In basic terms, the person installs software onto their Windows computer. They will choose which files and/or folders are important to them, and set a schedule to inform the program how often they will be backed up. When the scheduled time arrives, the program will connect to our service over the Internet and negotiate a secure line. After that, the program will attempt to compress your files to save space and send them one by one to our systems.

During file recovery (ie. you've had a disaster and need the files back), all of the steps above apply, except that instead of sending us your compressed files, the files are sent to your computer and uncompressed by the program and put into a specified folder, ready for use!

All files backed up to our systems are secured with 448-bit 'Blowfish' encryption by default. This is the strongest encryption available to the public sector, and is far more difficult to crack than what most webstores and banks use for their online transactions (usually 128-bit encryption). Your files are stored on our systems in the same strength of encryption as they were transferred. As well, the servers that store your information in our data warehouses are kept secured and only authorized personnel are allowed access.

If security of your files is paramount, and you do not want even us to be able to recover your files for you should you forget or lose your 'Secret Key,' there is an option available in the software to disallow a backup if we have access to your data with the 'Master key.'

Please note, if you do forget or lose your Secret Key, you will NEVER be able to recover your files, and neither will we. You will need to remove all files in your account and start with a fresh slate of backups.

»	See how to create a Secret Encryption Key

»	See how to Disable Master Key access

This is a difficult question to answer because there are many factors affecting speed of transfer. However, most customers experience a lengthy first backup and much faster concurrent backups. This is due to the fact the software will need to send the entire file during the first backup, or when a new file is added, but subsequent backups will only send the difference in the files from the first time it was backed up.

As an example, say you save a picture to your computer taken with your digital camera. Later that night when the backup sends that new picture to us, it may take a while. The next night if no changes are made then nothing is sent to our sysems. The third day you decide to edit the photo and draw a hat and moustache on one of the people. That same night the software will detect a change in the picture but it will only send the hat and moustache information to our systems, which will likely take very little time compared to sending the entire picture file again.

This is a rather personal choice, but here is the best suggestion we can offer:

Anything that you use or need that would be difficult or impossible to reproduce.

Below are more specific examples.

Personal		Business
Pictures Addressbooks Internet Favorites/Bookmarks Music Movies e-Mails Tax information from software packages Graphic artwork Word or Spreadsheet documents (ie. resumes, school work, etc) ...and much more		e-Mails Word and Spreadsheet documents Sales information Business Memos/Statements Customer information Accounting or bookkeeping files Inventory Addressbooks Internet Favorites/Bookmarks Employee records Security logs Copyrighted / Trademarked original files ...and much more

The biggest concern for this would be database files (not to be confused with our dataBASE service), or shared files in a workplace environment, but can sometimes apply to files that you might be working on but not saved.

In any case of needing to save 'open' or 'in use' files you will need an 'open file manager.' We offer an Open File Manager that works exclusively and perfectly with the software we distribute. Please see the price schedule for updated pricing.

If you have forgotten you account name and/or password, we can provide you with that information. All you need to do is email us with the email address you used to register in the Subject line and we will send your account name and password to the registered email address. You may also contact us directly to have this information provided to you . We will ask you questions about your account, registered name, address, phone number, or any other information we deem necessary to authenticate you as the owner of the account. Please note: we may, on occasion, issue you a new password.

If you have forgotten your Secret Encryption Key, we will be unable to assist you in retrieving it. This information is not stored on our systems. You will not be able to recover any of your files and will have to delete any saved files and set a new Secret Encryption Key.

Please read this article for more information on Secret Encryption Keys.

There are many ways to get a ballpark figure on how much space you'll need for your backups, but often those estimates are above or below your actual needs. This is because you may be adding large files constantly to your backup set, or the files you want backed up are not able to be compressed as much as you had thought. All files backed up to our serivce will undergo compression to save space. Depening on the file, some may compress up to 10% of their original size, some may not compress at all.

Please follow the guideline below to determine how your files will be compressed:

High Compression		Mild Compression		Low Compression
Addressbooks Internet Favorites/Bookmarks Word or Spreadsheet documents (ie. resumes, school work, etc) Databases		e-Mails Addressbooks Game saved files Technical Drawings 3D Art		Pictures Music Movies Accounting or bookkeeping files Copies of software

To find out how much storage your files you will consume without any compression, install our backup software and simply choose all the files and folders you'd like to back up. The software will then tell you how much space will be required as a minimum. When you subscribe to our backup service, you will want to ensure you choose a plan with enough space to handle all of your data. Below is an example of how the program will report how much space you will require. Please note that this is found in the bottom right corner of the software AFTER you have chosen which files and folders you're going to back up.

