October 3rd, 2008

Add-In Review - KeepVault Online Storage for Windows Home Server www.keepvault.com

After reviewing a product that billed by the gigabyte I was anxious to try something that was potentially unlimited. Little did I know by the end of my testing, the entire review would change with some big news from Keepvault.

This review was practically written and ready to publish when I contacted Keepvault one last time before going live with it. That’s when I got the news. Keepvault for Windows Home Server is no longer offering unlimited storage. What???

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October 04, 2008

By Jimmy Bergmark

SpiderOak has (and will have) some unique features that other solutions I have used like Mozy and Carbonite does not have.

I think SpiderOak works pretty well and is easy to use. I’ve had a few issues and some of them will most probably be fixed within a few months. With the combined functionality they call it a ‘SuperCloud’.

Here are some details about SpiderOak:

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http://www.backupreview.info

Backup Review Rating:

(4 stars out of possible 5)

Reviewed on Sep. 26, 2008

Summary

Keepit.com is part of a group of companies, under a parent company called Cohaesio. It is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark. Cohaesio’s core competencies in managing infrastructure, support for a large number of customers and complex storage solutions allowed Keepit.com to easily enter the online backup industry.

“The less clicks the better” is the mantra that governs the service offerings of Keepit.com, the online backup service provider. The company strives to serve its customers by ensuring that complication in the software is not the reason why backups fail to happen. Keepit.com’s explicit strategy is to differentiate on simplicity and ease of use, and they certainly deliver on this promise.

There are no unnecessary clicks or complex settings to go through during the set up, backup and restore process.

Presently, Keepit.com offers services in the following languages: English, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, and Finish. In the coming months, Keepit.com is planning to add services in French and Spanish.

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September 23, 2008

Here is the summary of PCPro’s ratings:

By Stuart Andrews

Amazingly, according to research from Harris Interactive last year, 35% of PC users in the UK still don’t have any sort of personal backup regime in place. Given the ever-increasing threat of malware, the risk of hardware failure, and the less than perfect stability of Windows and its applications, that isn’t just foolish, it’s also irresponsible.

There really is no excuse. Even if you or your business don’t want to invest time or money in backup hardware, online backup services now provide an inexpensive, highly convenient way to keep your most vital data safe, whatever happens.

In fact, online solutions have several advantages over the standard …

Please click here to continue reading this review (click on company link to read the reviews and also check out the tabs)

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by Ross McKillop on September 16, 2008

The popular web hosting company Dreamhost recently decided to change a policy they had in place that didn’t allow customers to use their storage space to backup files. Now you’re given 50GB of storage space to use as backup. This change in policy does come with one caveat - the backups aren’t backed up. So, if for whatever reason the Dreamhost backup server that stores your files happens to die, your files die with it.

So while you probably don’t want to make it your primary backup solution, it’s still a nice feature (since you’re already paying for web hosting). This tutorial will guide you through using mathusalem (free backup software) to automatically FTP the files you want to backup to Dreamhost.

In truth, this tutorial could also be called “How to backup files using mathusalem” - because that’s essentially what it is. I just happen to use Dreamhost as the remote …

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September 09, 2008

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Reviewed by
Jon L. Jacobi
September 05, 2008

Pros

Cons

This online backup service is a good option if you need a lot of online backup space plus file sharing.

In a world where 2GB of online backup space costs nothing (at Mozy.com and Fabrik.com, for instance) you’d think it would be hard to compete as a for-a-fee storage service. But many people require more storage space for their vital data than the free services provide. Enter Webroot Secure Backup, which offers various levels of storage to meet your needs.

Webroot is known for …

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By Kris Abel on Wed 03 Sep 2008

You take one end of the USB cable and insert it into the Clickfree box, then take the other end and insert it into your computer. You’re done. That’s it. There’s no buttons to press, no mice to click, no software to install, no options or settings to select. Like an espionage toy from the movies, the Clickfree box does all the work, installing itself and automatically scanning the computer it’s connected to for a shopping list of file types and copying them onto its own hard drive.

