Backup of user data with validity check
View Patent ↗A data backup application checks validity of data being backed up during an incremental or a full backup. In case of the file backup, the full backup checks the validity of data during the backup, because in case of data corruption the user will not have any original data since no data has been backed up yet. In case of the incremental backup, only the new files or the files that have changed compared to the last backup are now backed up. All new and modified files can be checked for validity by comparing internal format of the user files against a corresponding file format standard. If corrupted files are detected among the modified files, the user is notified.
1. A system for backup and validation of user data, the system comprising:
a user device having an internal memory for storing user data items;
and
a backup component running on the user device configured to continuously track additions and modifications of the user data items on the user device,
wherein:
the backup component is configured to validate user data items prior to saving the user data items into the backup by comparing an internal format of the user data items against a corresponding file format standard;
the backup component is configured to notify a user, if a user data item inconsistent with the file format is detected, and the user is offered to acquire third-party file restoration tools for repairing the user data item; and
the backup component is configured to determine whether a reverse restore operation can be performed when the user data item is inconsistent with the file format, and
the backup component is configured to, after user confirmation, replace the user data item with an uncorrupted backup of the data item is available in cloud storage accessible by the user device, the cloud storage configured to store backed up user data items.
2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the backup component also detects changes in user files marked as un-editable and notifies the user.
3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the user data items are any of:
images;
video;
documents; and
editor projects data.
4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the reverse restore operation skips a backup of a corrupted file to the cloud storage and places the file onto the user device for a user to make a decision regarding deletion or restoring of the file.
5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the backup component is configured to validate a pre-defined collection of files marked by a user as “unchangeable”.
6. The system of claim 5 , wherein if any files within the collection are corrupted, the backup component informs a user and restores an initial state of the collection.
7. The system of claim 1 , wherein a validation component connected to the backup component is running on the cloud storage.
8. The system of claim 1 , the backup component being further configured to:
check consistency of the user data item before the backup.
9. The system of claim 8 , the backup component further configured to:
determine whether the backup contains inconsistent data and preventing deletion of the user data item; and
restore the user data item from the backup despite user backup settings.
10. The system of claim 1 , wherein the backup component is further configured to:
prior to validating the user data items, encrypt the user data items on the user device using a private key prior to storing in the backup.
11. A method for validation of user data prior to backup, the method comprising:
continuously tracking additions and modifications of user files on a user device by a backup component running on the user device;
selecting a file for backup if a structure of a file format is known;
checking if the structure of the file is valid prior to saving the file for backup;
backing up the file if the structure of the file is valid;
alerting a user, if the structure of the file is invalid,
determining whether a reverse restore operation can be performed when the user data item is inconsistent with the file format, wherein the reverse restore operation restores the file from a previous backup to the user device;
offering the user to acquire third-party file restoration tools for repairing the file;
skipping a backup of the file and removing the file if the reverse restore operation is not available.
12. The method of claim 11 , further comprising restoring the file from a previous backup to the user device for making a decision regarding deletion or restoring of the file by the user.
13. The method of claim 11 , wherein a file structure element used for validation of the file comprises any of:
a file header;
file offsets; and
a file checksum.
14. The method of claim 11 , further comprising validating the file on a user device if the file is encrypted.
15. The method of claim 11 , further comprising acquiring an encryption key from the user device and validating the file on a cloud server.
16. The method of claim 11 , further comprising checking consistency of application files on a cloud prior to deleting the backup.
17. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:
checking consistency of the user data item before the backup.
18. The method of claim 17 , further comprising:
determining whether the backup contains inconsistent data and preventing deletion of the user data item; and
restoring the user data item from the backup despite user backup settings.
19. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:
prior to validating the user data items, encrypting the user data items on the user device using a private key prior to storing in the backup.