Best Online backup service?

[Toad]

I wouldn't trust some 3rd party online backup service with my private data. I'd definitely go for an external drive.

 

[GQgeek]

I just started using SugarSync. I got a 10GB free account with my Kaspersky Internet Security 2010 purchase, which made me start using it. I compared it to Mozy Pro and it's quite a bit cheaper. Mozy Pro is basically 50cents/GB per month, which is obviously much more expensive than the cost per GB of an external drive, and much more expensive than SugarSync, where I can get 30GB for $5/mo. The performance of MozyPro is probably unmatched, however, which is why they charge more and target it for businesses (that have backup windows). MozyHome claims unlimited capacity for $5/mo, but it's billed per computer, so in my case, with 2 main computers that need to be backed up, it's twice as expensive, whereas SugarSync just charges you for the GB you use. Which service is ultimately cheaper depends on your usage patterns. SugarSync keeps the last 5 versions of your files, which you can access from any place you have web access.

The software itself is awesome. It's got a good client that's quite streamlined. It doesn't use a lot of resources and setup is a breeze. It creates a "Magic Briefcase" in your My Documents folder. Any documents you put in there are automatically kept synchronized across all of the computers you have the client software installed on. If you want to sync other stuff, it's easy to do. From the client you can pick and choose which files/folders to keep backed up. You can access files from any computer on any other computer, which you give names and icons from within your account.

There is also an iPhone app that works with the service. I now have access to all of my documents on all of my computers from my iPhone. Depending on the file type, I can view them or send them in email from my phone. This finally enables me to have a no hassle way to access my technical e-books from my phone, as well as anything else I might be working on. It can also take pictures from within the application and upload to the service so that they are immediately available from your other computers.

The only downside is that for large transfers, it's kinda slow. Your initial sync, depending on how much data you upload, will take a fair amount of time. After that, you don't really have to worry about it too much. Most home users aren't modifying massive amounts of data on a daily basis. MozyHome suffers the same problem of low transfer speeds, but you get what you pay for. With the Mozy Pro service, you get way faster speeds, but at much higher cost.

Anyway, most people don't need more than 30GB stored online. For instance the only stuff I have that is truly irreplaceable and worth paying for online backup of are my photos and certain documents. Everything else can be backed up once every couple of months to an external sata drive and stored in my safety deposit box.

 

[Douglas]

Originally Posted by Tokyo Slim

I know... I'm just trolling for a fight.

What's the matter? You don't like Macs? Why wouldn't you like a machine that just works, without any security issues or blue screens of death?

 

[javyn]

Originally Posted by rnoldh

Rush Limbaugh endorses Carbonite.

It must be good!

And conservative

Call the General, General Steel...for all your construction needs.

 

[Milhouse]

What about something like Amazon's new cloud systems? S3 is for storage. I haven't used it yet, but it seems like a pretty good set up.

 

[javyn]

Originally Posted by Douglas

What's the matter? You don't like Macs? Why wouldn't you like a machine that just works, without any security issues or blue screens of death?

Just another pointless dick measuring contest.

 

[GQgeek]

Originally Posted by Milhouse

What about something like Amazon's new cloud systems? S3 is for storage. I haven't used it yet, but it seems like a pretty good set up.
Storage is a little different than continuous backup. A good backup system will keep your stuff backed up all the time and enable you to roll-back to previous versions, as opposed to just being a place to dump all your files. It will effectively take you out of the loop, so you don't have to remember to backup to the service. I don't know anything about amazon's service, but my impression is that it's for online storage as opposed to a real backup system that maintains multiple versions etc. I really haven't investigated it though. Different types of files have different storage/backup requirements though. I have a hundred gigs of lossless music, but it's overkill to back it up online. I only back stuff up online that's really irreplaceable.