Can I use Carbonite to move my documents and music to a new computer?
Posted by kent on October 8th, 2009
The following post in our Reader Question series is an actual user submitted question. To maintain the integrity of the original question, we do not edit or change reader questions in any way.
Q: We are buying a new computer. Can we use carbonite to back up our documents and music and then recover to the new computer? We don't intend to use the old computer once we install the new one
A: Earlier this week a reader wrote in with a similar question, asking if Carbonite online backup could be used to facilitate a complete migration to a new machine. We won't repeat too much of what we said there, but to summarize: yes, you can, though it's a bit slower than with a direct connection, due to network speeds and the necessities of encrypting and decrypting the data.
Here's something we didn't say: once you move your data, you're not done. First, be sure all your data was transferred successfully and there's nothing else (such as preferences or email messages) that you'll miss. Secondly, you have to securely erase that old hard drive. There's a good article over at Microsoft.com that discusses this process in much greater depth, but third-party disc reformatting software is probably your best bet (that or physical destruction of the drive itself).
Not erasing that hard drive could leave you open to identity theft. If you sell, donate, or throw away that old laptop (and really, you shouldn't throw it away—that's bad for the earth) your data is out there.
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- Wake up and backup!
A real-life use case for SugarSync
Posted by kent on October 8th, 2009
One of the nice things about testing online services is that sometimes they really come in handy while you're testing them. Over the last few weeks I've had some friends in town from Germany. They were so captivated by California that they easily filled up the 2GB of storage on their camera's memory card before their trip was half done. I offered to let them put the photos on my Mac, then we'd burn them to CDs.
Only it didn't happen quite like that. There were cable cars to catch and cocktails to be had. We got the photos backed up on the Mac, but never quite got the CDs burned. Later, with our friends back in Germany, and the photos still in San Francisco, we needed an ingenious solution that didn't involve four CDs and the Duetsche Post. It came in the form of online backup provider SugarSync.
I downloaded the SugarSync client at home (though I could have just used the web interface). I dragged the photos over to the proper folder. Once the photos were uploaded I chose to share the folder. I was given a unique url for the location of the photos that I emailed to my friends in Germany. They can now download them at their leisure. And I actually did the last two steps on my iPhone, while waiting for the bus.
SugarSync is not the only service we reviewed that allows online sharing. You can read our reviews and check out our comparisons here.
- Will Carbonite back up the music I downloaded from iTunes?
- Mozy Mac support moves out of Beta
- Will Carbonite also backup programs and applications in a form that would allow them to be installed and run without the hassle of rebuilding ones pc in a crash?
- Carbonite agrees- online backup services are good for the environment
- Top rated online backup service continues international expansion
Mozy online backup fights crime, coupon saves 15%
Posted by kent on September 22nd, 2009
Online backup provider Mozy has introduced a new discount for NextAdvisor visitors. Using the Mozy coupon code NEXT you can get 15% off the cost of their backup services. The discounts really compound when you take into account the annual plan discounts. If you sign up for one year, you receive one month free. A two-year commitment gets you three months free. All told that's like paying only $3.85 or $3.16 per month, respectively.
In related news, last week we posted a story about a man who used remote access to locate his stolen PC. Now Mozy's website tells us of a customer who used online backup to locate his stolen computer:
The individuals who had my stolen computer didn’t realize Mozy was backing up their photos and personal documents. I restored the files online, found their names and address, and turned the information over to police. Thanks to Mozy, I now have my computer back again.
It's a great unintended use of technology and it also attests to just how easy and transparent Mozy's software is. Check out our review, and see how Mozy stacks up against the competition with our online backup service reviews and comparison chart.
Do any of these storage systems back up external hard drives as well as the internal drive?
Posted by kent on August 18th, 2009
The following post in our Reader Question series is an actual user submitted question. To maintain the integrity of the original question, we do not edit or change reader questions in any way.
Q: I have two external hard drives attached to my laptop for additional storage. Do any of these storage systems back up external hard drives as well as the internal drive?
A: The only online backup system that we've found to offer backup on external drives is Mozy. Mozy earned a five-star rating when we reviewed it. While not quite as inexpensive as Carbonite, at only $4.95 per month (minus an additional 10% discount), it's well worth it. You can even try it out free with a 2GB storage cap to make sure it's right for you.
