Verio PC Data Backup FAQ's
Answers make the world go around...
To get instant answers to frequently asked questions, use the links below:
- Installation and Setup
- Internet Connections
- How PC Data Backup Works
- Account Information
- Backing Up Files
- Retrieving Files
- Privacy and HIPAA and Legal Discovery
1. Installation and Setup
How do I register a new account?
The user ID you entered could not be registered...
How many accounts can a computer have?
How are version upgrades handled?
How do I register a new account?
You will be sent via email your Verio PC Data Backup registration login codes. These codes enable you to log in to the Iron Mountain Data Center. You must use the registration login codes when prompted by the Verio PC Backup agent during registration.
Please keep your registration login codes in a safe place. If you change the registration login, you will be denied access.
When you connect to Verio PC Backup for the first time, you will be assigned an account number that identifies the computer that you will be backing up. This is a unique account number and can only be used for the computer on which the software is installed and for which backups will be made.
You will also be given the option of printing your account information.
We urge you to print the information. It contains details of your account that will be needed later on.
The user ID you entered could not be registered...
While you are trying to install PC Backup for the first time, if you get an error message stating "The User ID you entered could not be registered with our data center, please check the User ID and try again." and you are sure you entered the username correctly and tried again but still you are getting the error message, please contact customer support for further information and help to resolve the issue. There may be a variety of reasons for this error message and it is best to contact customer support for help.
How many accounts can a PC/computer have?
Each computer requires its own account number, so the answer is one. If you have more than one PC with data you want to protect using this service, you must install the Verio PC Backup software on each PC (each with its own account number).
Unique account numbers enable the storage of vast amounts of data from computers around the world to be stored without losing track of it. The account number identifies which files belong to which computer.
How are version upgrades handled?
From time to time, the agent will automatically download changes to the PC Backup software that will improve performance or add new features. When the new version has been thoroughly tested, it is released to our customers. Your version is then upgraded the next time you back up. There is no action required on your part and you will always have the latest version.
2. Internet Connections
Modem, Cable, DSL, LAN Connections
AOL, Prodigy, CompuServe, Juno and similar ISP connections
Transmission times/Backup tips
Firewall information
Modem, Cable, DSL, LAN Connections
Each type of connection has its own characteristics. When our software is first installed it will identify the type of connection that you have and auto-configure itself to use it. If you have more than one connection, you can specify which one the software should use.
Standard modems
have been in use for a long time and are consistently reliable. They open and close a connection as needed, using a dialer, unlike other methods of connecting. Our software supports the standard Windows Dial-Up-Networking for these modems.
Cable modems
have certain limitations that could affect your connectivity. For example:
* Cable service can be either one-way or two-way, depending on the provider. One-way service relies on an analog modem and phone line for uploads. This limits upload speed to 33.3 Kbps. The more people on a node, the slower each connection could be.
* Service providers can tie a specific data rate or percentage of total bandwidth to each user. Providers do move bandwidth around among users selectively.
* Since most users don't need constant-megabit-per-second connections - they need high speeds for loading a Web page but not for viewing it - cable operators will take advantage of this burst of usage and divide bandwidth among multiple users.
DSL service
comes in several flavors, with varying throughput rates, technical limitations, and prices.
* Speed: The most common form for businesses and home users - the one we refer to simply as DSL - is asymmetric DSL, or ADSL, which supports peak downstream speeds of 144 Kbps to 2.2 Mbps but upstream rates only from 90 Kbps to 640 Kbps. Your backups will run at the upstream rate.
* Distance: The line's performance degrades with distance from the central office. All else being equal, users 5,000 feet from the central office will get better throughput than those 15,000 feet away. Beyond 18,000 feet service is generally unavailable.
* ISP: One advantage of ADSL service is a dedicated connection that won't degrade as more users in your area sign on (as cable will). Still, performance not only varies depending on how far you are from the central office but also on the efficiency of your ISP's network. Even the fastest DSL connections can't cure bottlenecks at an ISP, such as slowdowns during peak hours.
* Generally, DSL upload transmission speed is rated at an average of 256K. Therefore, a data stream of 100MB would upload in 54.50 minutes.
