Setting Up an Offsite Backup for Your Mac: The What, How, and Why
So, you want to secure your Mac’s precious data and keep it safe from the unexpected calamities that life throws our way. Well, lucky for you, I’ve got just the solution – setting up an offsite backup! Now, you might be wondering: what exactly is an offsite backup, and why should I bother with it? Allow me to shed some light on the matter.
An offsite backup is essentially a way to duplicate and store your important files in a separate physical location, away from your primary Mac. It acts as a safety net, ensuring that even if your Mac gets lost, stolen, or suffers irreparable damage, your files will still be safe and sound, patiently waiting for you to retrieve them. It’s like having an extra set of keys to your digital world.
Now, to get started with this backup magic, you need to equip yourself with the right tools. The holy grail here is a reliable external hard drive, preferably with a generous amount of storage space. This external hard drive will become your loyal companion, housing all of the important files you don’t want to lose. Make sure it’s durable and compact, so you can easily transport it to your offsite location whenever needed.
Once you’ve got your trusty sidekick, it’s time to dive into the nitty-gritty of setting up the offsite backup. First off, you’ll need to connect the external hard drive to your Mac. This can be done using a USB or Thunderbolt cable, depending on the type of external drive you have. Once connected, your Mac will recognize the external drive as a new storage device – a blank canvas just waiting to be filled with your valuable data.
Now, it’s time for the pièce de résistance – deciding where to store your offsite backup. This could be any place that’s separate from your Mac and its immediate surroundings. Popular options include a friend or family member’s house, a safe deposit box at the bank, or a secure cloud storage service. The key is to choose a location that is physically and digitally secure, so you can rest easy knowing your data is in good hands.
Alright, now that you’ve chosen your offsite location and a safer haven for your data, it’s time to embark on the backup journey. You’ll want to set up an automated backup system, so you don’t have to manually copy your files every time. Thankfully, Mac comes to the rescue once again with its built-in software, Time Machine. With Time Machine, you can schedule regular backups, ensuring that your precious files are duplicated and sent off to their offsite sanctuary without you lifting a finger.
But wait, there’s more! To truly master the art of offsite backups, you’ll also want to encrypt your data. Encryption adds an extra layer of security, making it nearly impossible for anyone to access your files without the proper authorization. When it comes to choosing an encryption method, I recommend going for one that’s both robust and user-friendly, like FileVault. With FileVault, your files will be locked up tighter than Fort Knox, guaranteeing that only you hold the key to their kingdom.
So there you have it, my friend – the what, how, and why of setting up an offsite backup for your Mac. With this mighty backup fortress in place, you can sleep soundly, knowing that your valuable files are protected from the uncertainties of life. So go forth, embrace the power of offsite backups, and keep your Mac’s data safe and sound – because nothing can stand in the way of your digital resilience!
It’s tough enough trying to convince people to back up their data on their own computers. Even with easy tools like Apple’s Time Machine, many people still don’t bother to properly back up their important files. Now imagine trying to convince them to not just back up locally, but also create a backup in a different location! It’s a challenge, let me tell you.
In my line of work providing support for Apple products, I’ve seen the worst-case scenarios: people losing their irreplaceable baby photos, important tax and business documents, and even their beloved music and movie collections. It’s heartbreaking to console a customer when you tell them that their lack of a backup means their data is gone forever. Trust me, you don’t want anyone else to go through that. That’s why offsite backups are so crucial.
What is an Offsite Backup?
Local backups like Time Machine or a USB drive with important documents are important, but they’re just as vulnerable as your original data on your Mac. If your house burns down, gets flooded, hit by lightning, or burglarized, your local backup sitting next to your Mac is toast too. That’s where an offsite backup comes in. It’s exactly what it sounds like: a copy of your data stored in a different location than your Mac and local backup. For most people, there are two main options for offsite backups:
- Backing up to a physical device like an external hard drive or SSD, and then moving it somewhere outside your home or office.
- Using an online subscription backup service like CrashPlan, Backblaze, or Carbonite, which upload your data to the company’s servers located in various places around the world.