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September 4th, 2008

It doesn’t matter how many backups you have of your data if they all reside at the same location.  Enter Off-Site backups.   The Jungle Disk Windows Home Server Edition BETA allows you to automatically backup your Windows Home Server shared folders to Amazon.com’s S3 Storage Service.

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September 04, 2008

Courtesy of the Bonnier Group Publications

Online Backup Review of 8 companies: Keepit, Norcube, Idrive, Box.net, Mozy, Adrive, Backup2Net, and BuddyBackup

Bonnier Group Publications recently reviewed the above eight online backup companies based on:

• Storage space
• User friendliness
• Security, and
• Functionalities

Please click here to read this well written 6 page review

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September 02, 2008

There are lots of new shiny online storage services pumping out of the ground recently, some in closed or public alphas / betas, some open for everyone or even final.

You might wonder why big services like box.net or Sugarsync are not included. This is because I only added providers to this list which fulfil these criteria:

• A free account (no 14-day trials and so on)
• No file extension restriction

Why did I made this list? I searched for a storage service with which I can do these things:

• Backup some important data and MySQL dumps of my OpenBSD home server (automatically)
• Backup other data of my desktop linux machine (manually)

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September 01, 2008

Companies Reviewed Include:

AllMyData, Badongo, BeInSync, Box.net, Carbonite, DivShare, DriveHQ, Drop.io, Dropboks, ElephantDrive, eSnips, FilesAnywhere, FolderShare, GetDropBox.com, iBackup, iDrive, in.solit.us, JungleDisk, MediaFire, MegaUpload, Mesh, MobileMe, Mozy, MyBloop, Omemo, Omnidrive, Openomy, OrbitFiles, SkyDrive, Steekr, SugarSync, SwapDrive, Wua.la, XDrive, Yahoo! Briefcase, and Yuntaa

=========================================

The past several weeks I’ve been scouring the web in search of the best online storage, backup, and sharing services and applications. I have personally investigated and reviewed each and every one of these listed below. If you believe I have left an important one out of the list please let me know by commenting at the end of this article and I will review it for inclusion.

In addition, if you work for one of the service providers listed below and any of the information (features, pricing, etc.) becomes outdated please bring this to my attention by commenting on this post using your work email (yourname@nameofserviceprovider) and I will personally update the information so it is current and accurate.

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August 26, 2008

Video 11:22

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August 21, 2008

Summary page of Wuala’s review is found here

Caleido AG

http://wua.la

• Type: Personal
• Free: Yes
• OS Compatibility: Windows Vista, Windows XP, Linux, Mac OS
• Notes: Free; 10GB: $25 per year; 1TB $1000 per year

Wuala combines secure online storage, file sharing, and community in a responsive Java app. You get 1GB free, which trails SkyDrive’s 5GB, but Wuala adds easier sharing, an option to increase your storage by donating hard drive space, and a more-accessible public file area than SkyDrive’s.

Drag-and-drop uploading. No installation required. Public file area offers open space to the world. Can block adult content.

Java client uses considerable memory. No Friend approval.

By Michael Muchmore

Wuala gives online storage a new spin with peer-to-peer storage-grid technology and a Java-based Web application with community features. This beta service’s publicly shared media folders resemble what you’d find in a peer-to-peer file-sharing service, as does the option to add more storage to your account by volunteering part of your hard drive to the service’s storage grid, thereby saving the company bandwidth costs. Though this means that your files may be stored on strangers’ PCs, the files are encrypted and sliced up so that a whole file won’t be on any single user’s system. The new service, whose Web site is located at wua.la, competes directly with Freedrive and Microsoft’s Windows Live SkyDrive, which also have public, shared, and private online folders. But SkyDrive gives you 5GB of free storage, compared with the mere 1GB Wuala offers gratis. AOL’s ill-fated Xdrive, with its Adobe AIR desktop client, resembles Wuala even more, but that service is being discontinued.

