📬 Create a local backup in minutes: it saves faster than Netflix
Even if you have offsite backups, local backups (glossary) will help you. Actually, at least two ways, local backups are better for you:
- Local backups are faster: you send data to a local device, instead of through an internet connection. Think back to the last time you waited impatiently for Netflix to buffer, and you can see how your internet connection could be a bottleneck. If you're one of those people who pays for the fastest internet available, feel free to disregard this point.
- Local backups are cheaper: you can buy external storage (drives that live outside your computer) for cheaper than you can buy cloud storage. In some cases, the cost of external storage may cost more than your first year of cloud storage, but remember that you're paying a subscription for that cloud storage.
But local backups have a downside. Unless you strategically stash local backups in multiple places, like a safety deposit box at your bank (who has these?), all your local backups can be broken by a situation that affects your local environment. Think fires, floods, destructive children or, for that matter, destructive adults.
To be properly covered against the statistical probability of losing your data, you need both local and offsite backups.
Use Apple Time Machine
Time Machine is a built-in tool on MacOS. Apple Time Machine is the fastest way you can get local backups set up, but only if you use MacOS.
Time Machine is reliable enough for us to have used it, and to suggest it still. But, in rare situations, the backup fails and the tool requires you to delete your backups and start over. For this reason Time Machine is included only as a way to get a backup with minimal effort.
If you're put off by the learning curve of our second option below, Time Machine will still help you out!
When using Time Machine, offsite backups are slightly more urgent. You need them anyway, but the rare reliability issue with Time Machine makes offsite backups more important in this case. Time Machine only handles local backups. You'll need a different tool and service for offsite backups.
Editorial Team
Use Vorta
You can use Vorta to backup Windows, MacOS, and Linux. In this way Vorta more useful and flexible, while Time Machine is easier to start using.
The setup guide linked below is technical. Let us know through if you want a simpler version published as a new Quickstart here on majorcord.com
Quick background for the technically curious: Vorta is a tool that makes using borgbackup easier. borgbackup is phenomenally useful and is, in our opinion after much research, the best backup tool. Before Vorta, you had to muck about with code to use borgbackup, and we wouldn't have mentioned it here on Majorcord. With Vorta, it's just point and tap. borgbackup lets you encrypt your backup end-to-end (glossary).
Best thing is that Vorta can handle both local and offsite backups. So, if you want, you can migrate off of Backblaze to a cheaper option at some point.
Meta
Helpful words
Sources
- https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201250
- https://vorta.borgbase.com/install/
- https://borgbackup.readthedocs.io/en/stable/