LAN connections
, including DSL and cable, provide a continuously open channel to the Internet. Like DSL and cable, LANs do not necessarily assure a high rate of transmission. You still have to go through an Internet gateway and through several routers, so the variables that create bottlenecks still exist and can affect throughput.
AOL, Prodigy, CompuServe, Juno, and similar ISP connections
If you will be connecting to us via ISPs who provide their own dialer instead of using the standard Windows dialer, it will be necessary to open your Internet connection before running our software. You will not be able to use scheduled backups that run automatically, but all other features are unaffected.
Transmission Times/Backup Tips
Some suggestions for successful backups:
* Avoid peak hours. We recommend using automatic backups that are scheduled to run in the earliest morning hours, between midnight and dawn.
* Close applications that aren't essential during the backup. There may be one or more background applications running at the same time. Use Windows Task Manager to check this.
* Monitor several transmissions to see the speed at which your ISP has connected you. Bandwidth is not usually guaranteed and will vary with the amount of traffic at any given time. Try to backup when conditions are favorable.
* Reduce the size of your backup sessions - at least until you complete an initial backup of everything that you want. It may be that your ISP's available capacity is being taxed by sheer volume or that your own network is.
Sample transmission rates:
| Data Stream | Internet Connection Speed | ||||||
| 8.8K Modem | 33.6/56K Modem | 56-64K ISDN | 112-128K ISDN | 56K Partial T1 or DSL | 512K Partial T1 or DSL | 1.54M T1 | |
| 1 Mb | 4.87 min | 4.16 min | 2.19 min | 1.09 min | .54 min | .27 min | .09 min |
| 5 Mb | 24.35 min | 20.8 min | 10.95 min | 5.45 min | 2.73 min | 1.37 min | .45 min |
| 10 Mb | 48.7 min | 41.6 min | 21.9 min | 10.9 min | 5.45 min | 2.73 min | .91 min |
| 20 Mb | 1 hr 37 min | 1 hr 23 min | 43.8 min | 21.8 min | 10.9 min | 5.45 min | 1.82 min |
| 50 Mb | 4 hr 3 min | 3 hr 46 min | 1 hr 49 min | 54.5 min | 27.25 min | 13.63 min | 4.54 min |
| 100 Mb | 8 hr 6 min | 7 hr 32 min | 3 hr 40 min | 1 hr 49 min | 54.5 min | 27.25 min | 9.08 min |
Firewall Information
Firewalls can be implemented in several ways. If you have a firewall, you will need to configure it and/or the PC Backup software to allow inbound and outbound transmission. How you do that depends on the type of firewall that you have.
SOCKS proxy firewall: In the PC Backup software, provide your firewall's IP address and the port to use to connect to the firewall. That's it; you do not need to reconfigure your firewall.
Non-SOCKS-compliant firewall: You will need to configure both the PC Backup software and your firewall. Contact your firewall administrator for assistance. Read our detailed firewall information.
Detailed Firewall Information: Overview
Protocols
Server Subnets
Port Numbers
DNS
Registration vs. subsequent connections
SOCKS-Compliant Proxy Servers
Other Proxy Firewalls
Packet Filtering Firewalls
Detailed Firewall Information: Overview
The PC Backup software communicates with secure Data Centers using the standard TCP/IP protocol.
Connections are initiated from the backup software on your computer or inside the firewall. Connections are NEVER initiated from the outside.
The program can work with all types of firewalls, including packet-filtering, circuit-filtering, SOCKS-compliant Proxy or Mapped Proxy firewalls. For most firewalls, some configuration of the firewall is needed. If your network requires explicit connection to the firewall to initiate outgoing connections, the Data Protector software must be configured for your firewall. You can configure it yourself using our client software configuration tool.
The requirements for running the PC Backup service are consistent with security best practices. They do not create an opening for incoming connections, and outgoing connections can be limited to specific ports at specific known IP addresses. As an added security measure, all data is Triple-DES encrypted before leaving your PC; it remains encrypted though transmission, and is stored encrypted at the Iron Mountain secure Data Centers.
The following information is useful for configuring a firewall to permit outgoing connections to the Data Center servers.
