SAFER BOX

If your computer is a laptop, you probably carry it wherever you go. The hard drive is loaded with all your important data – including digital photos, email messages, notes, letters, and spreadsheets. Of course, your home directory is encrypted so no one can get access to your files if your laptop is stolen. Traditional backup software (such as Bacula, Tivoli, and Networker) initiate backups from the server, and the backup intervals are typically very regular. For example, the server might begin the backup at the same time every day. This scheme does not work well with laptops. A laptop might not be online when the server initiates the backup. Moreover, the server might not even know the IP address of a roving mobile system.