(+) Which Protects Better: Cloud Storage or Local Backups?

I have written often about the need to make frequent backups in order to protect your valuable information. After reading a message from a newsletter reader, I decided to write one more article about the topic to clear up one possible misconception. The email message asked:

"You tell us to back up our data often, to many places, in case of physical disaster. But what happens if you get a virus that infects your computer, in spite of having virus protection. Do all the copies then have the virus also? What is the solution for that?"

First, let's define some terminology. A file copy program is not a true backup program.

Sadly, many companies that provide file storage services in the cloud refer to saving files as “making backups.” That is not true. They make copies, not backups.

What’s the difference between copies and backups?

A file copy program, such as Dropbox, Mozy, SugarSync, Google Drive, OneDrive, iCloud, and numerous others simply copy files from one place to another. Typically, these services copy data files from your hard drive to an external hard drive or to an online file storage service in the cloud.

These are valuable programs, but they ARE NOT BACKUP PROGRAMS.