President Obama spoke this morning about both our increasing reliance on cyberspace and the increasing threat to our data, identity and ultimately national security:
But make no mistake: This world -- cyberspace -- is a world that we depend on every single day. It's our hardware and our software, our desktops and laptops and cell phones and Blackberries that have become woven into every aspect of our lives.
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It's the great irony of our Information Age -- the very technologies that empower us to create and to build also empower those who would disrupt and destroy. And this paradox -- seen and unseen -- is something that we experience every day.
Secure, offsite backup is a critical component of cyber-security and requires a fast Internet connection to be effective. Obama confirmed his commitment to expanding broadband access in the US:
And that's why my administration is making major investments in our information infrastructure: laying broadband lines to every corner of America
Innovative, peer-to-peer solutions like Cucku Backup depend on maintaining network neutrality. Consumers and businesses should be free to choose the applications that are important to them without interference from telcos and internet service providers. The Cyberspace Policy Review (PDF) released today reaffirms Obama's commitment to network neutrality and recognizes the importance of securing personal data (emphasis added):
The decentralized nature of the current Internet model allows individuals and entrepreneurs to develop and deploy innovative applications at the edges of the network without obtaining permission. Innovation has sparked new multi-billion dollar businesses that have revolutionized the way users interact with the network and each other. As technology becomes more critical to the United States, maintaining confidence and trust in this constantly evolving infrastructure is essential. The President has called for the federal government to work with industry on the development of "next-generation secure computers and networking for national security applications," "tough new standards for cybersecurity and physical resilience," and "standards for securing personal data."
posted by Rob on Friday, May 29, 2009
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Cucku Backup Pro just introduced support for multiple backup partners. This means that you can run the online backup service for your friends, family or business. You can also send your remote backup to more than one partner. Don't forget to use the new Backup Export capability to seed those backups quickly!
Once you've added partners the main Cucku window shows you the status of each partner - just click the left and right icons to scroll through the partner list. (Click any of the screenshots below for a high quality version)
To add a new backup partner click Settings, go to the partners page and click Add. We don't limit the number of partners you can add in Cucku Backup Pro. Remote backup runs one partner at a time. Cucku will allow up to five partners to backup to your computer simultaneously.
To change the settings for a partner click on the partner in the list and click Edit.
For each partner you can control if you want to receive backups or send backups or both. You get the chance to choose when you invite a new partner and can easily change the settings later. You can also control how much space each partner is allowed to use on your computer by changing the backup quota.
Labels: Pro, Tips
posted by Rob on Tuesday, May 26, 2009
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Amazon just launched a beta import/export AWS service aimed at getting data into their S3 cloud storage platform. This follows our launch of import/export for fast remote backup and restore in Cucku Backup 2.0 last week.
Amazon has a table showing when you should consider the postal service instead of the Internet. For a T1 connection this is just 100GB, and this is the slowest connection they list. For a typical ADSL line the threshold would be closer to 20GB.
This speed problem is the largest barrier to adoption of online backup for both consumers and businesses. The rate of data growth far outstrips any advances in broadband speed. Some form of out-of-band seeding is the only way to make online backup tolerable for many.
Amazon's service costs $80 per device and $2.49 per hour of data loading. This is before you start racking up S3 storage and transfer fees. The same new feature in Cucku is free - you just need a willing friend, family member or a second PC.
posted by Rob on Friday, May 22, 2009
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Cucku Backup 2.0 includes command line support for local, remote and partner backup.
(Click image for larger view)
Command line backup is ideal if you'd prefer to have full control over when Cucku runs. You and your backup partners can schedule the command line to run local and remote backup at the same time every day.
If you're using Cucku Backup Pro to run a dedicated backup server for your family or business then you can leave the command line running to accept incoming backup connections.
See Cucku Backup Command Line in the User Guide for instructions. Command line support is only available in Cucku Backup Pro.
