I use Backblaze as my off-site backup solution and I recommend them. They are the least expensive backup service available and despite their low price tags they do not enforce any arbitrary limitations on how much you can backup. They even backup external hard drives. All that for approximately $6/month per computer. Plain and simple. They even let you test the software for 15 days without having to get out your wallet. Their business model seems to be: Make customers happy. Seriously, give them a try.
I love Backblaze so much there is actually very little about them I need to say. Nevertheless, here are some tips and tricks:
Backblaze Tips and Tricks
Enable backup of all file types
In the Backblaze GUI, I cleared out the ‘following file types will not be backed up’ box, because it included dll files, exe files, and files related to Virtual Machines. I think it is insane actually that these files are not backed up. Not only because I’m an app developer and dll files represent libraries that might belong to any number of my projects, but also because I have archived original downloaded programs that are executable ‘exe’ format. You can change excluded file types in the Backblaze Settings.
Exclude these file types I recommend
!qB,unwanted,parts,crdownload,crswap,bztmp
These represent incomplete downloads from qBittorrent, Firefox, Chrome, some browser extensions, and Backblaze’s own file recovery downloader tool. If you use qBittorrent, configure it to mask the file extension of incomplete downloads as !qB so Backblaze can effectively ignore them.
A Lot of Stuff is Carefully Excluded Already
Open the file C:\ProgramData\Backblaze\bzdata\bzexcluderules_mandatory.xml and you will see there is a lot of mandatory exclusions happening in the background. Make yourself aware of this list!
Enable backup of podcasts
Listening to podcast episodes and archiving them is part of my lifestyle. I record podcasts of my own. There are some shows I never delete and I think this is a mistake to exclude them, especially because shows don’t always keep their entire podcast feed available. (Example: Stuff You Should Know.) You can enable the backup of podcasts by doing the following:
Open the file C:\ProgramData\Backblaze\bzdata\bzexcluderules_editable.xml and search for two areas (both mac and Windows) where podcasts are excluded from backup. Delete these 3-4 lines.
Exclude backup of Steam (if you want)
For most people, Steam is already excluded because by default because it resides in the Program Files folder. (Note: Backblaze actually excludes much of Steam content in the background without telling you. You can find mandatory exclusions in C:\ProgramData\Backblaze\bzdata\bzexcluderules_mandatory.xml ).
On my PC, however, I installed steam at C:\Games\Steam so I had to make special efforts to exclude Steam from backup. Since Steam backs up save game files online for me, and the games can be re-downloaded from the service at any time, I didn’t really see the need to sync this folder to Backblaze. (Note by excluding Steam you might be excluding the backup of screenshots taken or games that don’t sync data, if those even exist. It’s your call.)
You can manually exclude folders in the Backblaze settings.
Backup your fonts
Backblaze does NOT backup the System Fonts folder by default. Therefor if you’re a publisher or graphic designer that works with fonts, make sure to always keep a separate copy of the fonts you use outside of the System Fonts folder. They will be backed up if a copy exists in any other location.
The Windows folder is currently hard-coded to be ignored, which means C:\Windows\Fonts will NOT be backed up. I reported this issue to Backblaze. (Help Desk Ticket # 222623 ) I even sent a tweet to Gleb Budman CEO. Feel free to take up this issue, because as I said to Gleb, not backing up fonts is “bananas.” You can quote me on that.
Backup your EFS files and certificates
Do you use Windows Encrypting File System (EFS)? The tell-tale sign is you see files that are green. This is because you’ve been changing file properties and asking windows to “encrypt contents to secure data.” The problem is that when you do this, those encrypted files are only accessible to your current user account. Backblaze runs as the “SYSTEM” account and it does not have permission to read your files, so they won’t even be copied. Backup your EFS files because Backblaze cannot.
Workaround: Rar those EFS files and backup them keys
If you need to backup EFS files but still keep them encrypted, you can rar them (or zip them) with a rar password. But don’t then encrypt the rar with EFS. Backblaze will then scoop up these plain rars, which you can extract later if you need to restore from a backup.
Be sure to export your personal encryption certificate and back that up to backblaze as well. You can do this by typing “Manage computer certificates” into the search bar of Windows 10 and then exporting the keys/certificates you see listed under Personal. You might not need this key to access files that were compressed by WinRAR (depends if WinRAR maintains the EFS encryption) but if your computer crashes you might need this key for other reasons. Might as well back it up.
A Passport is even better…
If all of this EFS stuff sounds like a headache, it kind of is. Rather than use EFS encryption, I recommend you secure files on a Western Digital Passport. These are external drives that can mimic the login-required or password-required behavior that EFS provides (you can choose) and since the files have no strange permissions, Backblaze can see the files and back them up. Comparatively, these drives are as secure as EFS is, and can be more secure depending on how you choose to lock the drive.
Speeding Up That Initial Backup
By default, Backblaze excludes many of the folders you’d expect; Mostly system folders that contain files that come with a new computer. They also exclude the Program Files folder.
Consider Excluding Dropbox, Mega, or Google Drive
Services like Dropbox and Mega.nz sync and backup files for you automatically, but their space is limited. Unless these free file-syncing services routinely run out of space, consider excluding their directories from backup so you don’t bog down your internet with redundant data transfers.
Better Safe Than Sorry
My last tip is to always be better safe than sorry. Redundant backups are important. And in the tech world there is a mantra that “Backups Don’t Exist Unless You Test Them Regularly.” Routinely check to make sure that your backup system is working and that you can restore files exactly as you had imagined. This mantra bears repeating.
Backups Don’t Exist Unless You Test Them Regularly!!
Start a free trial of Backblaze today.
Did I just save you from a huge headache and a potential loss of data? Buy me a coffee please. You are appreciated.