Encryption of backup files?

When i make backup of files with programs like Acronis True Image i put a password on the backup, but do i need to encrypt the backup file? What exactly the encryption do? Making it harder for hackers to crack the password of the file?

 

The answer to your question depends upon your needs. From my point of view if you are going to take the time to use a password you may as well go ahead and encrypt the backup image.

Either way you will still enter the exact same password when you restore, so the "hassle" of having to key a password for file access is the same. That said why not encrypt? It adds very little load to a modern day machine. Dare say you will not notice the difference at all as the "write time" is the bottleneck when creating backups. My Macrium Pro allows for long passwords and strong AES encryption of the images created. That is what I do.

You will have to assess how strong your threat model is. Your wording doesn't make it sound too strong so the encryption Acronis uses should be ample for most users needs. I personally would not make a backup image that isn't encrypted in some fashion. That is my take on this subject.

 

If some hacker try to crack the password of a backup file that is encrypted will it be harder than hack a file that is protected with password but it is not encrypted?

 

My backup is on an external HDD. Some time ago I had it encrypted (bitlocker) but then I decided to remove it. If something happens to me (the only one who knows the password) then my family could not get to any of the documents which are stored there.
Since the External HDD never leaves home I prefer to have the data available anyway in case of need.

 

The answer precisely depends on the type of threat you are trying to protect against as Palancar said.
If you store the backup on an external drive that is usually unplugged, encryption may be more trouble that it is worth for you. If the backup is on a server or NAS, it should be encrypted because a hacker or malware could get to it. Should also be read only once created so malware can't delete it.
If you are concerned about some government agency seizing it and using the data against you, the Acronis encryption might not be enough.

 

Much easier if it isn't encrypted.

I wasn't going to go there. I have several backup images stored inside TrueCrypt volumes, but those are for operating systems with different threat models.