments. Having 25GB would be a whole lot better wouldn’t it? Loading all of your images on your Skydrive gives you a lot of room and the option to share your pictures with friends. Make sure the permissions allow others to see your albums.

Uploading images is super easy. Simply drag and drop into the upload window.

Once you have all of your images uploades and into folders, you can share them several ways.

4. Links to your favorite sites

Skydrive has other social aspects too. You can store and share links to your favorite sites. You can create a link with description easily accessable and ready to share from anywhere.

At first this may seem like a waste of time since there are other methods to sync and share sites with people. However, if you start a folder for each grouping of favorites, you can share the link to the entire folder with a friend or client. This way, you won’t need to keep sending them emails with links to add to their bookmarks.

5. Accessing Your Photo Gallery From Windows Live Writer

If you use other Live services such as Windows Live Writer, you have access to your photo albums. This means if you have a blog and have an album full of pictures from your latest trip or conference, you can add the album directly to the post you are writing with Live Writer.

Conclusion

These are a few basic uses for the extra space you have to use compared to the 2GB Dropbox and others offer. Skydrive is a really good option for those users who fully embrace the Live services because of the way Skydrive is a common storage and accessable from most of them.

What will you use the extra 23gb for?

Image credit: viagallery.com

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