Backing Up Files With Amazon S3 and Firefox

Amazon S3 or Simple Storage Service is a great way to store the files you would like to backup.  It’s made all the easier by using the Amazon S3 Firefox Organizer(S3Fox) add-on for Firefox.  Together they combine to form an elegant solution to preventing data loss.

Simplicity

S3 is very easy to use.  The main thing that you have to get use to is that they use buckets, which are basically just folders that you can store things in.   It’s also fairly easy to set your permissions so you can share your files or keep them private.

Cheap Solution

One of the best features of S3 is that it is extremely cheap to use.  I don’t personally have a lot of large files to backup, like music or videos so for me it’s very affordable.  I’m talking less than a dollar a month.

I also like the fact that I am paying for it, that way I know my files won’t be deleted at the drop of a hat because I haven’t visited my account in 3 months or some other silly reason.  I  bring this up because I had a friend who lost 6 years worth of photos because she was storing them on a free account at a certain website I won’t mention.  Needless to say, that was a painful loss.

How Does It Work?

The first thing you will need to do is to setup an amazon S3 account. When signing up, you will get a Access Code and Secret Access Key that you need to hang onto.

Once you have signed up,  go out and get the Amazon S3 Firefox Organizer(S3Fox) add-on and install it.  You will need to enter your Amazon Access Code and Secret Access Key.  Once you do, you should be up and running.  All you have to do then is create some buckets and start uploading things.  It’s a lot faster if you zip your files up first so you’re just uploading one file at a time and not hundreds.