Size is listed in Kilobytes. There are 1,000 Kilobytes in a Megabyte (MB), and then 1,000 Megabytes (MB) in a Gigabyte (GB). In the example above there are 1.143 Gigabytes (GB) of files selected for backup.

All you need to do is load the backup software from either the Start Menu or the desktop icon. When the main screen loads, look at the bottom left of the screen to see how much you have used both in percentage (%) and actual space (GB). It will also show you the amount remaining in actual space (GB).
Note: GB = Gigabytes.

»	See how to determine storage space used and remaining

Please contact us to make any changes to your account.

Please read this guide.

You will need to set a 'Secret Encryption Key' and the option 'Block the backup if the administrator can recover my data.'

Please note if you decide to set these options and you forget or lose your Secret Encryption Key, neither YOU nor US will be able to recover you data. It will be considered lost and you will need to delete all of your backed up files and start again with a new Secret Encryption Key.

»	See how to create or change a Secret Encryption Key

You may change your account at any time. If your change in service level will be less than your current level, you will receive a credit for the difference of cost from the day of change until the end of your agreement.

Yes you can! When you subscribe, you will need to add an additional computer license for each laptop, computer, or device you will want to back up. Click here for current pricing on additional computer licenses.

This is considered a special request and you will need to contact us to set these special options.

Please read this guide.

Please contact us to order a single LRD or to set up reccuring LRDs.

Customers will be able to download their files for a period of thirty (30) days from last date of active subscription. However, a customer's files will be stored for ninety (90) days after the last date of active subscription but will be unavailable for recovery after the 30th day. a nominal fee will be charged to gain access for downloading after the 30th day. Please contact us if you require access to your backups after your 30 days has expired.

You will need the following:

• Windows 98SE (Second Edition), Millenium Edition (ME), 2000, 2003, XP Home, XP Professional, NT 4.0
• Intel Pentium II 300mHz or better
• 80 MB of Memory (RAM) or better
• 50 MB of free disk space to install the software
• An Internet connection
• 15% of additional disk space more than what you are backing up (ie. if you are backing up 100 MB of files, be sure to have at least an additional 15 MB free disk space)

If you haven't signed up yet, please see our Subscribe page, or download it directly here.

Your subscription will be renewed automatically at the end of its term unless seven (7) days advanced notice is given. This is to ensure that our customers do not experience any downtime and all backups will continue without difficulty.

You can get it from the Subscription page, or directly from here if you prefer.

Please note this Guide is in Acrobat Reader (PDF) format. You will need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader software to view this Guide properly. A download link is provided below.

To check the logs, open the software and look for the tab that says 'Logs.' It will be beside the tabs 'Backup' and 'Restore.' From here you will see a column on the left that displays all available logs with both a date and time stamp. Clicking on any of those logs will show all details within that log on the right hand side window. It will show any pertinent information on the backup or restoration procedure that took place.

»	See how to check the logs

To delete/remove files, you must start the software from the Start Menu or the desktop icon. Then click on the tab 'Restore' and wait for the software to connect to dataBASE and confirm which files are available. Once that is complete, click on the 'X' button and note that the middle tab changes from 'Restore' to 'Delete Files.'

Now you will see a listing of your folders on the left side with sub-folders and files listed on the right hand side of the screen. Choose any files and/or folders by clicking on the box next to them. After you have chosen which files to remove, click on the button 'Delete Files Now.' A warning message will appear to inform you that any files deleted or removed CANNOT be recovered. If you are certain you want to permanently remove them, click 'Yes,' otherwise click 'No' or 'Cancel' to abort the operation.

»	See how to delete files

Begin by starting the software from the Start Menu or desktop icon. Then click on the tab 'Restore' and wait for the software to connect to dataBASE and confirm which files are available for restoration. Next, click through your folders to find the file(s) you want to recover. Click on the checkmark boxes next to each file or folder you would like to restore and when you have clicked off everything you desire, click the 'Restore Now' button near the top right of the screen. The software will ask if you'd prefer to have the files saved back to the original location they came from or to another folder (known as a temporary folder). The option 'Rebuild Folder Hierarchy' will allow or disallow the program to put the files back in the same folder names they were saved under originally. It is usally preferable to leave this option checked.

