Patent ID: 7668880

Claim:
An offsite computer file backup system backing up original customer computer files residing on a primary device, comprising: a first instance of file modification detection software residing on the primary device; an onsite backup device, in communication with the primary device, on which a first copy of the customer computer files are backed up, said onsite backup device including: i) a first instance of file modification software in communication with said first instance of said file modification detection software, and ii) a second instance of said file modification detection software; an offsite central backup device, in communication with the onsite backup device, on which a second copy of the customer computer files are backed up, said offsite central backup device including a second instance of said file modification software in communication with said second instance of said file modification detection software, wherein said file modification detection software detects respective changes to the files between i) the original files and said first copy, and/or ii) said first copy and said second copy, to enable said onsite and offsite central backup devices to determine which files have been updated or renamed, and wherein said first and second instances of said file modification software respectively alter said first and second copies of the customer computer files in accordance with instructions respectively from said first and second instances of said file modification detection software, and wherein said file modification detection software comprises a metadata update module for updating file metadata information and storing said metadata information in at least one file system fork associated with each file on a corresponding, respective remote device.