Suggest an online-backup vendor

[Wiens]

I'm needing to find an online backup vendor to backup important files on our computers at home. The great computer crash of 2008 and a friend's house fire reminded me of the need for off-site backup!

(My external drive backup system didn't work when the hard drive on my wife's computer died, causing her partially completed nursing masters thesis to be lost in the eternal electron sky!!!!! Yes, I'm still married although I took a trip through "husband hell"!)

I've looked at Mozy and Carbonite but I'm intrigued by the recommendations from this MaximumPC artilcle:

http://www.maximumpc.com/article/how...ree_your_files

Mozy: http://mozy.com/

Carbonite: http://www.carbonite.com/

Requirements are:

1. Economical, no more than $60 per year
2. Ability to store over 40 gigs of important files including family photos and FS files! I would prefer unlimited storage
3. Easy to use
4. Automatic backup
5. Does NOT need to be HIPPA compliant
6. Ability to backup files from several home computers
7. Small footprint/Not a memory resource hog
8. Most importantly; easy to restore

What do you guys and gals use? I'd like to hear some suggestions as I hit a brain wall trying to decide!!

As an aside, I also need to find an online backup for my office computers.

Thanks

Kevin

[mike_cyul]

Hi Wiens,

I use Carbonite, and it works just fine.

Mike

[dogknot]

I haven't personally used this product, but have overheard a few folks that thought it fit the bill for them.
(of course there are hundreds of these back up programs out there. It's a matter of finding the safest, most economical, and easiest to use product that fits your own needs. Good luck in your quest.)

NovaBackup 10
http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/fil...scription.html

[bearcat241]

I can think of much better solutions "in-house" than this notion of handing my private, sensitive files over to perfect strangers across the globe for safe-keeping and trusting them to do right by me ALL the time. And another thing: no server is 100% bulletproof...what happens to my stuff when their's get's hacked or goes down?

[Bill Kestell]

I'm also using Carbonite. I have not had to do any recovery yet (of course not, once you've taken care to back everything up ... you'll NEVER have a crash, right?), but I really like the convenience and certainty that I have all my stuff safe, off-site ... and at only $60/year ... it's the cheapest insurance I've bought in as long as I can remember. You just install the program, give it a couple of days to take in all the stuff you have to back up ... and after that ... just let it do all the work! Sweet!:friday:

[dogknot]

I can think of much better solutions "in-house" than this notion of handing my private, sensitive files over to perfect strangers across the globe for safe-keeping and trusting them to do right by me ALL the time. And another thing: no server is 100% bulletproof...what happens to my stuff when their's get's hacked or goes down?

Different strokes...............but I agree completely.

One trip to Staples and I upgraded my old external hard drive with the Maxtor OneTouch4 Plus. It works great and is as simple as it gets. Plus, all my info is private and "at hand".

[spotlope]

I use a Maxtor One-Touch backup drive (and just added a second WD "MyBook" 1TB drive as well), but when there's something I need triple-protection for, I also park it online. For my writing, I use two free accounts; one on http://www.box.net and another at http://www.dropboks.com/ . No, you can't be 100% sure that they won't lose your files or get hacked as well, but by spreading things around you can dramatically increase your odds of coming out on top.

Maybe I'm paranoid, but when I leave for vacation, I always disconnect my backup drives and hide them in weird places in my house. Someday I'm going to get crazy enough to take them to my safe deposit box at the bank... not quite there yet.

[mike_cyul]

I went with off-site backup as I use computers for many things, including work. Also use HD's for backup. If you're sure you'll never have a fire or a flood or that burglars will never find your HD's, or you can afford to lose everything, then you don't need off-site. :d

Not worried about hacking, as they would sure have to do a lot of looking to find anything useful. Things are triple-encrypted off-site, so it's not going to be an easy thing anyway.

Mike

[Wiens]

Thanks for the suggestions.....keep 'em coming.

I'm looking for online backup as I already have an external hard drive automated backup with Norton Ghost. I want the home files "offsite". A friend's house burned down last year and he lost everything, except the night clothes he wore to bed, including his external hard drive. I live in Kansas which is also know as "Tornado Alley". If or when a tornado comes through the local backups would be in the next county or even in Nebraska! I want the automated service as I'm not keen on burning files to a DVD and then taking them to a safe deposit box or my relatives.

At my office we are now required under HIPPA regulations to have offsite online secure backups, so the external hard drive/tape/disk/etc option is not available. I'm also researching options there.

Again, I'm looking for suggestions for online backups as I already have the external hard drive on each home computer for my local backup.

Thanks,

Kevin