The bottom line is, with either option, you’re getting at least one copy of your data outside of your home or office, so it won’t be at risk if something happens to your original data and local backup. The subscription model is more expensive in the long run, but it saves you the hassle of physically updating your backup. I mean, how likely are you to go to a safety deposit box or a friend’s house to retrieve a drive, update it, and then bring it back? If you’re like most people I know, the answer is “almost never.” That’s almost as bad as not having an offsite backup at all. Imagine losing your house and realizing the only surviving copy of your photos is over a year old. Talk about a double blow.
Online Backup Service
Hey there! The offsite backup service I recommend is CrashPlan. Yeah, it’s a bit pricey, but trust me, it’s totally worth it. I’ve been using it for over five years, and it’s been a lifesaver! I’ve tested it thoroughly and the support from Code42, the company behind CrashPlan, has been top-notch.
Now, most online backup services work pretty much the same way. You sign up on their website and download their client software to your Mac. It’s usually accessible from the menu bar. CrashPlan, for example, looks like this:
If you decide to give CrashPlan a try, they offer a free trial and a handy guide to help you get started. Once you have the client installed, you can choose to backup your whole Mac’s drive or just specific folders. The client will then start uploading your data to CrashPlan’s servers. This can take a while, depending on your internet connection’s upload speed and the amount of data you’re backing up. But don’t worry, future uploads will be much faster as you’ll only be backing up new files and changes to existing ones.
Manually Moving Physical Drives
If you prefer a physical-drive backup, make sure the place where you store it is secure and different from where your Mac usually is. For example, keeping it in a safe at a friend’s house is a great idea, while storing it in an unlocked shed in your backyard is not so smart. And remember to encrypt the drive for added safety! This way, even if someone manages to steal it, they won’t be able to access your data without the encryption password. Oh, and before I forget, use a different software for your offsite backups than the one you use for your onsite backups. This way, if anything goes wrong with one program, you have a backup plan with another.
If you’re already using Time Machine at home, I highly recommend Carbon Copy Cloner as an alternative backup software. It costs $39.99 after a free trial, but it’s totally worth it. You can create a bootable clone of your Mac with it, meaning you can actually start up your computer using the backup if your internal drive crashes. I’ve been using Carbon Copy Cloner for years, and the developer is awesome. Super responsive and helpful!
Setting up Your Backup Drives
Here are some general steps to configure a physical drive for backup, depending on the software you’re using.
Time Machine: Simply plug the drive you want to use as a backup into your Mac. Your computer may ask if you want to back up to the connected device right away:
Hey there! Just wanted to share a really cool image of the Time Machine interface from Apple. It’s pretty neat, right?
But hey, if you’re having trouble setting up a Time Machine backup, Apple has you covered with their support article that walks you through the process. And no matter what, make sure to tick the box to encrypt your drive. That way, your backups stay safe from prying eyes. 
Just make sure you don’t forget the password, okay?
Now, let’s talk about Carbon Copy Cloner: To download and install the program, get your drive ready, and encrypt it, Bombich Software has this fantastic knowledge base site that has all the details. CCC is really versatile too! You can customize it to do all sorts of cool stuff, like running when you connect the backup drive, following a schedule, or even sending you an email after a backup. This is how I’ve got mine set up, for example: 
Now, I get it, using a different program for offsite backup adds a little complexity. But trust me, it’s totally worth it. If you disagree or just don’t want the hassle, no worries! Having two Time Machine drives works great too, even if it’s not foolproof. You’d be surprised how many folks I meet who don’t even have a single backup. Sure, Macs are supposed to be super reliable, but accidents happen. Fires, floods, and even crashes can wipe out your data. I’m actually waiting for the first computer company to invent a device that’s truly disaster-proof.
Now, let me share my personal backup process:
If you’re curious about how paranoid I am when it comes to backups, here’s my current setup:
- I have two onsite network backups using two Time Capsules.
- I also have one onsite USB backup using Carbon Copy Cloner.
- For an extra layer of protection, I keep one full offsite backup using CrashPlan.
- Additionally, I sync my photos, critical business folders, and other documents across different services like iCloud’s Desktop and Documents syncing.
Yep, I may sound a little paranoid, but trust me, checking and maintaining these backups only takes around 5 minutes per week. After the initial setup, it’s been smooth sailing, and I don’t really have to worry about my data unless there’s a zombie apocalypse or something. And let’s face it, if zombies come knocking, my birthday pictures will be the last thing on my mind. Funny how priorities change in the face of a zombie invasion, right?
