vBack
Which folders, where they go, and when. After that it runs on the clock — including at 2am with nobody logged in.
The problem
Most offices have a backup arrangement that is really a habit: somebody copies a folder to a USB drive when they remember. It works until the week nobody remembers, which is reliably the week the disk fails.
A backup is the thing you reach for on the worst day of the year. It has to run without being asked, and it has to be honest when it did not.
What it does
1Full, incremental, differential
Everything each time; only what changed since the last run; or everything that changed since the last full run. Plus a commands-only task that copies nothing and just runs a script.
2Plain files or one archive
Copies you can open in Explorer, or a 7z, ZIP or tar per run — optionally encrypted and split into volumes.
3Dated runs or a mirror
A stamped folder per run with the oldest pruned automatically, or one folder kept in step with the source.
4Local, network, FTP or SFTP
D:\Backups, \\nas\backups, or a server. Server passwords are encrypted against your Windows account, never stored in vBack’s own files.
5Files that are open
A Windows Volume Shadow Copy, so an Outlook .pst or a live database is backed up rather than reported as locked.
6Filters that make sense
Windows-style masks in or out, a size limit, and the option to skip hidden and system files. Excluding always beats including.
7Verify
Read the archive back and check every file against its own checksum. An archive that fails is deleted — before any older run is pruned.
8Restore
Pick a run, pick a folder, put it back. The history shows every run vBack has ever made, with what could not be read.
Why it is worth it
A Windows scheduled task covers the hours the PC is locked and no one is signed in — which is when a backup should be running.
If somebody renames a source folder, vBack reports an error. It does not say "nothing to back up" and carry on looking healthy, which is the quietest way a backup tool can fail.
Pruning happens after a new run has finished and been written down, so a failed run can never be the reason an older good one disappeared.
Check shows exactly what the next run would carry — count, size, and what the filters left out — without writing anything.
How you use it
Whatever would hurt to lose. Start with one folder rather than a whole drive.
A different physical disk, at least. A backup on the same drive protects you from deleting a file, not from the drive dying.
Every day at 22:00 is the right answer for most people.
Watch the log, then open the destination and look at what arrived. A backup nobody has ever checked is a rumour.
What it needs
| Windows | 10 or 11, 64-bit |
|---|---|
| For open files | vBack must be running as administrator, for the shadow copy. Without it the run says so and carries on |
| For runs while logged out | A Windows scheduled task, set up by a script that ships with it |
| Archive engine | 7-Zip, bundled |
See vBack on your own machine
A short screen-share is usually enough — we open it on your PC, with your files.
Or write to info@issmart.in.
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