A: Thanks for your question! The biggest perk of MyPCBackup is that you get unlimited storage space for one computer. Thus, no matter how many files you have, photos in your case, you can back them all up with your one basic subscription. You can definitely backup your directory all at once, but this might take a while. The upload time isn't a big deal though since you can continue using your computer while your files are safely being stored.

Another service that lets you backup an unlimited amount of files for one computer is the top rated Carbonite. To compare all of our online backup services, click here!

A: Online Backup services work hard to save all of your important files, making sure that you will never lose them permanently. In the event of a data loss catastrophe such as a computer crash, these services will help you restore all of your files with ease.

Though all of the online backup services we review keep your files safe and can restore everything back to normal, we  recommend the Carbonite HomePlus plan and HomePremier plan if you specifically want a "mirror image" taken of your hard drive. This feature creates a mirror image of your PC every 24 hours, which includes your operating system, settings, programs, files, and folders as of a specific date.  This service is  intended for people repairing a crashed PC and not replacing it because installing a mirror image of your last PC on a new computer can cause some instability due to system differences. After your initial mirror image is completed and saved onto your external hard drive, your Carbonite info center will display snapshots and information about when your last mirror image was finished.

Carbonite Mirror Image

If computer disaster strikes and all of your files are lost, the mirror image feature is a great way to restore everything back to exactly how it was. Carbonite has a great tutorial on their site on exactly how to restore your computer using the mirror image service. To read more about Carbonite and their various plans, read the full review here!

Get this special Black Friday discount by entering the promo code: "SPENDLESS" between Friday, Nov. 25 and Monday, Nov. 28. Read the entire Mozy review and sign up here!

For more Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals, keep checking our blog, sign up for our newsletter, or follow us on Twitter or Facebook. We'll have great deals on web hosting, online backup, security software and more!

For more Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals, keep checking our blog, sign up for our newsletter, or follow us on Twitter or Facebook. We'll have great deals on web hosting, online backup,security software and more!

A:  HIPAA, The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, is meant to address the security and privacy of health data. Because the electronic transfer of health data is much more efficient and effective, HIPAA requirements strive to create safe standards for these practices.

Unfortunately, according to the Dropbox Help page, they currently do not have this certification.

However, there are a handful of online backup services that are HIPAA compliant. Carbonite and Mozy,  two of our highest-rated online backup services, both comply with HIPAA standards. Read more about HIPAA compliant online backup services here.

Want more online backup options? Click here to compare them all.

SugarSync Online Backup

SugarSync is a unique online backup service that boasts some extra fancy features, even letting you stream music from your computer onto your mobile phone. And now they are introducing a new storage plan of 500 GB! To celebrate this new addition, they are offering an extra 10% off, adding to the 17% savings you already get just by signing up for an annual plan. If 500 GB sounds like a little too much for your computer, take the extra storage and use it on another computer – SugarSync lets you backup an unlimited number of machines! Not sure if SugarSync is the right backup plan for you? Try it free for 30 days and see how it feels. Want more options? Compare all of our online backup services.

Mac users will have to stick with the Home plan and  wait until these new plans are available for their operating system. If you're a PC user, take advantage of these great new plans and read the full Carbonite review here! 

Source: BHM

A: The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)  not only protects health insurance coverage for workers and their families, but is also meant to address the security and privacy of health data. Because the electronic transfer of health data is much more efficient and effective, HIPAA requirements strive to create safe standards for these practices.

There are a handful of online backup services that are HIPAA compliant. Carbonite and Mozy,  two of our highest-rated online backup services, both comply with HIPAA standards.

Another service that really stands out is IBackup. Though it isn't exactly at the top of our list, businesses, particularly those in the legal, health, or financial fields, will want to give IBackup serious consideration. IBackup's business-level services help businesses backup their MS SQL server databases and Exchange servers. Of course, they also boast support for HIPAA and a number of other compliance issues relating to business. The service, like various other online backup providers, also lets you set your own private encryption key, for all plans.

Always make sure that the online backup service you choose follows all of the regulations necessary to support your business, and always feel free to call their customer support!

