Update: Free online backups
A while back I mentioned that I was going to be trying out an online backup service called Mozy. I’ve been using it (well, it’s far more accurate to say that it’s been running while I’ve mostly been ignoring it) since then, so I figured it’s time for an update.
It works. You install it, tell it which files you want it to back up, and then leave it to work its magic. Granted, there was a two-week span during which it could never successfully back up the files (it kept losing the connection to the Mozy servers). But a new release seems to have cured that problem.
Let me be perfectly clear about one thing: I haven’t had to use it to restore any files, so I have no idea how well that part of it works. I’ll have to give that a try some time, but I’ve been swamped with a few projects, and haven’t felt like mucking around with that. I’ll let y’all know when I do.
In the meantime, click here if you’re interested in giving it a shot. (Full disclosure: That link is for Mozy’s referral program; for every four people who click that link and sign up, I get an additional gigabyte of storage. If you’d rather not use that link, here’s a naked one to the Mozy site.)
I also have an external hard drive I use for weekly backups, but having a backup off-site is an extra bit of comfort. I hate the notion of losing any of my work to a disk crash.
Roy Jacobsen
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Reader Comments (2)
We will offer a much more comprehensive service than what these ‘cheapos’ are offering, and will exclusively target the business sector. Our online backup software natively supports open and in-use Exchange and SQL databases, among other advanced functionality that is best suited to SMB/SMEs.
Looks like online backup is going the ‘lowest common denominator’ route, somewhat like hosting did a few years back. Best of luck to those who put price before service with their critical business data. Gives me chills just thinking about it!
fw
First, I deleted the information that would identify your company from your post because, well, if you want to advertise on my site, then that'll cost you. (Yeah, I can be a capitalist pig at times, and I'm proud of it.) Make me an offer.
Second, I don't know about anyone else, but I'm not impressed by a marketing that starts out by slamming the competition. "Cheapo" is not a friendly term. Don't tell me how much the other guy is teh 5UX. It's like a politician saying "Vote for me because I'm not the other guy."
Third, my post wasn't about backup solutions for the business sector, or SMB/SMEs--by the way, you might know what those acronyms mean, but are you sure the rest of the world does?--it was about the home market. Just regular people who are looking for an inexpensive alternative to help protect their documents, pictures, videos, and music. It's like you're comparing Microsoft Money to SAP, or a pick-up game of sandlot baseball to the World Series.