We've been trialling several online backup services over the last six months, none of them, unfortunately, in the UK. Details to follow. This Australian outfit caught our eye for 10Gb free storage, mainly because there are no restrictions on file size. A lot of us probably have plenty of storage space with our web hosts, but it may be worth having something totally independent of your current setup for important stuff, especially if there's a chance of your main account(s) being hacked. No affiliation.....
The Oz outfit above restricts access to no more than 2 IP addresses/day on their free service, but that's fair enough. Fast tech support as well. Incidentally, Gmail gives you 27Gb for US$5 / year. Has anyone tried any of the various backup-to-Gmail gadgets available? In other words, using Gmail as an extra drive?
Carbonite is, of course, a different type of application, and was one of half-a-dozen backup systems we've been trialling over the last year. We weren't impressed. It may now have been updated, but the main downside was that it only applied to a single PC (or Mac) and was highly restrictive on what it backed up. It appeared by default to only backup Documents and Settings folders and this didn't include program or system files; there was also a max. 4Gb on each file. Compared to what is now available with online products it's definitely in the chocolate kettle category in getting up and running again after a disaster, and there are better value and more comprehensive products available.
I dont know about any restrictions, it backs upeverything on my computer so it meets my needs but of course one system cant suit everyone. It's down to matching a product with your needs, so what is one persons complete solution for recovery, may not be another's. It is per PC yes - but, it isn't a corporate solution or aimed at the larger end of the SME market. Other solutions are better designed for greater needs. So it's not that they are poor - I have done a test recovery and it worked perfectly hence it is 100% a recovery system for me. However, it may not be for you - that does not make it a poor system. I also get my money back on referrals so cost-wise, it costs me nothing each year in the end.
I would recommend caution if you assume it backs up 'everything on my computer'. Quote from Carbonite Support: Carbonite does not back up system files, executable files, program files or temporary files and folders. Their support team is impressive, and gave a very detailed summary of what they do backup and why. Another outfit, ADrive, for simple FTP backup is currently offering 50Gb free. However, security could well be an issue, there is no automatic backup schedule that I can see, and I'd feel reassured if I knew where they were. The idea of dumping that quantity of data to an unknown country is unfeasible. Maybe for photos and non-crucial stuff it would be fine. Seriously good news though on online backup (we are trialling 6 systems): current trial is with a new British outfit, which looks as though it blows everything else into the background on price, features and tech support. A review follows next week.
ADrive, mentioned above, replied to say they're based 'out of' California. Not quite sure what that means - so are half our sites.
Yes, we have, thanks HB, one of the ones we've been trialling since the start of this thread. One or two glitches, and they don't backup system or program files; slows our machines up considerably (all XPPro SP3). Good response from their tech support. I'll add it to my summary, if I can get the time.... Have you used it?
iDrive give you 12GB Free. They give an intial 2GB, then give them a dummy email account with at least 5 contacts and they will give you another 10GB. It's pretty good.
I prefer the carbonite for the online storage of the data.The main disadvantage of carbonite is it does not back up system files, executable files, program files or temporary files and folders.I have done a test recovery and it worked perfectly hence it is 100% a recovery system from carbonite.
By default, it appears only backup files and settings folder, which does not include program or system files, there is a maximum. Many of us file.50GB, there may be a lot of storage space, and our website host.For this carbonite online backup software is the very usefull.
You can also make a Livedrive account which has unlimited online storage for a temporary time. Right now during the Beta you can have a free account with unlimited storage but when they go public, you will have to pay to keep it unlimited. You will be able to keep your account with all the data in it but you won't be able to add anything else unless you pay.