Bulletproof Backups

Nowadays, data loss is a disaster! Prevent this with regular data backups as described below. The backup is performed on site for quick recovery and kept offline to prevent ransomware attacks.

📋 Planning & Preparation

• 1. Read the documents to plan your backup strategy, recommended is 3-2-1.
• 2. Buy hard drives with enough capacity (use different vendors/models/types and maybe rugged ones).
• 3. Check the hard drives for errors and use error-free ones only.
• 4. Label the hard drives by writing the disk size and a unique name onto them (e.g. "4TB BACKUPS #1")
• 5. Connect the hard drives with the computer and rename the disks using the same name.
• 6. Download this repo (5.8MB), then unzip it as top folder 📁bulletproof-backups onto each hard drive.
• 7. Set up a reminder in your digital calendar to back up your data every day/week/month/etc.

💾 How to back up your Data

• 1. Connect your mobile devices to the PC and copy photos into the Pictures folder, documents into the Documents folder, and so on.
• 2. Connect the next hard drive to the PC and open the folders 📁bulletproof-backups/scripts.
• 3. Execute the backup scripts one by one, e.g. 📄save_Home_dir.bat to copy your PC's home folder (containing your pictures, docs, etc.) to the drive at 📁bulletproof-backups/DATA
• 4. Disconnect the drive properly and store it carefully in a separate and secure location.

🪂 How to recover your Data

• 1. Get the hard drive with the latest (!) backup. Check the logbook if in doubt.
• 2. Check the hard drive: in case it's damaged read the documents.
• 3. Connect the hard drive to the PC and open the folders 📁bulletproof-backups/DATA.
• 4. Manually copy (=overwrite files) or sync (=overwrite folder content) the missing or corrupted data back to the computer (but DON'T MOVE the data).
• 5. Disconnect the drive properly and store it carefully in a separate and secure location again.

💡 Hints

• Full backups are only made once (slow for big data), but then only changes ("deltas") are copied in no time.
• Logbook.csv (a table in .CSV format) contains the backup details and gets updated automatically by the backup scripts.
• No encryption is performed to keep it simple and robust! Use an encryption program and a vault to prevent unauthorized access.
• Test your backups regularly to ensure that they are working properly. Restore your backups to a test environment and check that all of your data can be accessed as expected.
• Feedback is welcome! Create a pull request or send your email feedback to: markus.fleschutz [at] gmail.com
• DISCLAIMER: All informations are given according to my best knowledge, but without guarantee.

🤝 Contributing

• Contributions, suggestions, and improvements are welcome!
• Open an Issue if you encounter bugs or have feature ideas.
• Create a Pull Request if you'd like to improve something.
• Or just send your feedback to: markus.fleschutz [at] gmail.com

📜 License & Copyright

This open source project is licensed under the CC0-1.0 license. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.