Processing a file backup used to be an arduous, manual task that was better suited to technical professionals and uber geeks. But, a wave of very easy to use and mostly automated backup services have been released into the market over the last few years that make backing up your hard drive easier than ever. Today we are launching our comparison of online backup services that you can view at NextAdvisor.com.

There are two types of online backup services that we have reviewed. The first are services that will process automated backups of your computer's hard drive everyday, or at whatever schedule you set, by taking advantage of downtime on your computers processors- this largely occurs anytime your computer's screen saver would be turned on. These services, including Mozy and Carbonite are all very easy to set up and maintain. Each of them stores a secure copy of all your important files and allows you to access them in case of file loss or, in some cases, if you want to get your hands on files but are away from your computer.

Mozy is our favorite of these services because it is extremely flexible and has lots of great features including access to your files anywhere and support for both Windows and Mac machines (all the other services we reviewed only support Windows based PCs). While each of these services have a free trial component, Mozy actually gives you 2GB of free storage that you can use forever. Although, it is likely that you will eventually need to upgrade over time as your files grow.

Carbonite is a great Mozy alternative in that it is slightly easier to set up and truly "set it and forget it". The downside to Carbonite is that it is fairly "no frills". For example, you can only access your stored files when you need to restore your computer's hard drive as a result of data loss.

Edit: Len from Carbonite was nice enough to stop by with some additional information to clarify the original post. You CAN access individual files through Carbonite by processing a restore of just the files or folders that you would like to access. Additionally, according to Len, Carbonite will be releasing the next generation of their product later this year which will include some key expanded functionality. They also have plans to provide Mac support in 2008. Check out Len's comment below for more detail.

The second type of service we came across in our review were those that allo wyou to store certain important files online and access them from anywhere. Box.net is a great example of this type of service.

Box.net is not a great tool for storing all of your computer's files because their file storage limits are much lower than Mozy or Carbonite (each of which offer unlimited storage). But, you could use Box.net as a tool to store some files, such as financial documents or photso, that you want to be able to have remote access to and share with others. Box.net's collaborative features are much more robust than those of Mozy or Carbonite.

Ultimately, our research found that today's online backup solutions are truly made for all consumers so there is really not any excuse not to be using one. We would strongly suggest Mozy to most consumers and Carbonite is a very close second. As always, we encourage our readers to read our full free online guide to online backup services to find the service that is right for them.