Free Utility Backs Up and Restores Settings For All Popular Browsers

FavBackup can backup and restore settings for many of the browsers in use today.

Most browsers have some way of backing up some settings, but if you want all your settings backed up and/or restored you usually need some help.
FavBackup is a good option for anyone who uses multiple browsers. It doesn't synchronize settings between browsers, but it does back up the settings of each browser.

Usage is straightforward; run the program, decide if you want to Backup or Backup (Safe), Restore or Restore (Safe), choose the browser to be backed up and what browser settings to back up. Select a location for the backups and click Finish. I found it easiest to create a folder to store all the backups, with a file for each browser. The backups are stored as several small files that would benefit from a location to corral them.
The exact settings that can be backed up vary from browser to browser, though bookmarks, preferences, settings, cookies and history are included in the backup for all browsers.

FavBackup supports the following browsers:

* Internet Explorer 8
* Internet Explorer 7
* Internet Explorer 6

* Firefox 3.6
* Firefox 3.5
* Firefox 3
* Firefox 2

* Opera 9

* Safari 4
* Safari 3

* Google Chrome 4
* Google Chrome 3
* Google Chrome 2
* Google Chrome 1

As a side note, I use Windows Vista and I had to run the program as administrator to get it to restore Internet Explorer settings - otherwise access denied messages kept popping up.
Using Safe backup or Safe restore mode allows you to choose what browser to backup but not what settings. It took longer to complete than the regular backup and restore.
The program has a few rough edges; it doesn't remember the location of previous backups and it closes automatically when its done. If more than one browser is being backed up, the program has to be run for each browser.
The downloadable program file is hosted at Rapidshare. Non-Premium members experience a short delay before the file can be downloaded.

FaveBackup    Windows 7/Vista/XP/2000 Run program from .exe, no installation required

 
Signing off,
Rhiannon

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