Off-site backup (was: My First HDD Failure (I Think))

On 11/24/24 8:32 AM, Stéphane CARPENTIER wrote:

Le 24-11-2024, Farley Flud <ff@linux.rocks> a écrit :

>
My data exists in two forms.

 And in two different places I hope (in fact, I don't care, it's a way of
speaking). Because if you have a fire or a theft or whatever at home,
your backups need to be far away to be useful. A backup needs to be done
not only for a hard drive crash, but for everything bad that can
happens. So, your backup needs to be somewhere far away from your
original data.

Yes, the classical solution of maintaining a remote site backup to mitigates risks from a single point of failure such as a home fire.
For personal use, the Cloud is an option, but it may not be cheap enough for some.  Some may also put a drive into a fireproof safe in the house.
So some other frugal solutions for storing a backup hard drive outside of one's home may include:
* At your workplace, in a lockable drawer at your desk.
* Safety Deposit Box at local bank.  Many people need a SDB anyway for other personal documents, so just get a large enough one to include a 3.5" HDD.
* Rental storage unit...if one already is paying for one.
* At a family or friend's home...they hold yours, you hold theirs.
* A detached outbuilding (shed, garage, etc). Better than nothing, but not all that 'remote' for fire risks ... plus has higher risks of bugs/mice/grunge/etc which merit adding additional protection for the HDD.
-hh