Frequently Asked Questions.

Godmother is a backup service for computers that backs up all your files everyday to an offsite location. Godmother automatically implements industry best practice backup policies to ensure that your data is safe and secure. see "About Godmother" for further information.

Godmother is for anyone who uses a computer - it is simple and completely non-technical.

If you have information on a computer that is valuable then using the Godmother backup service is the best way to insure you will always have access to it.

Godmother has been designed with small business in mind but can be used in large coporations and at home.

Godmother has been designed to be the simplest and cheapest compete backup solution.

There are no plans or data limits.

There is nothing to decide or configure except for your password and backup time.

We even come to you to do the installation.

All you really need to do is choose Godmother and we do the rest.

NO. Your data is Encrypted on your computer using your secret Access Key before it is sent to our data warehouse using a secure internet connection. No one can access your data without your access key, including Godmother. If you lose you Access Key we can't help you but we do give you a way to Secure your Access Key using an Escrow Service.

The security of your data is one of the most important features of Godmother. Godmother uses AES-128 bit encryption and the SHA1 cryptographic hash function to secure all customer data and filenames. AES has been adopted by the US Government as an encryption standard to secure sensitive information and is considered extremely secure. SHA1 was developed by the Natioanl Security Agency (NSA).

All that technical detail means that your data is as secure as the password you choose. Godmother allows up to a 52 character password.

Your data never leaves your computer without being encrypted. The employees of Godmother can not ever see your data.

Your encrypted data is kept in our secure data centre in Melbourne, Australia.

The easiest way is to check the Godmother Monitor which can be found by clicking the Godmother icon. If your backup doesn't work for 3 business days in a row Godmother will contact you using your preferred contact method to check that everything is OK.

Godmother has been designed so that you don't notice it, it just works away in the background automatically. Users can elect to receive a weekly email report of the backup system that shows general usage statistics. You can also click on the Godmother icon in your tool bar and open the Godmother Monitor which will provide information on your last successful backup and any important messages Godmother has.

Yes. Godmother keeps a daily version of a changing file for one week, a weekly version for one month and a monthly version for three months. This means there could be as many as 12 versions of a file that you regularly use/change.

Some examples to make this a little clearer:

Example 1: Your business accounting software (e.g. MYOB) is used every day but you notice that something has gone badly wrong and it looks like a series of entries made to the general ledger last week were entered incorrectly. You can use your Godmother to retrieve the file as it was last week before the changes were made.

Example 2: You gave a presentation three or four months ago to a potential customer but now that they are interested in talking further you can't find it and figure you must have accidentally deleted it when 'cleaning' up some folders a few weeks earlier. You can use your Godmother to retrieve the file from our data archive of your computer from two months earlier.

There are lots of ways that your computer data can be lost; from physical destruction, mechanical breakdown, power spikes and theft. With Godmother protecting your files all your data is protected in a remote location and can be retrieved so that your replacement computer can quickly be reloaded and you can be back in business. All you have to do is ask and you'll retrieve.

Yes, Godmother works in the background and doesn't interfere with your normal work routine.

Yes, Godmother backs up any emails that are on your computer.

"All your files" means that we backup your complete hard disk, including data and applications. This means that you dont have to worry about where you store files on your computer or worry about maintaining backup file sets or lists. If there is really data you dont want to backup, then Godmother can be configured to do this. By excluding what you dont want, instead of including what you want, there is much less room for error, oversight or just forgeting to add a file to a backup.

To be complete, there are a number of windows and application files such as log files and virus definition files that just dont need to be backed up and as such these files are not backed up by godmother.

Godmother will backup your computer everyday at the time you designate during installation. Many businesses schedule their backup during the night. Other customers schedule their backup during the day when they know their computer will be on and connected to the net. Godmother has been designed to not interfere with your normal work processes.

The easiest way is to use this form here or just call 1300 791 611.

The minimum requirements to have Godmother installed are:

• Windows XP Computer
• Broadband internet connection (ADSL, Cable).
• 5Gb free hard disk space

Yes, Godmother works on laptops as well. Godmother will work on any type of computer that meets the Requirements.

Your files are easily available. Call 1300 791 611 and just ask our support team. You can ask for different versions of your files going back up to three months.

Yes, Godmother is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Just call for Support - 1300 791 611.

The first way to tell whether Godmother is working is to check the Godmother monitor. Additionally, the Godmother team confirms that you have incoming information. Although we can not see your data we do know whether your data is arriving for storage. If we don't hear from your computer for three (3) business days then we contact you to ensure Godmother is operating OK.

There are no limits on the amount of data that can be backed up or on the amount of data that is uploaded on a daily basis. Godmother has been designed to make backup simple and easy to use, free of restrictions, plans and excess charges.

Godmother has a fair use policy that requires users not to make excessive or unreasonable use of the Service. For further information, please contact Godmother.

The short answer is no. Godmother has been designed to backup internal hard disks only, however if data on a additional computer requires backup, additional installations can be ordered at a volume discount.

Godmother has three very important advantages over common backup methods. It is automatic so that it doesn't rely on someone remembering to do the boring task of backup. Secondly it is complete backup - all your files and data are backed up so you can't miss any important files that are inadvertently saved in an unusual directory. Thirdly, Godmother takes your data to an offsite location and stores it securely.

Each computer with important data you want to protect should have a Godmother. Many workplaces use a server to save important information to a common place for efficiency reasons (sharing, backup). If your workplace has good data management practices to ensure that all important information is on the server then only backing up that computer is OK. Otherwise having a Godmother on each computer might be worthwhile.

Most businesses have more than one computer and these computers are not always in the office where important data can be saved to a single server. We offer a discount for organisations that need more than one Godmother. The table below shows the basic discounts available. If you have a larger number of computers than shown here please call us on 1300 791 611.

* All prices exclude GST

Godmother costs just $39.95 per month or $399.95 per year which includes two months free. Currently installation is free and prices are GST exclusive.

No & Yes. Every computer using Godmother is entitled to two (2) FREE retrievals per year. Each retrieval after that incurs a charge of $150. Two free retrievals should be enough for most businesses to regularly test their data recovery systems or recover from occasional data loss.