Back to Detailed Firewall Information
Protocols
TCP/IP is used. There is no use of UDP or ICMP.
Back to Detailed Firewall Information
Server Subnets
Each user's PC Backup software connects to a primary and an alternate server in order to provide high availability. Currently, all servers reside in the subnet 12.159.133.0-63 (also expressed as 12.159.133.0/26) and in the subnet 66.151.228.0-255 (also expressed as 66.151.228.0/24). The PC Backup software must have access to both of these subnets. Should these addresses change in the future, notice will be given to allow firewall changes and the PC Backup software can be automatically updated with the new addresses.
Back to Detailed Firewall Information
Port Numbers
All Iron Mountain servers listen for client requests on a well-known port number: 16384. The PC Backup software always establishes a TCP/IP session with port 16384 on the server.
Back to Detailed Firewall Information
DNS
The software connects to a server using the server's IP address, not its name. Therefore, name resolution and access to a name server are not required.
Back to Detailed Firewall Information
Registration vs. subsequent connections
The software is configured to connect to one of a pair of registration server addresses (primary and alternate) when it is used for the first time. The registration process assigns a server address pair (primary and alternate) for all subsequent uses.
Back to Detailed Firewall Information
SOCKS-Compliant Proxy Servers
The software can be configured to connect out through a SOCKS proxy server. The IP address (or the DNS) of the proxy server and the port number on which it listens for connections must be known in order to configure the backup software. SOCKS is designed to allow outgoing connections and responses back to those connections, but to prevent other incoming packets. This is consistent with the software. If your SOCKS proxy server has been set up with additional restrictions on outgoing connections, it is necessary to include our subnets in the permitted destinations.
When prompted by the software setup program to select a Firewall option, select the, "Use SOCKS proxy firewall" radio button and enter your proxy server information.
Note: The default setting for SOCKS TCP Port is 1080.
Back to Detailed Firewall Information
Other Proxy Firewalls
In order for the software to be used with an application-based proxy firewall server, the firewall must be set to permit outbound TCP connections for a generic application. Mapped firewalls require a separate port on the firewall for each different destination address.
The IP addresses that must be mapped will appear when you attempt to run the client software, or can be seen by selecting Options/Connection.../Firewall in the client software. The destination port number is always 16384. The firewall administrator may choose any available port numbers on the firewall. Finally, the software must be configured with the IP address or the DNS of the firewall and the firewall port numbers that were chosen.
When prompted by the software to select a Firewall option, select the, "Use proxy firewall server(s)" radio button. Then enter the firewall mapping that was configured on your firewall: Enter the IP Address or DNS of your firewall into the "Firewall IP address" field; for both Secure Data Centers enter the port numbers chosen by the firewall administrator.
Back to Detailed Firewall Information
Packet filtering firewalls
The following is a summary of rules that must be applied to the firewall software or hardware in order to enable client-server protocol. (All the rules are described from the 'firewall's point of view.')
* Permit TCP/IP outbound to port 16384 to subnets 12.159.133.0-63 (12.159.133.0/26) and 66.151.228.0-255 (66.151.228.0/24).
* If your firewall requires you to explicitly permit the response packets to come back, do so by permitting TCP/IP inbound to ports 1024-5000 from the subnets listed above, for an already-established connection. It is NOT necessary to permit a connection originating from outside the firewall.
* We do not utilize UDP or ICMP.
3. How PC Data Backup Works
- Install the Verio PC Backup Agent (a small piece of software) on the computer(s) you want to protect.
- Allow the Agent to select the files to back up, or select the files yourself.
- PC Backup does the rest. Your information will be available for easy retrieval, up to the last time you were online.
Automatic Backup
PC Backup offers the first user-friendly, automated method to protect the information that resides on your company's desktop and laptop computers.
Rather than relying on CDs, Zip drives or floppy disks, PC Backup subscription service automatically backs up your company's computers to an
Easy Set-Up
PC Backup deploys a small software Agent to each protected computer to aid in the backup and retrieval of data. Download and installation of the Agent takes just minutes. The Agent allows the scheduling of regular backup times, forcing of unscheduled backup, file retrieval, CD-ROM ordering for stored data and user log review.