Read the Wuala (beta) full review

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August 19, 2008

Mini Reviews of 15 Free Online Backup Companies

Adrive Megaupload Humyo Xdrive Windows Live Skydrive 4shared DivShare Driveway iDrive Mediafire Easyshare Zshare Yourfilehost Rapidshare and Megashares

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August 20, 2008

Last week we took a look at different options for backing up, storing, and sharing data files with online storage services. This week we will take a look at services which are more secure. IDrive uses AES 256 bit encryption for its online storage service. Transfers of data to the drive is done with 128 SSL encryption. IDrive allows you to sign up for a free 2GB account. Their Pro Personal Account is 4.95/month for 150GB of storage. They also offer accounts for businesses at different rates.

As with other online storage services you need to set up a free account on the site and download the desktop software. When you first launch IDrive …

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August 17, 2008

Secure your Stuff in Cyber–Storage

Why store your files where they are vulnerable to damage, easily lost, take up hard drive space and impossible to access unless you’re at your computer? Put them online.

Click to read “Why Use an Online Storage Service?”

Please click here to continue reading this review of Ten Online Backup Sites.

(Review is presented in an easy to read table format).

Editor’s Note: XDrive has announced that it will discontinue its services.

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August 17, 2008

Whenever I’m dealing with a fairly complex problem over a long period of time, I find it helpful to write a manifesto to lay out exactly what I want to to accomplish and how to go about doing that. It seems to organize my thought process in such a way that I more clearly understand what the desired result really is, and lets me achieve that desired result sooner. Here for your perusal is the manifesto that I worked on for several days on the subject of revising my backup strategy at work (and at home). If either of my readers can add anything to my thinking here, I’d definitely appreciate the feedback.

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August 13, 2008

By Tim Hoeck

How much data do you have on your computer? Is it important to you - no, is it irreplaceable? So much of our data is stored on our computers nowadays, yet so many do not have a plan in place in case of emergencies. Maybe you, like me, have all your data on a separate drive. Maybe you even have it on an external drive. What would happen if you turned on your computer today, to find out that the hard drive has failed?

This very thing happened to me just two weeks ago. For me, it was one of my “backup” drives. I have two secondary 120GB internal drives that I store all my non-system data on. One drive is for miscellaneous files (games, some software, random stuff I would need if I reformatted); it would be a moderate headache to get these files back.

The other drive contains my music collection …

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By Gerry Blackwell
August 12, 2008

In the continuing quest for the perfect small business backup product – one that works simply enough that busy, non-technical workers will actually use it and get the protection they need from it – Storage Appliance Corp. may have struck gold.

SAC’s ClickFree portable backup devices, portable USB drives with onboard backup software, do everything most small businesses need, and do it so automatically that you won’t have any excuses for not backing up your data.

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Scott Dunn

Almost every feature you’d want in an easy-to-use file-sync interface, although the initial sync is slow.

As its name implies, Syncplicity requires very little maintenance, or even any interaction, once you’ve set the program to do what you want. The installer prompts you to synchronize the usual suspects (Documents, Pictures, Desktop, and so forth), but you can specify any files you want. When you do, it copies them to Syncplicity’s servers.

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Scott Dunn

Microsoft has sacrificed usability to provide a pretty interface in this powerful but unnecessarily clumsy file-sync service.

Using Microsoft’s Live Mesh service is like learning to drive a car: Once you have the hang of it, it seems pretty straightforward–but if you’ve never sat in front of a dashboard before, it can be a little confusing at first. The current preview version serves mainly to provide you with remote access to other computers, a method to synchronize data on those computers, and a way to share data with colleagues.

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Scott Dunn

Service offers simple file sync and backup, but forces you to do all your sync management from one unmovable folder.

