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Best Free Online Backup Sites
Do you know when the absolute worst time to think about backups is? It’s that split second after you delete that important presentation or cherished photo. It’s the moment when the tech support guy tells you your hard drive has died and your data is lost.
Until recently, backing up or archiving important files usually meant endless hours with CDs or DVDs (or floppies!) and archaic software that you hoped you would not lose between the time you made your backup and the day you needed a file restored. While a necessity, making backups was difficult for the novice and average user and as such often fell by the wayside, a forgotten item until it was too late.
Endless hours of processing backup disks can now be replaced with online backups and file synching services. The necessity of a good backup is more important than ever, with online backups you can safely and simply backup your data into the cloud. An online backup provides 24/7 access to your files from any Internet connected computer, smartphone, or tablet style device. Data storage in the cloud is one of the quickest means to data archiving and recovery.
There are a number of products and vendors that promise you online data storage and backup. Here are my recommendations:
#1 Your ISP. Many internet service providers offer some form of data storage for their users. Typically this storage is around 2 GB. It is provided “free” as part of your Internet package.
The advantage to this type of online storage and backup is that you already have access to it. No further accounts and password to manage or remember. Tech support is as close as a phone call to the same tech support for your Internet service.
Orange (UK et.al.) http://web.orange.co.uk/p/myco/landing
Virgin (UK) http://www.virginmedia.com/myvirginmedia/vstuff/backup/find-out-more/
Comcast (US) http://security.comcast.net/backup/details/
Qwest (US) http://www.qwest.com/residential/products/digitalvault/
#2 Gmail, Hotmail, or Yahoo e-mail. Believe it or not, all of these services offer excellent storage. For long term archiving, attaching your files as emails and uploading them onto Yahoo, Gmail, or Hotmail can be an excellent way to store your data while having it in a secure and easily accessible location.
#3 Dropbox (www.dropbox.com) offers 2GB free storage to start, multiple paid options also available. Dropbox offers file synching between the PC / Mac / Linux and the cloud. Load the desktop client or upload through the web interface and begin adding folders to the Dropbox folder. Once in the folder, Dropbox synchs the file between the PC and the cloud and any other devices that you have enabled with Dropbox including mobile and tablets. Quick, light and in the background, Dropbox is a must try and is my preferred Online Backup Solution.
#4 Windows Live Skydrive (http://explore.live.com/windows-live-skydrive). As part of the Microsoft Windows Live suite of services, Skydrive offers an amazing 25 GB of online storage. It requires a Microsoft Live ID to sign in and begin using. Once signed into Microsoft Live, You can download the Windows Live Mesh client and begin using Skydrive to synch files across multiple computers and the cloud. Its easy-to-use interface, large amount of storage and complete compatibility with Windows OS make this an excellent choice for Windows users. I use Skydrive as a secondary backup solution with Dropbox.
#5 A final option to consider is Mozy (http://mozy.com/home/free). Like most of the online backup providers, Mozy offers 2 GB for free and the option to add more through paid services. Mozy comes with PC and MAC clients, schedule backups and even file encryption. The encryption capabilities provide some peace of mind to those looking for an Online Backup Solution but concerned about privacy.
While 2 GB seems to be about the standard, some online file synch services offer more storage capacity but may also require that you add your contacts lists or sign up for advertisements or other services to gain the extra storage.
2GB is roughly equivalent to 250,000 text emails, or 300 songs, or 250 pictures.
The ability to quickly get at your data and long term storage are other factors to consider. All of the above recommendations have proven track records, long term company viability and are all well known companies. Your data should be available and controllable by you, being able to move your data from one provider to another or even duplicate it amongst providers for redundant backups are key considerations when choosing a cloud storage solution. The five suggestions above all offer quick accessibility and easy exporting of the data to take to another provider should the need occur.
Finally, regardless of the method or type of backup, whether online, disk to disk, imaging, CD / DVD copying, or floppies (hopefully not!), having a recent backup of your data will insure you never have to face that dreaded split second after your data gets ruined.
NB Do you have a great free online backup solution? If so, then tell us about it in the comments section below!
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| This software category is maintained by volunteer editor kyengineer. Registered members can contact the editor with any comments or questions they might have by clicking here. |
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You can also try CX which is providing 10GBs of free online storage. I've tried it out it works fine. No frills and no fancy stuff with the UI but at least is synchs up with the documents on my computer. I also use Skydrive as well which works fine but CX gives me the extra 5GBs of free storage.
#2 How safe in GMAIL, I heard of people having problems with it? Plus I know one guy who had his account hijacked, and a hacker deleted much of his stuff.
Does anyone know a good way of backing up GMAIL; I have tried hotmail transfer, and that did not work?
