Frequently Asked Questions

GENERAL QUESTIONS

What if we already have a tape backup system?
Using a tape backup system and a remote backup system offers the best of both worlds. Critical files, like billing, customer contact files and databases can be kept on the remote backup system. While, the tape system can be used to create a full backup of the entire system once or twice a month, instead of on a daily basis. The tapes and drive will last longer and require less maintenance. The remote backup system can provide a quick and easy way to retrieve critical files and databases without the hassle of searching through tapes.

How long will a remote backup take?
Offices with high-speed internet connections should find this service comparable with tape drives. Dial up users will be able to do incremental backups in thirty to sixty minutes depending on the amount of data to back up. The initial backup can take several nights to complete. We recommend backing up the most important files first and then selecting other files as the backup progresses. Or, the initial backup can be run over the weekend.

Onsite, Offsite - What's The Difference?
Basically, remote backups work like regular tape backups, with one important difference. Instead of sending backups to a tape drive or other media attached to the computer being backed up, a remote backup sends encrypted file data over the internet to a computer file storage system safely offsite.

This usually happens at night while your business is closed and nobody is using the computers. It's completely automatic. In fact, you may forget it's working every night.

Why Are Remote Backups Considered More Beneficial?
The data is immediately stored offsite using an automated backup system. Also, only an internet connection is needed. Completely eliminating the need for expensive backup equipment and media. And, since the system is automated, manual labor is eliminated.

How long do you keep my files?
This is controlled by the client software on your computer and can be modified to suit your needs.

What happens if I go over quota?
We realise that each backup is important. We do not just cut your backups off when you reach quota. If you remain over quota we will contact you to discuss your needs and options for either increasing it or modifying the way you backup to remain within the quota.

TECHNICAL QUESTIONS

How Secure Are Remote Backups?
Very. All files are encrypted. You can choose the encryption method from a list of the best standards including Triple DES, Blowfish & 256 bit AES (the standard the US Government has set for TOP SECRET material*). The software generates your own unique key so that only you can unlock the data.

* US Government CNSS Policy No. 15, FS-1

What is encryption?
Encryption is basically a mathematical formula that scrambles a data file. And the only way to unscramble it is with the encryption code.

How do I run a manual backup?
There are several situations in which you may want to run a manual backup such as when you receive a "Missed Backup Notification" email to tell you a scheduled backup did not occur.

* Open the BetterBackup client See a Screenshot
Right click on the BetterBackup icon in the bottom right of the screen and select "Open Client" or use "Start" "All Programs" "BetterBackup"
* Make sure the backup set you want to run is displayed in the box on the top left.
For most people this simply says "Default"
* Go to the "Run" Menu
* Select "Run now" See a ScreenShot
That's all there is to it!

Why does my Backup log list many permission denied errors on Exchange Mailboxes?
You may be backing up your Exchange Mailboxes on Microsoft Small Business Server and now receive permission denied errors in your logs.
This has come about because Microsoft released a security update that specifically denied administrator accounts the ability to read mailboxes in response to privacy concerns. Most installations of Better Backup run as an administrative account.
What to do?
See the FAQ How do I configure Exchange backups?

How do I configure Exchange backups? - Pt1 Create a user with permissions to all mailboxes
We need to create a new user account called BetterBackup and give it permission to backup mailboxes.
i. Open Active Directory Users and Computers from Control Panel -> Administrative Tools.
ii. Right Click on Users and select New User. Give the new user a FirstName of Better and LastName of Backup logon name of BetterBackup and click Next.
iii. Type a password, enter the same in the Confirm Password, select your password options, and click Next.
iv. Make sure "Create an Exchange Mailbox" is checked, then click Next.
v. Click on Finish to create the user.
vi. Right Click on the created user and select Properties.
vii. Navigate to the "Member of" Tab, click on Add. Type "Backup Operators" click OK and then Navigate to the "Exchange Advanced" Tab. Tick the box labled "Hide from Exchange address lists" Click OK and close "Active Directory Users and Computers"
viii. Open the Exchange System Manager.
ix. Expand the Organization.
x. Right click (on the top node) and choose the Delegate control…
a. Click next and then Add and Browse. From the object picker choose the user BetterBackup (the user that we just created) to which you want to grant access, and click ok
b. Make sure the Exchange View Only Administrator is chosen and click OK.
c. Click Next and Finish.
xi. Next expand the Administrative Groups container
xii. Expand Servers container,, the Storage Group and (Usually it is simply called "First Storage Group")
a. Right click on the store containing the mailboxes you want to grant access to and choose Properties.
b. Click on the security tab and choose the user from the list. If the user was added as part of a group at the View Only Administrator level then that individual user will need to be added at this time if the entire group is not going to be granted Receive As permissions here. If the security tab is not visible, follow the instructions in the following article.
264733 How to enable the Security tab for the organization object in Exchange 2000 and in Exchange 2003
c. Scroll down the list of permissions and check Allow for the Send As and Receive As permission and then click OK.
The Information store may cache this data and it can take up to 2 hours for this cache to be flushed. Dismount and remount the store to flush this cache immediately or reboot the machine for this cache to reflect the permissions immediately

How do I configure Exchange Backups - Pt2 Connect with a user that has permissions on all mailboxes
To configure the BetterBackup program to connect to the exchange mailboxes as the betterbackup user do the following:
Open the BetterBackup client program (Start, All Programs, BetterBackup)
Ensure the correct backup set is displayed in the drop down list below the tool bar.
In the tree view on the left hand side right click "Exchange Server" and select "Edit Parameters"
In the username box enter the name of the user we just created (betterbackup)
Fill in the Password box
Check the FQDN and Domain Name boxes are filled in correctly
(For more detial click the blue "i" icon next to the box) Click Save
expand the tree under Exchange Server and ensure that everything you wish to backup has a green tick
Select Files - save
Exit the client program and you are done!

429 Error - With Exchange 2007
The Exchange plugin tlb and DLL files has to be registered for the plugin to work (error 429 usually means the DLL,tlb files are not registered properly). Sometimes the install fails to register them on some servers.
Follow these steps to manually register the dll and tlb files required for exchange plugin.
1. locate the regasm.exe file, usually it is in C:WindowsMicrosoft.NetFrameworkv2.0.50727.
Open Command prompt and navigate to the folder, C:WindowsMicrosoft.NetFrameworkv2.0.50727
2. Type Regasm "C:program filesbetter backupRBS ExchangeBackup.dll" /tlb:"C:program filesbetter backupRBS ExchangeBackup.tlb".
Hit enter. You should get a message at the end saying types registered succesfully.
3. Type Regasm "C:program filesbetter backupRemoteExchClient.dll" /tlb:"C:program filesbetter backupRemoteExchClient.tlb".
Hit enter. You should get a message at the end saying types registered succesfully. 4. Now restart the client and you shouldn't get that 429 error anymore. please note if you have installed the client on a folder other than C:program filesbetter backup, in the registration command(regasm) replace c:program filesbetter backup with the correct installation path.

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