Once an initial overnight back up is done, subsequent backups take place automatically with no user intervention needed. PC Backup is so efficient, update backups can typically be done in the few minutes it takes to read email, even over a dial-up connection.
On-Demand Data Retrieval
When the time comes that they're needed, stored files are easily accessed from the computer where they originated. If that computer is unavailable for any reason, files can be retrieved to any computer with Windows, Internet Explorer and an Internet connection. (See Requirements, below.) All it takes is a few mouse clicks. Individual files are instantly accessible, and customers have told us they've done complete bottom-to-top computer data restorations in as little as an hour.
Comprehensive & Faster Than Fast
How can PC Backup back up all your company's information in just a few minutes per day? The answer lies in our patented, best-of-breed data reduction and compression technologies which are provided by Verio's partner, Iron Mountain™.
Delta Block™ - This patented technology ensures that, once a file has been backed up, only changes to that file are backed up next time around. The amount of total data sent is much smaller than would be otherwise, enabling a quicker backup even over dial-up connections.
SendOnce™ - Another patented technology, SendOnce prevents extra copies of shared or duplicate files from being stored. So you don't end up wasting time and space to store the same files over and over again.
Together, these data management tools allow PC Backup to maintain a complete and up-to-date backup copy of all your company's data, available only to your authorized users, whenever and wherever you need it.
Requirements
The PC Backup subscription service provides automatic back up and easy retrieval for computers that fit the following parameters:
Operating System: WIndows 95B, WIndows 98, Windows ME, WIndows NT SP4 2000, XP or XP Professional
Processor: P486/66MHz or higher (Pentium recommended)
Memory: 32 MB RAM on Windows 95 and 98; 64 MB RAM on all other Windows operating systems
Web Browser: Internet Explorer 4.0 or higher
How can I tell which version I have?
Where do I find my account information?
Are account numbers unique to each computer?
What are the advantages of the encryption key?
How is data retrieval safeguarded?
How do I request my account information?
How can I tell what version I have?
You can identify your version by opening the PC Backup software (Start | Programs | and then clicking on Help | About).
Where do I find my account information
Your Account Number appears on the Home screen of the PC Backup Agent and under Help | About.
Your Encryption Key: From the menu bar, select Options | Security | View.
Your Password: You can only see your password by printing your account information. From the menu bar, select Options | Security | View | Print.
Note: If you have a password, you will need it in order to print.
If you do not have the PC Backup software on your computer, you will have to contact Verio technical support to access this information for you.
Are account numbers unique to each computer?
Each computer using PC Backup has a unique account number. The account number is assigned when you connect to the Data Center for the first time after signing up for a plan. It is associated with the computer where the software is installed and the backups will take place. If you have multiple computers, you will have multiple accounts. If you have several accounts, they may all be charged to the same credit card.
By having a unique account number for your computer, data that you back up from that computer will be recoverable even if the account is moved to a new computer. If you want to share backups between computers, distinct account numbers enable you to do that as well.
If you have an account but do not have the software on the PC for which the account was opened, you will have to ask Verio technical support to access this information for you.
What are the advantages of the encryption key?
An encryption key is used to encrypt your data for safe transmission between your computer and the Iron Mountain Data Centers. You will be asked for your encryption key whenever you retrieve files or perform an account recovery.
The encryption key is a word or a phrase that you create when you first set up an account. It contains a minimum of eight (8) characters. Once an encryption key is set it cannot be changed.
If you have an account but do not have the software on the computer for which the account was opened, you will have to contact Verio technical support to access this information for you.
How is data retrieval safeguarded?
Once you have established an account, you can create a password for it. A password must contain a minimum of 6 characters. It can be changed whenever you wish.
It is not necessary to have a password.
However, you might want to password-protect your account if your computer is shared with other people. While a password won't prevent backups, it will prevent anyone else using your account from retrieving anything you have backed up.
While it is not necessary to have a password, once you have established an account, you can create a password for it. A password must contain a minimum of six (6) characters. It can be changed whenever you wish.
