Cloud Backup Encryption
I have some questions about Acronis 2015 backup features.
My first question is with respect to using a cloud backup solution. I need to use a remote storage location (the so called cloud) so, for security, my backups are not all located in the same place. The data to be backed up is critical and damaging if it gets into the wrong hands so it is essential it be well encrypted before it leaves my computer. Will the Acronis 2015 cloud backup feature encrypt my data using a strong encryption method before it leaves my computer and not decrypt before it is safely back on my computer? I do not want my unencrypted data traveling through cyberspace in an accessible format. So many large and respected businesses have been hacked it would be foolish to let this data out of my control without it being encrypted.
My second question concerns local backups. Last year I purchased Acronis 2014. At that time I was visiting a client about 1400 miles from home. I used Acronis True Image to back up about 100 Gb of data to a small portable encrypted hard drive that is safe to travel with because the drive is well encrypted. When I arrived at the client, I was unable to access the data because Acronis was not installed on laptop. That really pissed me off because I though I was simply using an automated software package to simply copy and paste the designated files and folders to the portable hard drive. Will Acronis 2015 do a simple copy and paste backup to an external hard drive so I do not need to install Acronis on any other computer from which I want access those files?
I tried to call Acronis about these instructions but they provide no phone support for pre-sales questions. That makes me concerned about after sales support for problems but if this product serves my needs I am willing to upgrade from the almost never used 2014 version to the latest version that has received good reviews.
Thank you for your response but it really does not answer my questions.
The link you provided for my first question does indeed state the data can be encrypted. However, my concern is focused on where the data is encrypted and unencrypted. To be an acceptable solution to me, my data must be fully encrypted everywhere except when it resides on my computer. I have no plan to do incremental backups etc. so there is not a single reason anyone needs my password except me.
If I use the "cloud" as a repository for my data, will the data be encrypted before it leaves my computer and not unencrypted until it is safely back on my computer? In other words, will all the encryption and unencryption activities, with no exceptions, be local to my computer? The goal here is security while the data is in transit and security against hacking etc. while it resides on the "cloud" server somewhere.
My second question is also pretty straightforward. Can Acronis be setup to simply copy and paste designated files and folders to a backup drive so they can be read off the backup drive using Windows Explorer?
I have no need for recovery media or anything else like that. My goal is simplicity and security. For years I used Ghost 2003 to make a weekly plug & Play clone of my C: drive. W7 put an end to that very elegant backup solution. I tried using Acronis 2014 to make a plug & play clone but it would not expand the partition, like Ghost did, to fill a larger drive. Now, I very successfully simply copy designated files and folders about once a week to a strongly encrypted portable backup drive. I want to also use a cloud storage solution so my backed up files and folders reside in redundant locations. Unfortunately, for very good reasons, I have zero confidence in the security of such a thing so it is essential the files and folders copied to a cloud storage facility must be encrypted before they leave my machine.
Thanks for your help.
In regards to your encryption question it would not make sense to have encryption take place after the data has been sent to the cloud. Doing so would require additional resources on the cloud side and is something I think any cloud based storage solution is quite mindful of, better to have such things done on the client side to say nothing of the security issues. I think it obvious that such processes would be done locally on the user machine however having said that, I am just another user and no nothing officially that makes that as fact.
Your copy and paste question leaves me perplexed. If you simply need that functionality then it appears that you already have that solution in place. If you desire to do this from a backup archive file then that is another thing all together. In the last instance copy and paste can be performed from a True Image backup archive file once such archive is mounted such as with Windows Explorer to open the archive file. The reverse is not possible however as archives are mounted in read only mode. Note as well that if you choose to use BitLocker the 2015 application has an issue with this and any backup created on a BitLocker encrypted partition will be performed in sector by sector mode which copies all data and empty space of the partition making backups large in size. To my knowledge the built in encryption feature within the TI 2015 application does not have this same issue. Having said that I have not personally used the applications encryption feature so again I cannot say for certainty that this is fact.
Sorry I could not be of more assistance to you.