People file backups mentally under "housekeeping". They belong under security. When prevention fails, backups are what decide whether an incident is a bad afternoon or a business crisis.
What backups protect against
- Ransomware and defacement. A clean restore from before the infection date removes the attacker's leverage entirely.
- Malicious insiders. Someone with valid access deleting content is indistinguishable from an authorised action until you look at the log. Backups undo it.
- Ordinary mistakes. The most frequent use by far. A deleted page, an overwritten product catalogue, a plugin update that corrupts data.
- Failed updates. A rollback path is what makes it safe to apply security updates promptly.
What makes a backup actually useful
- Both halves. Files and database. Either alone will not rebuild a working site.
- Held separately. A backup on the same server as the site is destroyed along with the site.
- Enough history. A single nightly copy is useless if an infection went unnoticed for a week and the only backup you hold is already infected. Multiple retained points matter.
- Tested. An untested backup is a hope, not a plan. A restore that fails at the moment you need it is worse than knowing you had none.
The one thing people get wrong
Discovering a compromise and immediately restoring last night's backup usually restores the compromise too, because the attacker had been in for longer than anyone realised. Report the incident first, let the entry point be identified, then choose a restore point from before it.
On Zylax hosting
Automated backups run on the schedule stated on your plan and are retained for the period stated there. You can request a restore or a downloadable copy at any time through a ticket at crm.zylax.com.my. Keeping your own independent archive of anything critical is good practice regardless of your host.
To check your backup schedule or request a copy, reply to your email thread or contact [email protected].
