Comment on What do people use for a shelf-stable backup
LandedGentry@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
This is actually terrible advice. WORM media exists for a reason and telling someone with a mere 3-2-1 he will never loose data is absolutely irresponsible.
Neither is it a good idea to use regular hard-disk for offsite-cold storage. A really really bad idea.
3-2-1 is the minimal consensus and not recommended anymore for everything you need to reliably have access to after a long time - the fact that some ransomware viruses intentionally have a very time they are laying low to decrypt old and rarely used files is one of the main reasons. Healthcare, finance, taxation, accounting, etc. are all sectors that heavily rely on WORM media and long term tape storage.
You are right that a spinning disk often can work for 10 years - but there is a reason they are exchange earlier in a professional setting. Not all of them will. And you were talking about cold storage disks. This is something even the manufacturers do not recommend - for a reason.
Dave@lemmy.nz 2 weeks ago
I have 3 2 1 but I want the equivalent of a suitcase of photos in the cupboard. No family member is gonna be cleaning out my house as they move me to a rest home and stumble upon my Borg backup in B2 object storage. And if they do they won’t have the key. I want something a bit closer to physical.
I think an extra drive for cold storage is a good idea. My main backups are automated, this one I can add any new files done in the last year once a year, then back in the cupboard. I just need to make sure I’m rotating the drives so I don’t have the same one in storage for 50 years, and instead buy new ones every 5 years or so.
csm10495@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
If this is your fear, why not just have a will or something that specifically describes what to do and where to go?
Dave@lemmy.nz 2 weeks ago
I have such a document, but it’s not quite the same. I’m just as worried about my dumb ass losing the borg key and all data along with it…
I’m thinking a clearly labelled hard drive with instructions, rotating the hard drive with a new one every 5 years or so.
sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
Exactly. I have a document for my SO that describes what to do if I pass (where the money is, how the WiFi is set up, various important accounts, etc). It’s not a will (nothing about who gets what, though that’s assumed by the state to be my SO, or my kids equally if we pass together), just a document that explains the stuff I handle.