Gmail is very safe no doubt about it ! But like anything else you don't put all your eggs in the same basket ;-)
At the same time I use Gmail as Use another place to backup my Gmail data, I use the free option at https://www.backupify.com/social-media-backup this way I always have a backup of my Gmail :) If anything goes wrong with the Gmail servers I'm ready in less than 3 hours to retrieve my ALL my Gmail data.
Also I link my Gmail account with another Acount like Hotmail or Yahoo, this way each mail I send is forwarded to another account, so for any reason, Gmail is not available for few hours, I can log in my other account and see all my previous posting (outmail only)
Regards :)
This article should sort the various sites by:
1. SIZE:how many Gigs of free space each offers;
2. SOFTWARE TO DOWNLOAD: some require users to download software and others don't (why should I install WINE to use Windows software in Linux just for SugarSync when other storage services are without software to download?); and
3. FOLDER DOWNLOAD: some have this ability and some don't (even using the CTRL button to download multiple files is rather slow).
Thanks for the comment. I am the new editor and I will address your comments when I revise this category. I have a some more testing to do.
As far as size. Windows Live Mesh will sync 5 gig.
I tried Mozy and it didn't work with my MacBook Pro. It took me forever to get Mozy to stop billing me for a service that was worthless to me.
One warning about Microsoft Skydrive; you get 20gb free storage (fair enough) and separate 5gb of synced storage. So, for example (in my case) I create a lot of Photoshop files. Well, I had one folder which I would drop my photos into and it would sync to that 5GB folder on Skydrive. So far, so good. Problem; it filled up. Now, common sense would say, "Oh, that's no problem; just move the files on the 5GB section over to that remaining 20GB section, so that you've freed the 5GB and can keep on just dropping files in your local folder and now worrying about it (presumably, it would continue to automatically sync)." Wrong. You cannot move anything from the synced 5GB area directly to the non-synced 20GB area. You'd have to upload all 5GB of photos to your non-synced folders, then delete the files out of both your online 5gb synced storage, then you could begin syncing again.
Yes, they all have their ups and downs, but because of what I store and the way I need to store it, Skydrive sucks a hairy ape toe.
You should try Adrive.com
50Gb of free storage, nice interface, good speed!
Thanks for the suggestion. I'll test it out.
Editor: Best Free Online Backup Sites
ADrive is awful! It's slow and the UI is terrible! I use Minus.com and CX.com that each offer 10 Gb free.
...AND you have to type in a CAPTCHA code every time you want to log in. May be great for security but it's real annoying (to me, at least).
Hello,does anyone know anything about [commercial service edited out]?I am paying about £6 a month and £20 for the broadband,£10 for the security...I am sure that i can get a better deal than this,any advice?.....also i'm not sure of backup now as a lot of my files are my own music creations and my comedy written sketches,film script etc...I'm not sure if [edited] encrypt the files when they are uploaded to the backup or not...I only learnt of this reading your posts...But then i'm not sure of any of them to be quite honest...there are a lot of sharks out there trying to steal your ideas and i'm not sure if i trust any of them to be honest...I think the best thing to do is save all your very important files to disc...all the best to all of you...kind regards
colin
If you have any concerns to upload your data to an online storage provider: There is a great backup tool named Duplicati that does securely encrypted backups and stores those on online storage like Windows Live SkyDrive, Amazon S3, Rackspace Cloud Files and others that are using standard interfaces like WebDAV, SSH or FTP.
Duplicati is open source and available for free. It is easy to use and once you have set it up it keeps your backups up-to-date. Get it from http://www.duplicati.com
Thank for that message about duplicati mate much appreciated....most people do not even take the time to thanks anymore because some people are selfcentred and full of ego...
thanks again
and merry christmas to you all
You missed out on Dropmysite.com - Great for backing up websites, email & databases.
The thing that puts me off using online storage is that I would have to enter my username and password onto a stranger's PC. Although the risk might be low it is possible that those login details could be logged by software on that PC. I would like an online storage service that would randomly request only specific characters from my password, so that I do not enter the full thing.
Do any of these services do that?
Thank you
Have a look at BeeCloud.eu.
We offer 512GB online backup for free (no trial, free !!)
If you go to BeeCloud's website, it says "512Gb" which is actually 512GigaBIT and *NOT* GigaBYTE. It's still 64GBs of free online stroage though.
However, they are a reseller of LiveDrive so it's a matter of making sure that LiveDrive is still operational and also that their Reseller account doesn't get cancelled. Have a look at this post here which mentions Backify - http://www.tomshardware.com/news/backify-cloud-storage-music-streaming-video-streaming-briefcase,13695.html. However, if you go to Backify.com now, it says "LiveDrive has terminated Backify's reseller account, and Backify.com is no longer in service". So, there is a chance that BeeCloud could end up the same way as Backify.
All well and good but;
Who is Beecloud?
How long have you been around?
What is your business model to ensure you stay around?
Beecloud seems to be reliant on Livedrive. What if you lost your Livedrive reseller status? Where does that leave users?