Labels: Pro, Tips
posted by Rob on Wednesday, May 20, 2009
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I just finished my interview with Ken Hess and Jason Perlow on Frugal Friday. You can listen to the show below - it's an hour long and I join about half way through:
If you have trouble with the flash player above you can listen to the show at Frugal Friday.
posted by Rob on Friday, May 15, 2009
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One of the main problems with online backup is speed. Let's say that you have 80GB of data to backup and a typical ADSL connection offering 1.5Mbps download / 384 Kbps upload. If you can upload continuously and use the full rated upload speed it's going to take you twenty days to upload the backup.
Of course you'll never use the full capacity of the connection. It's going to take longer than the theoretical time above - maybe twice as long, maybe even four times as long.
Cucku Backup has always allowed you to directly connect to your partner's computer (via LAN or WiFi) so that you can complete your first backup at high speed. In 2.0 we now allow you to export your backup so you don't have to be on the same network as your partner.
Once you complete a local backup click Settings and then Export Backup. All you need to do is pick a folder where the export will be stored. You can export directly to an external hard drive or flash memory drive. You could also burn the export files to one or more recordable DVDs.
(Click the screen shots for a larger view.)
Once you've sent or given your export to your partner they just need to click Settings and then Import Backup. It doesn't matter if you've already started a remote backup, the import will correctly merge the export with the files that have already been sent via the Internet.
If you have more than one backup partner then the same export can be sent to each of them to kick start several remote backups.
Export also works for restore. If you need to restore from your partner, ask them to export by selecting you from the list above in the Export Screen. They can then click export and send (give) you the exported files. You can then import the backup on your own machine and restore one or more files as required.
When you first start using Cucku you and your partner could both buy an external hard drive, export your first backup and then swap drives. You both have an immediate remote backup of your critical data, and you only need to send new and changed files over the Internet.
For more instructions see Export Backup Locations and Import Backup Locations in the Cucku Backup User Guide.
Backup Export/Import is available in both the Free and Pro editions of Cucku Backup.
Labels: Tips
posted by Rob on Friday, May 15, 2009
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I'd like to share some of the great coverage we received for the Cucku Backup v2.0 launch yesterday.
Jason Perlow from ZDNet talks about the new support for multiple backup partners in Cucku Backup Pro:
For example, this is ideal for families with who have several children in college, where the PC at home is the "mothership" which contains the backups for the remote students. If Junior accidentally crashes his hard drive away at school and needs a copy of his graduate thesis that he's been working on for several months, no problem - he can get it from dad's PC at home, because CUCKU runs transparently in the background.
- Cucku 2.0: Be your own Internet backup service
Over at GigaOm Janko Roettgers likes our "sneakernet" backup seeding. This is the ability to send your first backup on an external hard drive and then only send new and changed files over the Internet:
I must admit that I was skeptical when I first heard about Cucku. However, I love the idea of an easy way to combine online with sneakernet backups, and I liked what I saw when I played a little with the new Cucku version over the last few days.
- Cucku Uses Skype to Back Up Your Family's Data
Dong Ngo at C|Net mentions Cucku for small businesses. Small companies can backup their critical data to a founder's PC at home. Larger businesses can benefit from backing up between sites. The new command line online backup capability of Cucku Backup Pro even allows you to run Cucku as a backup server for all your laptop users:
With these new features, Cucku's Backup Pro is intended for home users and those who need their backup replicated to multiple computers for better protection against disasters. Also, this makes Cucku a viable backup solution for small businesses
- Cucku online backup goes pro
At InternetNews.com Alex Goldman discusses the huge time saving of using the backup export feature. This works both ways - you can also export files from a partner for restore:
The second advantage is time: it can take advantage of the full speed of the local network which likely exceeds any connection to the Internet, especially the meager upstream that most home users and many small businesses deal with.
- Cucku uses Skype for encrypted backup
Labels: Reviews
posted by Rob on Wednesday, May 13, 2009
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Cucku Backup v2.0 is now available for download.
