Frequently Asked Questions About CrashPlan

What is CrashPlan?

CrashPlan is a backup software, formerly called CrashPlan. Currently, a pilot license for the unlimited cloud storage model is employed at the University level. This backup software is designed to help you recover your data in case of a hard drive failure or other catastrophe. Franklin College uses the best practices and suggestions from CrashPlan in most cases.

What should I back up with CrashPlan?

CrashPlan is designed to back up working files. This means files and folders you create and work on such as those within your Documents, Desktop, Photos, Videos, and Music folders.

There is no quota, so if you have 1GB or 2TB of data (or anywhere in between or beyond) you can select it for back up. Keep in mind that large datasets may take hours to days before they complete their initial backup because each file is indexed, compressed, and deduplicated.

You should not backup system files, application files, temporary directories, or network file shares. These directories may cause failed backups or other problems.

For more information, see the CrashPlan documentation What should you back up?

Is my data safe in the cloud?

All data transmitted to the CrashPlan cloud servers is compressed and encrypted. Your MyID holds the encryption key, so you are the only one able to decrypt the data.

For more information, see the CrashPlan documentation:

Can I use CrashPlan to store my documents so I can work on them from another computer?

No. CrashPlan is a backup service which means it will back up files on your hard drive and can be used to restore the files in the case of a hard drive failure, or accidental deletion. If you would like to store your files in such a way as to access them on another computer, you must use a file sync service such as OneDrive, DropBox, Google Backup and Sync, etc. You may also accomplish this with external storage media such as portable external hard drives or thumb drives.

You may use CrashPlan to back up a folder synchronized to a file sync service. In the Franklin College environment, these folders are generally selected by default. If you are unsure if your file sync folder is included in your backup, please contact the Franklin Help Desk by emailing helpdesk@franklin.uga.edu or creating a ticket at https://helpdesk.frankin.uga.edu.

I use a file sync service for all of my important data, why do I need a backup?

Having an incremental backup of your synced folder can better protect you from ransomware. Ransomware is a malicious software designed to hold your files hostage until you pay a ransom. Many instances of ransomware attacks have been reported recently.

CrashPlan backups are always running, and you do not have to actively choose to include a file to back up if the directory in which the file is saved is selected for backup. Most CrashPlan backups on computers within Franklin college include the entire user directory.

For more information, see the section "File sync is not backup" in the CrashPlan documentation Best Practices for Defending Against Ransomware

Can I backup my external hard drives?

Yes. If you disconnect your external hard drive or other storage media then make changes to the data using another computer, CrashPlan will back up these changes as soon as the drive is reconnected to the computer. Franklin College OIT also sets the Frequency and Versions setting called "Remove deleted files" to "Never" so that if you delete a file it is not automatically removed from your backup. You may change this setting if you wish, but we do not recommend it - especially in situations where you will be backing up your external storage media.

For more information, see the CrashPlan documentation Back up external hard drives