Not only does it have an intuitive mobile app for both iPhone and Android, but it also has a Facebook application that backs up your social media life. It also lets users share their files and offers unlimited file versioning. You can even stream your favorite music from your computer to your mobile device. Though its a little on the pricier side of the online backup chain, many users will find the many new features to be a great value. Backup a max of 5 computers and choose from annual storage plans starting at  50 GB for  $79.95 and 100 GB for $99.95. External hard drives welcome!

Read the full review here.

Source: Creative Commons, Skadoit

A: Unfortunately, the current version of Carbonite only backs up files that reside on permanent hard drives in your computer. This means that you cannot backup external hard drives or flash drives. However, if you ever need to back up a file that is on your flash, simply move that file onto your computer.

MyPCBackup, another one of our highly rated online backup services, backs up external drives and flash drives at no additional cost. Just make sure it is connected to your computer when the backup runs and you are good to go! Mozy also does it for free but specifies that it only backs up drives that are "fixed", meaning that flash drives will not be backed up.

In general, the best way to confirm the backup of your flash drive's files is to manually copy them onto your computer. Then when you do your next backup, those files are bound to be saved!

A: Excellent question! When you first install Carbonite on your computer, it will give you the choice to back up all of your Documents/Settings and User files or to select which files you would like to back up. If you want more than just your Documents/Settings and User files backed up (which do not include emails), we would suggest choosing the option that lets you select which files to back up. You can always add files to back up at any time once Carbonite is installed.

Once you choose which files you want to back up, Carbonite will do a one-time all-inclusive back up of all of those files, transferring all your encrypted files over a secure network. After all of your files are on the Carbonite servers, the system will continue to back up any new versions of those files if you make any changes to them. The software uses Volume Shadowcopy Service, which keeps a copy of files that you have open so that they can easily be backed up once they are modified. And the best part is that all of Carbonite’s back up services run quietly in the background, so that you never have to worry about back ups interrupting your work. If you want to know more about Carbonite, read our review here.

A: Carbonite, like most other top-ranked online backup companies, has an elaborate system for keeping your data safe. First, Carbonite encrypts all of your files on your own computer before copying them over to their servers through a secure SSL connection, which further encrypts and secures your information. Carbonite also utilized RAID 6, which is a complicated program of organizing your data to better protect. The Carbonite File System, where your data is stored, has further encryption and security features to help keep your data safe. Carbonite employees also do not have access to your information, adding an extra layer of security.

Most of the other top online backup companies use similar encryption techniques to protect your data, so you should be safe regardless of which of the top online backup companies you choose. If you want more information about any of those companies, please visit our Online Backup review page.

A: If you are only looking to back up one computer, then Carbonite is the best value for you. The service offers unlimited storage on one computer for $53.10/year, which is cheaper than most other reputable services that have a storage cap. And the service is easy to use, supports both PCs and Macs, and gives you more options than other services. This is the best value for any one-computer home or business.

If you are looking for a service for more than one computer, or think you might expand at some point, then Mozy offers the best value. While the standard service is slightly more expensive than Carbonite and has a 50 GB data cap, adding additional computers only costs you $2 more a month, as opposed to Carbonite which requires a new plan for each additional computer. Mozy also supports both PCs and Macs.

If your main concern is not value or you are looking for other specific options, you can use our Online Backup Chooser to help choose the best backup service for you. Answer a few questions about your needs and the Chooser will select the best plans to fit your needs.

A: Well, you have a couple of options. Carbonite offers both individual plans and small business plans, both that could work for you. They end up being around the same price, so it depends on what works best for your business needs.

With the individual plan, you can buy a year subscription for each computer at $53.10, with the NextAdvisor discount, which would total $318.60, and comes with unlimited storage. If you buy the 2- or 3-year plan, it will save you more. (2-year plan = $310.65/yr; 3-year plan = $278/yr)

With the small business plan, you can cover an unlimited amount of computers for the same $318, but you are limited to 350 GB of storage. (This combines the standard 250 GB plan for $229/yr with the 100 GB add-on for $89/yr.) So it basically comes down to whether you want unlimited storage or unlimited computer coverage. If you are unsure, Carbonite offers a free 30-day trial that will help you determine how much storage space your business will need.