Don't rely on Flickr to back up your pictures
Posted by Caitlin on August 5th, 2009
Valleywag reports on user complaints about the reliability of Flickr's paid service. On more than one occassion, a paying Flickr user has lost thousands of photos, without warning or recourse. Deleted photos cannot be recovered under any circumstances, and apparently, Flickr's customer support has been less than helpful in resolving these situations.
Flickr is a photo-sharing site. It is not designed for storage or backup. If you're relying on Flickr or any other photo-sharing site to store your photos, you're putting them at risk. Instead, consider an affordable and reliable online backup service to store and protect your pictures, as well as your music and other documents. You can learn more about online backup by checking out our reviews and comparison chart.
- NextAdvisor reviews new online backup service ElephantDrive
- 5 reasons why online backup services are superior to offline home storage solutions
- USA Today says online backup services a good way to pinch pennies on the web
- NextAdvisor launches new detailed online backup service FAQs
- Will Carbonite back up the music I downloaded from iTunes?
Carrie Bradshaw learned the hard way
Posted by Caitlin on July 15th, 2009
I was flipping through the channels the other night when I came across an old episode of Sex and the City. It happened to be "My Motherboard, Myself," from season four, in which Carrie's laptop crashes. Aiden, Miranda, and the Tekserve technician all ask, "When was the last time you backed up?" Carrie responds, "Um, I don't do that." She calls Miranda and whines, "No one talks about backing up. You've never used that expression with me before, ever, but apparently, everybody's secretly running home at night and backing up their work."
So I was sitting on the couch, watching this scene, thinking that Carrie is such an idiot. And then it occurred to me that, although I am well aware of the importance of backing up, I have not been backing up my own work! I am a way bigger idiot than Carrie! So, naturally, I hurried to the online backup service reviews at NextAdvisor.com and quickly remedied the situation. Because feeling dumber than Carrie Bradshaw is very unpleasant!
- NextAdvisor launches new detailed online backup service FAQs
- Users report bugs on Apple's backup solution
- Data Breach Alert: Nevada government agency loses personal data of job seekers
- 5 reasons why online backup services are superior to offline home storage solutions
- How to set up automated online hard drive backups with Mozy
Online backup service BeInSync closes down
Posted by kent on July 14th, 2009
Online backup service BeInSync ceased operations on June 1st, 2009. We'd reviewed BeInSync, and while we hadn't found it to be as good as Carbonite, Mozy, or ElephantDrive, it still came out ahead of some of the competition. The natural question coming out of this is: What happens when your online backup service closes up shop?
An email purportedly sent from BeInSync to its customers on April 30, 2009 has been posted on Techiebites and Yahoo! Answers. The email indicates that the company did everything right before shuttering its doors: giving its users two-months of advanced notice and refunding their money. This gave users time to sign up for another service and to download any files they needed. Similarly, last month Yahoo! closed down online video-editing site Jumpcut, and gave its users 30-days to download videos they'd created on the site (a feature that, if implemented long ago, would have made it a more popular and useful site).
What's the upshot here? Well, ultimately online storage is probably still the most secure and convenient option, since you don't have all your data in one location. As far as we know, no one lost data when BeInSync closed. Although if you prefer the belt-and-suspenders approach, you can always try Webroot's dual online/offline offering.
You can find the service that works best for you by checking out our Online Backup Service reviews.
Posting vacation plans on Twitter is probably a bad idea
Posted by Caitlin on June 26th, 2009
Israel Hyman is an avid Twitter user. He uses the microblogging service to promote his website, IzzyVideo.com, and to connect with his customers on a more personal level. So he thought nothing of sharing a few details about his recent trip to Kansas City. When he and his wife returned to their home in Arizona, they discovered it had been burgled while they were away. There's no evidence that Hyman's tweets led directly to the burglary. But I'm guessing that he regrets those tweets either way, and probably won't be posting the details of his next vacation.
Tech Digest points out that Hyman also displayed a link to his Flickr page, which contained photos of his computers, bicycle and flat screen television, all of which were geo-tagged with his home address. In the context of this story, Hyman's oversharing looks pretty foolish. But it's hardly uncommon to reveal such detail about ourselves on various social networking sites.
