I couldn’t think of 2 “issues” that go together so well.  I’ll do the second one first (what?).  While it may not appeal to everyone (but the subject is not the point), there exists a huge number of computer users out there who invest a lot of time in SecondLife and virtual worlds of a similar nature. The scene is huge, to the point where there are massive projects, like “Open Sim” which provide the software for hosting such a virtual worlds.  In “Server crash, backup failure destroys Aesthetica build By: Maria Korolov” we learn that just last week, a “hosting” company damaged some disks during a routine move of equipment, and in doing so, lost some data.  No big deal, right?  Well, unfortunately, their “backups” were no good.  Not only was there no known good backup to use to restore, but the backups themselves had not been checked in months!  So, the customer lost many hours of work.  Most tragically, he had been operating with a false sense of security for 5 months, assuming that useful nightly backups were being completed (because he was paying for it as part of his hosting plan).   

What can you learn from this? 
1. Check your backups.  Do a test restore.  I’ve said it before, and I’ll likely say it again.  After all, what is a backup without a plan for recovery?
2. If you are relying on the hosting provider to also be your backup provider, CYA!  That is, make at least one copy yourself from time to time. 

For me, this is particularly interesting given the much bigger news that was just announced: Mozy has launched in the UK and Europe.  This is a big deal, because Mozy is one of the largest players in the remote backup industry.  Most troubling though is something an article by Daniel Robinson attributes to their chief marketing officer:
     “This is accomplished using a “set and forget” model, according to Stockdale”

NO!!!  NEVER set and forget with backups.  Autosave in Excel works, too.  Does that mean you shouldn’t bother to save real files?  NO.  If your data is important, then you, or someone you pay, should be heavily invested in testing it periodically, making sure the backups run, and understanding the recovery process.  Set it and forget it is a horrible idea and Mozy should be ashamed to be linked to such an statement.  As one of the largest and most influential voices in the market, they should promote better awareness.  JEESH!

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