Note: Most people do not use an account password, and some companies do not even enable this feature for their users.
To create a password or to change one: From the menu bar, select Options | Security | Change Account Password. After your password has been transmitted to the
In order to see an existing password, it is necessary to print the account information. However, you need to know the account password in order to print, so print the information while the password is fresh in your mind and store the printout in a safe place. From the menu bar, select Options | Security | View Encryption Key | Print.
How do I request my account information?
If you have forgotten your Account Number and/or Data Encryption Key and do not have access to your account, you will have to contact Verio technical support to access this information for you.
5. Backing Up Files
How often can I do a backup?
How can I tell what files are being backed up?
How can I confirm backups are taking place?
How can I view the files that were backed up?
What can and cannot be backed up?
What is the file retention policy?
How do I select/deselect files in Backup View?
How do I use "Find" to locate a particular file?
What does this message in the log mean: "0 Files backed up"?
How can files be deleted from storage?
Where is my data is stored?
How often can I do a backup?
You may back up your data as often as you like, as long as your computer is turned on and connected to the Internet. The easy-to-use Backup Wizard lets you set days and times for your backup to automatically happen.
How can I tell what files are being backed up?
Your PC BackupAgent will automatically detect and backup your data and system files that are located anywhere on your hard disk to ensure full-system backup and recovery. Data files are files that you create, such as documents, spreadsheets, and preferences that you defined in software that you use. A total of 10GB (system and data files) per individual PC account may be protected. Temporary files, Internet cache, streaming media are automatically excluded.
How can I confirm backups are taking place?
The easiest way to confirm that your backups are taking place is to check the logs. Here's how:
Open the PC Backup software.
Click the Log tab.
Highlight the log for any session that you want and then click the View Details button (bottom of window).
Each log lists every file that was marked as needing to be backed up, and ends with a summary of the backup session.
How can I view the files that were backed up?
The easiest way to determine what files were backed up is to check the logs. Here's how:
Open the PC Backup software.
Click the Log tab.
Highlight the log for any session that you want and then click the View Details button (bottom of window).
Each log lists every file that was marked as needing to be backed up, and ends with a summary of the backup session.
What can and cannot be backed up?
The PC Backup service is intended to protect your critical data files, not the commercial software that you install from disk or CD. If you were to have a system crash you would be better off re-installing your software so that essential information could be written back into the Windows registry database that is part of your operating system.
We recommend that you not back up multimedia files. Their size and sheer volume would make it costly and lengthy to restore via the Internet. Although you could order a CD of your backups, it is generally cost-prohibitive, possibly costing several hundred dollars.
The Small Business subscription service versions of the software are not configured to recognize network drives.
What is the file retention policy?
The most recent 10 versions of each file backed up are retained on the Data Centers for 90 days.
Files you delete from your computer are retained on the Data Centers for 90 days.
Files you deselect from your backup set are retained on the Data Centers for 7 days.
How do I select/deselect files in Backup View?
When you click the Backup View tab, a scan of your hard disk is initiated. Upon completion, a list of files needing backup is displayed. To deselect files:
Click the box in front of a file name.
A red X will be displayed.
The file will then be removed from the backup list.
If you want to add files:
Change the display to show a directory tree that you can browse. The button for this is in the window on the left; click Explore to pick files.
To select/deselect, click the box in front of a file name. In some editions of the software, you will also be able to click on an entire folder to include/exclude everything in it.
A green check indicates the file is selected for backup, while a red X indicates the file is NOT selected for backup.
How do I use "Find" to locate a particular file?
Using the Find feature is a fast and easy way to locate a specific file. You can use Find in Backup View and Retrieve View. Simply click the magnifying glass icon at the upper right of the window, next to the question mark (the Help icon).
HINT: When entering a long file name, or one that you aren't sure of, use an asterisk (*) as a wildcard symbol. An asterisk can be inserted at any point in a file name in place of characters that you aren't sure of, or you don't want to bother typing. There's only one rule: Don't use two or more asterisks in succession; use one at a time as a placeholder.
Example: For a file named My Resume.doc, type *resume.doc. This tells Find to look for all files that end in resume.doc.
