BackupAssist Synology WebDAV setup In case you missed the announcement, BackupAssist recently added WebDAV to the suite of backup job types the software is able to support. Intended for those who wish to back up their data to an off-site destination, the protocol enables admins to create encrypted, incremental backups to either a third party hosting company, another Windows server or a NAS device. The latter is a popular choice, particularly for the smaller business. They're a good option because once the hardware's paid for, there's no monthly recurring charge as you'd tend to expect from a cloud storage provider. Also, the portability of the small units means they can be 'seeded' to locally and then moved. In most cases, you have physical access too, which means you're not relying on an Internet connection for your data in disaster recovery scenarios In this post, I focus on the steps for configuring one of the more common NAS devices I come into contact with, the Synology. The requirements will be the same for other brands, however, the exact steps and screenshots will of course differ.

BackupAssist version 10.3 Back in May of last year, there was a veritable buzz in the office as BackupAssist released v10, and with it their shiny new 'Cloud Backup' engine, designed at the time to work only with public cloud giants AWS and Azure. The buzz was partly around the potential for the new technology. Here was a backup engine that could happily back up large files over a WAN, that would encrypt, deduplicate and compress, and that could also be set up with very little effort. We mentioned then that this was the first iteration and in the newly released 10.3 you're seeing the next step. In this latest release, the Cloud Backup engine has been expanded to include support for WebDAV destinations, unlocking a wide variety of destinations including Windows machines, NAS devices, and third-party hosting companies.


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In addition to supporting local destination media such as USB hard drives, network shares and RDX, BackupAssist also provides a way to back up important files and folders to a public cloud provider such as Amazon or Microsoft.

Designed to be an additional layer of protection to your local backup routine, the Cloud Backup Add-on is ideal for disaster recovery scenarios and popular with Hyper-V users who want an off-site location for Guest VM's.

In the second instalment of a new series where we focus on specific features, Neil walks you through setting up a job using the Cloud Backup Add-on, showing both the steps required in BackupAssist and what's needed in Azure.

Over to you Neil!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_puqPfnSGPU?controls=0&showinfo=0&w=560&h=315] System Protection is 'BackupAssist speak' for what you'll probably know as a bare metal backup or image of your server. It's also the backup type of choice for the vast majority of our customers. It's a popular option because it's a safe one. It guarantees your entire system is backed up in one hit with nothing left behind, but also still provides you with the ability to restore granular data should you wish, such as files, folders or mailbox items. In the first of a new series of videos designed to help new users get started, and existing ones brush up their knowledge, Neil gets behind the camera to walk you through the process of creating a job, explaining both the benefits and limitations as he goes. Over to you Neil!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hj0OJOplnso?controls=0&showinfo=0&w=560&h=315] Many ransomware strains such as WannaCry, already have the ability to remove both system restore points and your Windows backups altogether. Rather worryingly, experts also suggest that ransomware is expected to increasingly target backup files in the future With that in mind, we're particularly excited to see BackupAssist v10.1.0 go live today, as it includes CryptoSafeGuard, a free feature designed to tackle these problems head on.

In case you missed my early heads up, the public release of CryptSafeGuard for BackupAssist is now but a few weeks away. It's an anti-ransomware feature, it's ever so timely and best of all, it's free (provided you have valid upgrade cover of course!). The senior development team over at BackupAssist are excited to let you know just how great it is, and with that in mind, are running a free one-off webinar for resellers on Wednesday 9th August @ 9.30am.   If you can spare the time I highly recommend you attend as it's a terrific opportunity to learn about a feature that could really help your customers (and you!) out of a tight spot should the unthinkable happen and their files become encrypted. Not only that but it's a rare chance to provide your thoughts and suggestions directly to the people who write the software.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdodIycQgB4?controls=0&showinfo=0&w=560&h=315] When the Australian development team at BackupAssist let me know there would be an anti-ransomware feature available so soon after the recent high profile cryptolocker attacks, I have to admit, the timing seemed almost a little too convenient. Until any concrete evidence comes to light, we'll work on the basis they just know the market, but my investigations will continue nonetheless :)

It's been a couple of months since we announced the launch of BackupAssist v10 and its super efficient new cloud backup engine. The significance of the new engine is that it unlocks the possibility of using public cloud giants AWS and Azure as backup destination options. While the BackupAssist side of things is typically easy to configure, I've had a few requests for help navigating Azure's configuration options, so in this article, I'll be walking through the steps as they are today.

BackupAssist version 10 We're thrilled to announce that there's a new version of BackupAssist available today, and with it, new features for backing up your data to the wonderfully reliable and ultra-secure data centres of cloud hosting juggernauts, Amazon and Microsoft (with more to follow). While you'll find enhancements to the base product too, the headliner for version 10 is undoubtedly the all-new backup engine that's behind the new Cloud Backup features. Brimming with potential, this new technology offers a simple, secure and efficient way to automate getting your important data off-site. Don't feel like reading? Check out my 'Early Heads Up' video from last week which also tells you everything you need to know about v10.

ba-v10-beta There's an exciting new release of BackupAssist in the pipeline so it's that time again when we reach out and ask for your help in giving it an early road test before it's unleashed on the public. BackupAssist version 10 is now in Beta, so if you'd like to grab a copy from the official Beta page, you'll get an early peek at some great new file and application cloud backup features, as well as the chance to provide your input.