Dropbox is a newcomer still in beta testing that has some welcome features despite its simplicity. Like other synchronizers, it requires that you download and install software; but un­-like the others, it has almost no user interface. All it has is a tray icon that you click to see a pop-up window with one command for launching the Web site and another for opening an Explorer window to the Dropbox folder installed in your Documents folder.

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Scott Dunn

A professional level file sync tool, but lack of online storage means you have access to files only on connected systems.

BeInSync does four particular tasks–synchronizing, sharing, providing remote data access, and backing up–and it does them very well. There’s no confusing of these tasks, each of which appears as a giant button in the cleanly designed interface. If you opt for the smaller ‘Launch BeInSync’ button, you get a more sophisticated interface, but with the same four buttons at the top.

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http://www.backupreview.info

Backup Review Rating:

(4 stars out of possible 5)

http://www.MemoPal.com

Summary

MemoPal is positioned as a windows (Mac was released in June 2008; Linux and IPhone versions are on the drawing board) client backup and cloud storage application, launched by an Italian group of software engineers. MemoPal started developing its applications in December 2007 and in short period of time, in April 2008, it officially launched.

Considering the age of the company, we are very impressed with its growth and its track record so far. As some online backup providers, like MediaMax (formerly known as Streamload; and recently known as TheLinkUp), OmniDrive and Xdrive slowly joining the dead pool, MemoPal is growing and excels not only in English, but also in many other languages. MemoPal is currently available in Chinese, French, Finnish, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish and English. MemoPal is planning to add 24 additional languages in the future to eventually provide online backup solutions in 35 languages, making it the leading site in multi-language services in the online backup industry.

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www.backupreview.info

Backup Review Rating:

(4 stars out of possible 5)

http://www.idrive.com

Summary

IDrive, is a service offered by Pro Softnet Corporation, an ASP and Internet Solutions Provider, based in Woodland Hills, CA.

IDrive offers 2GB of free online backup space to its clients with every subscription. For this free 2GB offer, there are no backup and restore restrictions or bandwidth limits or restrictions on file type. The backups are automated, with remote backups of files/folders and IDrive boasts of world-class infrastructure for the data centers and advanced data encryption.

IDrive is one of a handful companies that also provide online backup service for Mac. This review does not include their Mac offering.

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July 28, 2008

By Debbie Jordan Kravitz

Last week I nearly had a panic attack!

Out of the blue, for no apparent reason, my PC’s hard drive crashed. I lost family pictures, 3 chapters of the book I’m writing, all my business contacts, all my accounting data, EVERYTHING!

In an effort to be environmentally friendly, as well as the fact that I cringe at the sight of paper piles, I rarely print files that can easily be referenced electronically. I also don’t use an external hard drive for backup. Too. Much. Clutter. Thanks to Carbonite, my trusty online data backup service, I don’t have to regret those decisions.

I’ve been saving data to Carbonite for almost a year, so …

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July 17, 2008

Mesh the cloud and your desk

I don’t suspect that I’m a “typical” computer user with my daily working with four different computers and constant travel but most of my readers I’m sure have at least a home and office computer. I’m also pretty sure that at some point you’ve “left that important file on the other computer” and have no easy way of getting it short of calling someone to get them to e-mail it to you. Great if your office is open and the file is small, but getting a file at 7am when you’re presenting at 8, and it’s a 10MB PPT file and you’re basically screwed.

I’ve played with many different services to synchronize devices in the past my most of them are cumbersome at best, hardly functional at worst. However, yesterday I was given access to the “tech preview” of Windows Live Mesh and all I can saw is “where have you been all my life.” (Supposedly this is open to everyone in the US but I’ve heard reports that so many people tried to access it yesterday that they’ve since closed it to new users again. So, your ability to register may vary.)

So, let me take you on a tour of Live Mesh and explain to you what it does and (basically) how it works.

First you head over to http://www.mesh.com/ and select the Sign in button. (I recommend you do this in IE as opposed to Firefox. I’ll explain why later.)

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