What Server structure and security does Beecloud employ to ensure security and availability of data and how closely or dependent is it on Livedrive?
What is your Service uptime?
How long will the 512GB free deal last or will you go the way of Backify?
Thanks, I made an account and I'm downloading the setup right now.
Have anyone try www.4shared.com. 10 GB for free user. I used this services and it's great.
Thank you for your suggestion zafnat. I'm in the process of testing and compiling a list of a lot of online backup services. Look for potentially new recommendations soon!
I researched both Dropbox and Mozy, and chose Mozy mainly for the fact that you don't have to mess with your file structure by putting your backup targets in a special folder. By using its advanced features, you can just check the folders (or subfolders or files) that you want to back up.
Mozy also will simultaneously create a backup on your hard drive if you wish. It also has the "Pause" button desired by a previous poster.
I'v used it enough (and done some practice restores, which can be directed to a single folder) to be really impressed with it.
I'm totally blind and find DropBox to be quite useful because the buttons are properly labeled for a screen reader user.
First, thanks for your work on this topic.
Contrary to your review, I don't believe there is a Windows Live SkyDrive client. The normal way of using SkyDrive via your browser.
There are third-party applications that can add functionality, like SDExplorer (at http://www.cloudstorageexplorer.com/) and Gladinet Cloud Desktop (http://www.gladinet.com/index.htm), but these are not produced by or affiliated with Microsoft and are not necessary for the normal functioning of SkyDrive.
Am I missing something?
Hello sbwhiteman,
You aren't missing anything. This isn't technically my review, yet, it was here before I got here. I'm working on putting something together as we speak and hope to have something up soon.
Edited to add: I've edited the original article to reflect the Windows Live Mesh client, which is necessary for using Skydrive to *synch* across multiple computers (like Dropbox).
I would like people to understand the problems with going with a paid cloud storage program over a free, name brand one. I had Trend Micro SafeSync, which actually was a TM buyout of the former company Humyo. TM offered their "unlimited" upload and storage for home users at a very reasonable intro rate on a yearly license plan. Right after the sale was over TM went to a limited plan for everyone. Now to renew it's like $80 annually for 100 GB. I need to download everything back to my hard drive and close my TM account, which will take a long time to do. I also was not thrilled to learn all my files were held in servers in Japan, not that I have anything to hide. Another thing is that TM emailed me asking me to take a strictly "anonymous" poll about their cloud storage. I decided not to take the poll and I got another email a week later asking why I had not yet taken their anonymous poll yet. I hear G-drive is maybe coming so I'll either use that or try to deal with the MS Skydrive. I would rather use Skydrive because if they decide to end the program MS has always gave several months of advance notice. Google starts and stops projects all the time and seems to give less notice than MS.
There are inherent risks with using, and therefore depending on, anything to do with "cloud" services...paid or not. Therefore it behooves everyone to determine what their risks are and determining a level of risk that's acceptable.
Sounds to me like SafeSync had an unacceptable level of risk for you as well as charging you for that. Let me know what service you end up settling on...
I Have tested most of those Cloud services and found one that address all my security standards which are:
1. Password protection
2. Complete encryption before it is transmitted.
3. Can be used with any operating system
4. Ability to decide security level of folders
5. Ability to decide security level of individual files
6. ability to share files without compromising the security of the other ones
7. ability to access my files and folders from any computer and from anywhere without risks to my files and without leaving any trace.
8. Total security and ownership of my files
Only one free service gives me all that, it is Wuala. The company, owned by LaCie, is based in Switzerland.
The software is available here:
http://www.wuala.com/en/
I Gig free and the option of sharing some of your disk space to get extra storage.
File sync and backups are now included.
You can get extra storage when you refer other users.
For those who need a lot of space, you can buy at a very good price.
WARNING.....
Do not lose your password because nobody at Wuala will be able to help you. the password file stays on your computer and it is encrypted with your password. That file is useless without the password.
WARNING.......
Try it, test it and use it, you will say it is hard to get something better.
Please note that i am not related to the company, i am only an IT tech who wants the best.
Best regards,
Alexander in Canada
Hi,
Thanks for the nice share Alexander!!!
I have tested Wuala and found that its meeting all the standards that Alexander have mentioned.
The Sync option is quite nice. The application is simple and a very reasonable amount of CPU & memory being consumed.
Options to adjust download and upload bandwidth is very helpful to allocate lesser bandwidth for the application so as to prevent network congestion.
Trade your storage is another nice feature which allows the user to have more storage online by trading their local storage. This option needs to be used carefully alongwith the bandwidth limits option as it may consume the network bandwidth heavily.
After installation, Wuala will be mapped as a shared drive and can be used through explorer.
As Wuala is from Lacie, the leading storage manufacturer, I can say this service is reliable in terms of storage. Please remember that'Nothing is completely secured in a data network' everything has its plus&minuses so choose carefully what to keep online and what not to.
Kagitapus
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