Bug Bounty Hunting — Complete Guide (Part-21)

Imagine your worst nightmare: your server crashes, your website gets hacked and all files are deleted, your web host vanishes with your money and data, and to top it off, a natural disaster destroys your ISP’s building. If you’re not prepared for such calamities, all your hard work could be lost forever. That’s why it’s crucial to regularly backup your data. Backups ensure that even in the face of unexpected disasters, your valuable information remains safe and can be recovered without devastating losses. Protect your efforts and investments by prioritizing data backups — it’s your best defense against unforeseen setbacks.

If your website doesn’t undergo frequent changes, it’s sufficient to take backups periodically and store them securely on your hard drive, external data disc, or DVD. This allows you to restore your site quickly if needed, ensuring it remains operational.

However, if your website experiences frequent updates or changes, regular backups are essential. Major platforms like Amazon.com maintain rigorous backup schedules and invest heavily in robust backup infrastructure to safeguard their operations.

The backup frequency you choose should align with your business needs and tolerance for potential data loss. For instance, if even a day’s worth of data loss is unacceptable, daily backups are recommended. Alternatively, you might find weekly or monthly backups adequate depending on your circumstances.

Ultimately, the backup strategy you adopt should reflect your business priorities and ensure you can recover quickly and effectively from any unforeseen incidents.

In most cases, backups are created on one device and stored on another or different media. Ideally, set up a separate backup server where you can securely transfer your complete data using FTP. If this isn’t feasible, storing backups on data CDs or DVDs is a viable option.

It’s advisable to maintain multiple copies of your backups in a well-organized manner to prevent confusion. Implementing proper version control ensures you can track and manage different backup versions effectively.

Consider utilizing backup services offered by various providers, often available at a reasonable cost. Investing in these services can provide added security and peace of mind, safeguarding your data against unforeseen losses or disasters.

When it comes to backups, there are primarily two types: incremental and full backups, depending on the backup tools you use. Various tools, like those from Oracle, offer different methods to create backups.

Incremental Backup involves comparing the current backup with the data you want to back up. If there are files that have been added or changed since the last backup, only those files are included in the new backup. This method is called incremental because it adds only the changes or new files.

Full Backup is a comprehensive backup where all files are copied, regardless of whether they have been previously backed up. This ensures that every file is stored in the backup system, making it complete and independent of previous backups.

When dealing with small amounts of data on your website, a straightforward approach is manually logging into your web server monthly or weekly to copy all relevant files onto another computer or storage device.

However, as your website grows with extensive databases and numerous files, managing backups manually becomes impractical for daily or weekly routines. In such scenarios, automated scripts become essential. These scripts, whether written in shell or Perl, can systematically gather files from various directories, compress them into a zip file, label them with a unique backup identifier, and then transfer them automatically to a designated backup server or storage medium, such as a tape drive. This automation ensures that your backups are reliable and consistently updated without requiring constant manual intervention.