SOS: Save your tree!

We've all been there - or close to it: All that work and it could be gone forever in a matter of seconds.

Catastrophe can strike at any time - be it a natural disaster or a man-made virus or equipment failure - and it is usually at the most inconvenient of times!

How to keep your data safe? The genealogists' mantra of "backup, backup, backup" (in a variety of formats: flashdrives, external hard-drives, etc.) is not just simply a nice chant, it is an imperative if you don't want to spend years recreating what you've already done.

A new service that appears to provide peace of mind, BackupMyTree, has just launched. It offers free and automatic backup of family trees - which translates into peace of mind for researchers.

According to the press release:

BackupMyTree enables worry-free research for genealogists and family history enthusiasts, preventing loss of years of work due to a computer disaster such as a virus or hard disk crash. By automatically finding family tree files and creating a remote, off-site backup, BackupMyTree’s software ensures complete protection of family tree data.

The free service provides:

-- Support for many popular family tree file formats such as Family Tree Maker, Family Tree Builder, PAF, Legacy Family Tree, RootsMagic (version 4 or later), Family Tree Legends, and industry-supported GEDCOMs as well.

-- Users can securely access their family tree files from anywhere in the world via the internet.

-- Monitoring of all family trees for changes and automatic backup of updated files.

-- Storage of previous versions of family tree files should anything become corrupted. This also protects against accidental deletion of information inside a family tree – enabling users to retrieve any previous version of their data.

-- Instant retrieval in case of data loss - simply re-download the latest family tree backups.

-- Complete protection of all family tree files using strong SSL security during transfer from computers to the BackupMyTree servers.

Who's behind BackupMyTree? That's Cliff Shaw, whose previous successes in genealogy include GenForum, Family Tree Legends and GenCircles.

“BackupMyTree represents my continued deep commitment to develop innovative new technologies and services for genealogists”, said BackupMyTree’s Founder and CEO, Cliff Shaw. “A family tree contains massive amounts of data collected over many years - often irreplaceable and simply priceless to its owner. Our free backup service gives genealogists peace of mind that all their family tree files are safe and secure. We’re delighted to be filling the gap in the genealogy market in helping preserve family history forever.”

Tracing the Tribe noted an interesting description of Shaw as a "serial genealogy entrepreneur." I've never seen that before.

If you are interested in protecting your hard-won data - and Tracing the Tribe thinks that is essential for every genealogist - check out BackupMyTree.

For more information, see top geneablogger Randy Seaver's Genea-Musing experience with the new service.