»	See how to restore files

Begin by starting the software from the Start Menu or desktop icon. Then click on the tab 'Restore' and wait for the software to connect to dataBASE and confirm which files are available for restoration. Next, find the file you'd like to restore and double-click on the name, not on the checkbox. A new window will appear with more information on that file with all available versions on the bottom half. All versions will be sorted chronologically from newest to oldest. Click the checkbox of the version of the file you'd like to recover (associated by date and time) and then click 'OK.' Continue with any other file(s) you'd like to recover at the same time.

Next, click the 'Restore Now' button near the top right of the screen. The software will ask if you'd prefer to have the files saved back to the original location they came from or to another folder (known as a temporary folder). The option 'Rebuild Folder Hierarchy' will allow or disallow the program to put the files back in the same folder names they were saved under originally. It is usally preferable to leave this option checked.

»	See how to restore specific versions of a file

Absolutely! In fact, you can have the software dial-up to the Internet for you during its scheduled time (even if you aren't around), back up your files, and disconnect for you when complete.

Yes you can! You need to choose which files you'd like to restore and after you've click on 'Restore Now' you will get the option to recover to the same folder or to a temporary folder location. For more information on file recovering, please see article below.

»	See how to restore files

Yes you can. An additional fee is necessary. Please see our pricing schedule for current information.

This is a named set that relates to which files and folders you have chosen to back up. You can then create different schedules for different backup sets.

For example, a small business photographer might have a backup set named "Photos" which only contains his photographs and it backs up every weekend. He also has a backup set named "Business Files" which contains all of his customer information, quotes, invoices, etc, but no photos. This file is backed up nightly.

Full backup:
This will back up the entire file every single time a backup operation is started. Even if only a small amount of a file has been changed since the last backup, the entire file will be resaved. This will take up a lot of storage space.

Incremental backup:
This will back up only the difference in the file since the last time it was backed up. If only a small amount of a file has been changed since the last backup, only the difference in that file is backed up. This can save a lot of storage space and is just as reliable as a full backup.

There are many different options and advanced settings. Some of those are discussed in the Support section of our website. If you require additional information on a specific option, please contact us.

This is your special password used for recovering your files. You are not required to use a Secret Encryption Key. If you do not, your recovery password will be the same as your backup password. However, there are some instances a person or company may be backing up multiple computers to a single account but do not want any unauthorized empoyee access to the files that have been backed up. They will often create a Secret Encryption Key which regular employees do not know. Regular backups will still occur because they may have the login and password but a recovery operation cannot occur without the Secret Encryption Key.

»	See how to create or change a Secret Encryption Key

If you hadn't set a backup schedule using the Getting Started Wizard, you can do this very easily. First, load the backup software from the Start Menu or the desktop icon. Click on the menu item 'View' then 'Backup Schedules.' From here you can not only Add a new schedule, but Remove or change the Properties of any exisiting schedule.

Please note that you will have to choose a backup set to set a schedule to. If you haven't created any backup sets, please read "How do I make a Backup Set?" first.

If you are not familiar with the terms above, please read the article "What is a Backup Set?"

If you hadn't made a Backup Set using the Getting Started Wizard, you can do so manually. First, load the backup software from the Start Menu or the desktop icon. Click on the menu item 'View' then 'Backup Sets.' From here you can not only Add a new Backup Set, but Remove or change the Properties of any exisiting Backup Set.

If you are not familiar with the terms above, please read the article "What is a Backup Set?"

The ability to run the software as a 'Service' is important to those who use Windows XP, NT 4.0, 2000, or 2003. This is because these operating sytems can be configured for multiple users, each with their own username and password on the same computer. If the software is running as a 'Service', it can run scheduled backups even if the user is logged out of their account. It is very common for users with screensavers to get logged out of their computer and have to click back on their name to re-enter their desktop.

If the software is not set up as a 'Service' then the program will NOT be able to run a backup if the user is not logged in at the time the schedule comes around.

To change or confirm the software is running as a service, read this article.

Find the backup software icon located near the clock on your taskbar (usually the opposite side of the Start button). Right-click the icon once, then choose the menu option 'Service.' From here you can choose to 'Install' the backup program as a Service, 'Start' or 'Stop' the Service.

If you are chosing to 'Install' the Service option, you will get a new window with the option to 'Use Local System credentials' or 'Use Login User credentials.' If you require files backed up on your computer only, then choose 'Use Local System credentials.' However, if you need to backup computers on your network, and you would normally have to log into those computers to access them over the network, choose 'Use Login User credentials' and enter your username and password used to log into those networked computers.