If you don't see the file that you want with your first try, click Find Next until you do find it. You can click Find Next as often as needed; it will recycle through the list no matter where your starting point is.
If you are looking for an older file and are unable to locate it, then click the Retrieve Options button (bottom of window) and select Show all versions of all files.
What does this message in the Log mean: "0 Files backed up"?
There are several circumstances that may prevent files from being backed up:
You cancelled the backup. Normal backups will resume without error.
You ran a second backup immediately after another backup, so there were no changed files.
Files needing backup were open. Close all files that you want backed up.
File selection method is set to Manual. You need to reset it - we recommend Automatic. You can leave it in Manual if you intend to select all the files that should be included in your backup group, but don't forget to select the files. (Only applies to the Premium Data Backup Service plans.)
Insufficient resources on your computer, such as not enough free hard disk space, not enough available RAM, too small a page file, open files, or numerous background processes.
An outbound connection to the Internet could not be made. See Connections.
Also, confirm that your connection setting in the software is correctly set for the way you connect, either Dial-Up Networking (Modem) or Direct Connection. AOL is an example of a Direct Connection because the connection is already open when you go to back up. (Connection Settings are under Options, on the menu bar.)
Backup Schedule is set to 'Backup On Connection To Network' and there were no changed files since your last backup. No action required; backups will resume normally when there are changed files.
The PC Backup software is installed in the same folder with the files you are trying to back up. Application programs, such as the backup software, should always be installed in a folder of their own, not mingled with files from other programs.
A synchronization error occurred, in which case the details of the log would show a Diagnostic with reference to 'Base hash count.'
How can files be deleted from storage?
File management is automatic. Iron Mountain maintains the following data retention settings on their Data Centers for PC Backup Subscription Service Customers:
Files older than 10 versions or 90 days are deleted, but your most recent version is always kept.
Files that have been deleted from your system will be deleted from the Data Centers 90 days later.
Files that you backed up then de-selected from your backup set will be deleted after 7 days.
Where is my data is stored?
When an account is opened, it is assigned to a mirrored pair of Data Centers that are geographically separate. Since the Data Centers are identical, backups and restores can be made to or from either one of them. The software automatically handles the connection for you. The redundancy of a mirrored pair increases the security of stored data. Additionally, the Data Centers are themselves backed up. Further, duplication permits maintenance to be performed without interrupting the service.
6. How do I retrieve files?
How can I retrieve a file I backed up?
Why can't I see a file I backed up awhile ago?
How can I retrieve a file I backed up?
Click on the Retrieve View tab in the PC Backup software on your PC.
Click on the "Retrieve Options" button at the bottom of the page.
Choose which files, and from what time frame you would like those files.
Click the box next to the file you want, and then click "Retrieve Now."
You will be prompted to rename the file so it does not have the same name as another file on your PC; then the file will be retrieved.
To locate a specific file, use the Find feature. You can access Find by clicking the magnifying glass icon in the upper right of the screen, or from the menu bar by clicking Operations | Find or with the key combination Ctrl+F. Click here for our file retention policy.
Why can't I see a file that I backed up a while ago?
Retrieve View defaults to displaying the most recent version of your files. To see older versions, click "Retrieve Options" (bottom of screen) and select the view that you want. A description of each of the options can be found by clicking the Help button.
If you still don't see the file, set the display to 'Show all versions of all files'; then use the Find feature. You can access Find by clicking the magnifying glass icon in the upper right of the screen, or from the menu bar by clicking Operations | Find or with the key combination Ctrl+F.
7. What about privacy and HIPAA?
The PC Backup software sends and stores data in an encrypted, archived format that is not accessible to users who do not possess the encryption key and password for the account that backed up the data. We employ strict policies on releasing this secure information.
No software is HIPAA compliant. This software is as secure as possible by allowing the ability to password protect your Agents, keeping audit trails of activity, and having industry-leading security standards. It is the responsibility of the customer to ensure that proper security is installed and used by the end user.
If a subpoena is issued, Verio's attorney will review the subpoena. If Verio's legal team determines it is valid, data will be supplied on a CD/DVD encrypted. Instructions and a decryption key will be provided.