Tech Digest also offers five tips on how to enjoy Twitter and other social networking sites without making yourself quite so vulnerable:
- Protect your updates. Twitter provides an option that allows only approved followers to view your tweets. You can access this option on the "Account" page, under "Settings." Simply check the box at the bottom of this page. If you choose not to protect your updates, anyone can find your tweets using the search feature, even if they are not following you.
- Watch your words. Once you've revealed sensitive personal information on Twitter or Facebook, there's no taking it back. Even if you delete the post, that information will still be accessible to those who are willing to put in a certain amount of effort.
- Don't geo-tag everything. Most new cell phones and some cameras offer an option to automatically geo-tag your photos. Check and see whether your pictures include location data. If so, remove that information before uploading your images to Facebook, Twitpic or Flickr.
- Keep your personal away from your business. Tech Digest suggests that Hyman's biggest mistake was mixing his personal life and his business life in one account. On the one hand, he's sharing personal information, but on the other, he's promoting himself to strangers and acquiring as many followers as he can.
- Don't click on every single link that comes through. Clicking on every hyperlinked URL on Twitter is a great way to accidentally wind up with malware on your computer.
That last tip deserves particular emphasis. Twitter's 140 character limit requires most links to be shortened using TinyURL or another hyperlink shortener. This prevents users from verifying that a link is legitimate before clicking. It would be quite simple to lure readers with the promise of an interesting article or some salacious gossip, alongside a link to malware.
And the personal information carelessly strewn across Twitter and other social networking sites isn't only an invitation to burglars. It's also an invitation to cybercriminals. It's easier and less risky for a thief to steal your identity than your television. And a few tidbits of sensitive data may be all an identity thief needs to crack your email password, or find some other opportunity to take advantage of you. Once he's opened a fraudulent account in your name, he can buy his own television and send you the bill.
It is certainly possible to use Twitter and other social networking websites without putting yourself at risk. Just consider the potential consequences before exposing your own personal information, or clicking mystery links. And consider investing in extra protection against these potential consequences.
- Dumpster diving remains a major identity theft risk
- Facebook exposes personal information of up to 80 million members
- Data Breach Alert: Harvard hack exposed more data than initially thought
- Facebook Identity Theft Protection Guide: 6 tips to protect your identity on Facebook
- Reader Question: How do I set a fraud alert on my credit report?
Malicious hack impacts 2.2 million shortened URLs
Posted by Joe on June 15th, 2009
URL shortening services, which convert very long website addresses into shorter ones, have become increasingly popular on the Internet over the last two years. Micro-blogging services, which put a limitation on the number of characters that can be used in a message, make URL shorteners very useful for users of services like Twitter.
Malicious hackers targeted Cli.gs, one such URL shortening service, this week and the attack impacted about 2.2 million URLs that had been processed through the service. This means that the longer website addresses would not be available when an individual clicked on a shortened Cli.gs link.
Luckily for Cli.gs users, the company had an established data backup policy that will restore all of the 2.2 million links to normal within the next 24 hours according to the company's website.
It is extremely important for both businesses and individuals to consistently back up all important documents and files. We think the best option for consumers is to use an online backup service that will securely store a remote copy of all your important files on an ongoing basis. You can learn more about online backup services by reading our online backup reviews and comparison.
- Entrepreneur Magazine calls Carbonite an "essential" for any new business
- Users report bugs on Apple's backup solution
- Mozy- if its good enough for the worlds largest corporations, its good enough for your laptop!
- NextAdvisor launches new detailed online backup service FAQs
- Google "G Drive" online backup service rumored to be launching soon
McAfee to partner with Mozy to offer online backup services
Posted by Joe on June 10th, 2009
McAfee, which received a five star rating in our comparison of Internet security software providers, is partnering with Mozy, a five star provider from our online backup service comparison, to offer online backup services.
According to McAfee officials, the service will cost $50 to $60 per month for unlimited data backup and will be targeted at consumers. The service is expected to be available to McAfee customers sometime before the end of 2009.
We recommend that most consumers simply sign up for the Mozy service directly versus waiting for the McAfee product to be released. NextAdvisor.com visitors receive a special 15% discount on an annual plan which means that an annual subscription of Mozy costs just $46.29 when you use the discount promo code "NEXT" during the online checkout process.
That being said, we do applaud McAfee for taking steps to increase awareness of the importance of data backup.
You can learn more about Mozy and other online back up services by visiting our reviews and comparison of online backup.
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