If you are not familiar with the terms above, please read the article 'Should I install the software as a 'Service' or 'Standalone Executable' option?

»	See how to change the Service Option

Please visit our Subscription page or download the software directly.

First, you need to download the software. Click here to download it now or click here for complete downloading instructions.

If you have the backup software downloaded already, you need to find where it has been saved on your computer. The file name is "dBinst.exe" and may look like the one of the examples below:

or Once you've found the file, double click it to start the installation. For step by step installation help, please read our Installation Guide.

This is a rather personal choice, but here is the best suggestion we can offer:

Anything that you use or need that would be difficult or impossible to reproduce.

Below are more specific examples.

Personal		Business
Pictures Addressbooks Internet Favorites/Bookmarks Music Movies e-Mails Tax information from software packages Graphic artwork Word or Spreadsheet documents (ie. resumes, school work, etc) ...and much more		e-Mails Word and Spreadsheet documents Sales information Business Memos/Statements Customer information Accounting or bookkeeping files Inventory Addressbooks Internet Favorites/Bookmarks Employee records Security logs Copyrighted / Trademarked original files ...and much more

The ability to run the software as a 'Service' is important to those who use Windows XP, NT 4.0, 2000, or 2003. This is because these operating sytems can be configured for multiple users, each with their own username and password on the same computer. If the software is running as a 'Service', it can run scheduled backups even if the user is logged out of their account. It is very common for users with screensavers to get logged out of their computer and have to click on their name to re-enter their desktop.

If the software is not set up as a 'Service' then the program will NOT be able to run a backup if the user is not logged in at the time the schedule comes around.

To change or confirm the software is running as a service, read this article.

Find the backup software icon located near the clock on your taskbar (usually the opposite side of the Start button). Right-click the icon once, then choose the menu option 'Service.' From here you can choose to 'Install' the backup program as a Service, 'Start' or 'Stop' the Service.

If you are chosing to 'Install' the Service option, you will get a new window with the option to 'Use Local System credentials' or 'Use Login User credentials.' If you require files backed up on your computer only, then choose 'Use Local System credentials.' However, if you need to back up computers on a network, and you would normally have to log into those computers to access them over the network, choose 'Use Login User credentials' and enter your username and password used to log into those networked computers.

If you are not familiar with the terms above, please read the article 'Should I install the software as a 'Service' or 'Standalone Executable' option?

»	See how to change the Service Option

There are many reasons why this error will occur and since it is not very descriptive, we must check the logs in the software to determine the cause. A specific problem will be reported in those logs and you should look for the answer in this Support site. If you cannot determine the cause or solve the problem, please contact us directly.

»	See how to check the logs

There are many errors that can cause this message so please check the logs in the program for more information. A common reason is that you have reached your quota limit (ie. you have no more space available to back up). Please remove old or unnecessary files, or upgrade your package to allow for more storage space.

To check the logs, open the software and look for the tab that says 'Logs.' It will be beside the tabs 'Backup' and 'Restore.' From here you will see a column on the left that displays all available logs with both a date and time stamp. Clicking on any of those logs will show all details within that log on the right hand side window. It will show any pertinent information on the backup or restoration procedure that took place.

If you require additional storage space please contact us.

»	See how to check the logs

»	See how to remove old files

In most cases you will be able to use the service without changing any settings. However, in some cases, you may need to set some advanced options, or have your work's Systems Administrator do this for you.
If you have been provided firewall/proxy information and you are required to change this in the backup software:
Open the NovaNet-WEB program, click the menu item 'View,' then 'Options,' then 'General.' Click the button 'Firewall Settings' and then fill in the information provided to you in the software.

»	See how to change Firewall/Proxy Settings

There are many factors in determining the length of time to back up or restore a file. The four main factors are:

• File Size
• Speed of your Internet connection (dial-up Internet is much slower than Cable or DSL High Speed)
• Internet Congestion (some hours of the day there are busier on the Internet than others, much like a Highway)
• Other Internet Traffic (if you are sharing the Internet with others or you are doing other things on the Internet from the same computer)

If you have a large file to back up or restore but have dial-up Internet, then it will take a long time to save or to recover. However, if you have high-speed Internet with a small file but you are downloading other files from the Internet, or using your Internet to have voice or video chat with others, it may take a lot longer for the file to be sent or be received.