From v2.0 there are two editions available. Cucku Backup continues to provide free remote backup to a single backup partner. Cucku Backup Pro introduces support for multiple backup partners. Both editions are contained in the download - you can upgrade from Cucku Backup to Cucku Backup Pro at any time.
Multiple partner support lets you be the backup hero for your family or group of friends. Pro lets you add as many partners as you like and supports up to five simultaneous backups from partners. You can also use Pro to send your backup to several partners.
Cucku Backup Pro costs just $49.95, and one license entitles you to install Pro on three computers using the same Cucku Account. Special upgrade pricing is available for existing customers for a limited time - sign in to your account to see if you qualify.
Version 2.0 also adds support for backup export and import. It's always been possible to connect to your backup partner over a local network or WiFi connection for fast remote backup and restore but this isn't always convenient. Backup export lets you securely place a copy of your backup on a USB memory drive or external hard drive. You can then give or post the export to your backup partner. After your partner imports the backup you only need to send new and changed files over the Internet. You can also export a partner's backup to use for speedy restore if they lose their local backup.
Backup export and import is available in both the Free and Pro editions of Cucku Backup.
I'll be blogging more about these and other new features in v2.0. Subscribe to the blog or check back often for tips on getting the most out of Cucku Backup v2.0.
Labels: Releases
posted by Rob on Tuesday, May 12, 2009
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One of the primary concerns when backing up to a remote location is how secure your files are against prying eyes. Those eyes may be on your own computer; on your partner's computer; or while the data is in transit between the two.
Of course, Cucku assumes that you will choose a trusted backup partner who will not delete your backed up files and who will provide you with regular access to their PC for backups and restores. However, it is still of primary importance that even your backup partner cannot access your file data.
Cucku uses the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) with a 256 bit key size to protect all of your files from the moment they are backed up locally. This level of protection makes it infeasible to decrypt your data without possession of the encryption key.
Your random encryption key is generated by the Cucku Server when you first create your Cucku account and is stored along with your other account details. When you run Cucku Backup for the first time on your PC you must provide your login credentials (username and password) and if they are deemed correct, your unique encryption key will be delivered to your machine. Delivery of the key to your machine is performed using HTTPS which is essentially HTTP over a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) - the standard for secure communications with a server over the internet.
Once on your machine, the key itself is encrypted using the Microsoft Windows Data Protection Application Programming Interface (DPAPI) that utilises your Windows User account credentials to protect the data from other Windows Users on the same machine.
For those users who wish to manage their own key, Cucku provides a means for you to generate, export and import keys of your own. These keys will never be sent to or stored by the Cucku Server but are instead maintained in secure storage on your PC using the DPAPI interface. If you choose to manage your own keys then it is imperative that you export the key to a file and store this separate from your PC in case of hard disk failure. Without your key you will not be able to restore from your backups.
Cucku uses Skype "Application to Application Streams" to transfer files to your partner. A connection is first established to your partner and then the data is transmitted. Skype's proprietary encryption is used during data transmission in addition to the AES encryption of your data. If, by some means, your file data was intercepted during transmission; and the hacker was able to break the Skype protection; then the data would still be useless without your private AES key. Your private encryption key is never transmitted to your partner.
When your file data reaches your partner's machine it will be stored in the same encrypted form as in your local backup. Your partner has no way to retrieve your private encryption key and therefore has no way to retrieve the contents of your files. When restoring files from your partner, the encrypted files are transferred to your local machine and only decrypted once they have been safely received.
Cucku Backup is Secure Backup.
Labels: security protection safe
posted by Mark on Wednesday, May 06, 2009
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I'll be on Frugal Friday with Ken Hess on Friday, May 15. The program starts at 3:30pm PST with Jason Perlow. I'm on at 4pm PST. If you miss the live version you can download the podcast from Frugal Friday.
posted by Rob on Monday, May 04, 2009
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