Mahy PC users still do not back up their data frequently, which makes it difficult for them to access lost files in the event of theft, a sudden system crash, virus or hard drive failure.

A good backup strategy is to have at least two sets of files, aside from the master files that reside on the PC. One of these two copies should be kept offsite, in case a tragedy like a fire or flood takes out the main computer as well as the backup drives.

For individual users and small businesses, a cloud solution that backs up to a secure online server makes a lot of sense. The online backup can be used in tandem with local network backups or hard drives.

The beauty of the cloud computing model is that once saved, this data can also be accessed by any computer or mobile device using a secure Website.

Pros and Cons

Cloud backups do not require investing in external hard drives. Users can start saving their files offsite as soon as they sign up for a plan. Many of these services also offer free trials so users can get a feel of the features.

Cloud backup services work in the background, and allow users to choose which files or folders to back up, and when. Users also have the option of backing up their files on other computers, hard drives or online locations.

Convenience is the biggest advantage of using cloud services. Sign up once, choose the files that need to be backed up, and the system just works whenever the computer is online.

The disadvantage is that cloud backups require a lot of bandwidth, for the initial transfer of files. The incremental backups that follow should use up less bandwidth, as these only affect files or folders that have been altered since the initial backup.

While testing the CrashPlan service, my notebook had 11,032 files totaling 7.5GB of data that it had to backup. The application said it would take 3.6 days to complete. Backing up the same amount of data to an external hard drive using a wired USB or FireWire connection, or locally through a network, would only take a few hours.

Competing Services

For a yearly or monthly fee, cloud backup services will allow subscribers to back up their entire hard drive to their secure servers.

CrashPlan has a range of backup solutions for individual users, small businesses and large enterprises. Their application runs on Windows, Mac, Linux and Solaris; and they also have smartphone apps for iOS, Android and Windows Phone.

The CrashPlan + plan starts at $1.50 a month per computer, for up to 10GB of storage. For $3 per month per computer, you can get unlimited storage. There's also a plan that offers unlimited storage for a whole household; it costs $6 per month.

CrashPlan offers secure backups with 128-bit encryption, as well as a social backup feature that makes it possible to back up to computers belonging to a user's network of friends or family for offsite backups.

Users who don't back up regularly also get e0mail notifications from CrashPlan, reminding them to update their backups.

Similarly, Mozy caters to home users with MozyHome, and business users with MozyPro.

MozyHome costs $5.99 a month per computer for 50GB of storage, or $9.99 a month for three computers and a total of 125GB of storage.

The MozyPro business solution has companies buy a desktop license for each computer that requires backing up. MozyPro Desktop licenses cost $3.95 per month plus 50¢ per gigabyte; and servers cost $6.95 per month plus 5¢per gigabyte of data. Mozy is the only provider that offers a server0specific solution for businesses.

Mozy is compatible with Macs and PCs, plus it has iOS and Android applications that enable administrative control.

Carbonite charges $59 a year per computer for unlimited online backup. The service is designed to be easy to use and does not require users to manually backup files, although that option is available.

Carbonite backs up everything in the Documents and Settings folders in Mac OS (called Users in Windows Vista), including documents, photos, email and data files from applications.

When users need to get their files back, Carbonite makes the restore process simple with an automated wizard that helps them single out the files they need to restore.

Carbonite also has smartphone apps for BlackBerry, Android and iOS.

Article Tags:  backup, cloud, online, Mozy, Carbonite, CrashPlan, virus, crash, theft, hard drive, restore