"Cloud" backup.......?

Looking for a recommendation or two.
Anybody out there using a "Cloud" service for backup that they actually like?
Something that A. works, B. auto updates, & C. is not a resource hog?
Considered Carbonite but SO MANY bad reviews & horror stories?

Please advise, many thanks !

fmg

Tews said:

I use Acronis True Image Home 2010 and save the image to an external drive... works like a champ....

Same here ... Uploading to the clouds is too slow and small.

Getting an enclosure and installing HDD of you choice has an additional advantage.
You can have a twin HDD that's a bootable backup in it ..
and just swap HDDs if your working system has a problem .. or crashes.

Can't do that in the clouds.

Hi there
problem with ANY cloud backup is usually the UPLOAD speed of your ISP. Download speeds are often pretty good these days -- 12 - 20 MB / sec not being uncommon.

Upload speeds however are usually pretty HORRIBLE -- often as slow as 450 - 600 kb/s - which means if you need to backup several hundred GB to external servers it will take you maybe DAYS -- this is likely to be much more of a showstopper than issues of space / security / availability of the remote server.

Note also that with the economic gloom of late "Corporate Greed" is starting to look where it can squeeze EVERY SINGLE CENT out of people where it can - so a lot of ISP's are now capping down / uploads - which doesn't also help when your backups run into many GB of data.

It's a lot cheaper and effective for NON BUSINESS (or HOME) users to get a few HDD's and backup wth something like Acronis or similar -- you need software that can do INCREMENTAL backups -- i.e only backup data that has CHANGED since the last backup. (Of course you should always take a FULL backup from time to time).

I like the idea of having data stored off site as well but I don't think for most home users limited by fairly slow upload speeds that "Cloud" or remote data backups will be vialble any time soon.


For Businesses etc with dedicated high speed servers -- another issue entirely and it could be cost effective to "off load" the data backup process to 3rd parties.

Cheers
jimbo

Well, I have been backing up weeky to DVD & 2nd internal hdd for yearsvwas looking for a less work option off site. I do keep DVD copies off site.
fmg

PDX = Portland Oregon
Ireland = where the wife is from.
Live in Portland Oregon

fmg

If you are looking for good cloud storage then try Dropbox. It installs a folder on your drive that acts just like a Windows folder. You can drag and drop files into your dropbox folder and it automatically uploads it to your storage account. It is a very nice program. You get 2GB for free and their prices are not too bad if you need more storage than that.

Dropbox Features

File Sync
Dropbox allows you to sync your files online and across your computers automatically.

2GB of online storage for free, with up to 100GB available to paying customers.
Sync files of any size or type.
Sync Windows, Mac and Linux computers.
Automatically syncs when new files or changes are detected.
Work on files in your Dropbox even if you're offline. Your changes sync once your computer has an Internet connection again.
Dropbox transfers will correctly resume where they left off if the connection drops.
Efficient sync - only the pieces of a file that changed (not the whole file) are synced. This saves you time.
Doesn't hog your Internet connection. You can manually set bandwidth limits.
File Sharing
Sharing files is simple and can be done with only a few clicks.

Shared folders allow several people to collaborate on a set of files.
You can see other people's changes instantly.
A "Public" folder that lets you link directly to files in your Dropbox.
Control who is able to access shared folders (including ability to kick people out and remove the shared files from their computers).
Automatically create shareable online photo galleries from folders of photos in your Dropbox.
Online Backup
Dropbox backs up your files online without you having to think about it.

Automatic backup of your files.
Undelete files and folders.
Restore previous versions of your files.
30 days of undo history, with unlimited undo available as a paid option.
Web Access
A copy of your files are stored on Dropbox's secure servers. This lets you access them from any computer or mobile device.

Manipulate files as you would on your desktop - add, edit, delete, rename etc.
Search your entire Dropbox for files.
A "Recent Events" feed that shows you a summary of activity in your Dropbox.
Create shared folders and invite people to them.
Recover previous versions of any file or undelete deleted files.
View photo galleries created automatically from photos in your Dropbox.
Security & Privacy
Dropbox takes the security and privacy of your files very seriously.

Shared folders are viewable only by people you invite.
All transmission of file data and metadata occurs over an encrypted channel (SSL).
All files stored on Dropbox servers are encrypted (AES-256) and are inaccessible without your account password.
Dropbox website and client software have been hardened against attacks from hackers.
Dropbox employees are not able to view any user's files.
Online access to your files requires your username and password.
Public files are only viewable by people who have a link to the file(s). Public folders are not browsable or searchable.
Mobile Device Access
The free Dropbox iPhone app lets you:

Access your Dropbox on the go.
View your files on your iPhone or iPod Touch.
Download files for offline viewing.
Take photos and videos and sync them to your Dropbox.
Share links to files in your Dropbox.
View interactive photo galleries.
Sync downloaded files so they're up-to-date.
A mobile-optimized version of the website is available for owners of Blackberry phones and other Internet-capable mobile devices.

https://www.dropbox.com/

Dropbox looks and feels perfect, THANKS!
fmg