A:  Cloud backup is the best choice.  The difference between cloud backup and external hard drive backup is the difference between the virtual and the physical. With a cloud backup, your important files, music and images will be backed up via the Internet at a secure offsite location—safe from fire, viruses, hard drive failures and other potential issues. Although an external hard drive is a nice way to backup your files onsite, if something were to happen to your hard drive…say you dropped it, it stopped working or there was a flood or fire, your files would be lost. Because of this we recommend cloud backup (or "online backup") to protect your files. You could use both online backup AND an external hard drive, but we don't feel it's necessary as online back is safe and secure.

There are some great online backup solutions for the Mac available, including Carbonite and Mozy.  Or if you're not sure exactly what you need, try out our Online Backup Chooser, which will make recommendations based on your requirements.

A: If you have your computer set to back up your iTunes music, you will get your music library back when you restore your data. You just need to make sure you are backing up your music files when you set up the online backup configuration. Most online backup services have some sort of program that automatically selects critical data to backup, but you should always double check to ensure it's capturing everything you want saved.

We really like Carbonite and Mozy as online backup services, and they both support PCs and Macs.  You can also look at all our online backup reviews to choose the one that's best for your situation.

Several large companies have rolled out cloud storage products recently: Amazon Cloud Drive, Google Apps for Business (of which cloud storage is only a part), Windows Live SkyDrive, and Apple iCloud, which isn't available until fall. On NextAdvisor, we review online backup services, some of which can also be classified as cloud storage. Let's use SugarSync, the most cloud-like of the online backup services we review, as an example. What's the difference? Which is best? Let's find out.

Starting Monthly Price

• Amazon: Free with account
• Google: $5
• Windows: Free with account
• Apple: Free with iOS on iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch
• SugarSync: $4.99

GB of Storage Included

• Amazon: 5GB
• Google: 1GB
• Windows: 25GB, individual files limited to 100MB
• Apple: 5GB
• SugarSync: 30GB

Data Security

• Amazon: SSL encryption; only eight devices allowed to access your music via Cloud Player
• Google: advanced capabilities and expanded limits for other Google products, such as Gmail and Google Calendar; SSL enforcement for secure HTTPS access
• Windows: configured by permissions set by the user; all content is marked as "public" by default
• Apple: might not allow previous data to be uploaded if not purchased with or created using an Apple product; only allows sharing of calendars;
• SugarSync: triple-encrypted; optional passwords for shared storage

Additional Features

• Amazon: Amazon Cloud Player for listening to music files, especially MP3s downloaded from Amazon
• Google: part of Google Apps for Business, so cloud storage limited to Google Docs
• Windows: Word Doc collaboration even if you don't have Microsoft Office; simple sharing to social networks
• Apple: keeps email, contacts, apps, and calendars up-to-date across all your Apple devices; pushes files to all of your Apple devices; no data encryption
• SugarSync: backs up external drives; mobile apps allow you to stream remotely stored music, view documents, and upload photos to SugarSync account

Bottom Line

While each cloud storage service has unique features, none of them backs up your computer automatically; you must manually add new files to store in the cloud. This is the main advantage to SugarSync: You can schedule automatic backups of your computer after you tell SugarSync which folders to back up. Windows and Google allow you to work on your documents in the cloud without saving to your computer first, but because you keep your data not only in the cloud but also on your computer when you use online backup, you'll be able to work on it even when you're not connected to the Internet.

SugarSync starts at $4.99 a month for 30GB of storage space, which works out to $0.17/GB. Only Google has a pricier option, but Google's cloud storage is not the focus of its business apps package. However, the price is worth the other features as well as the ability to have a lot of space; SugarSync starts at 30GB, but the highest anyone else (Windows) goes is 25GB. You can use SugarSync across multiple platforms, unlike iCloud, which only works on Apple devices. SugarSync has better file security, so you know no one can see your data unless you want them to. The mobile app is unique—you must be on your computer connected to the Internet to acces most cloud storage services.

Other online backup options with similar features include SpiderOak and Mozy. If you only need to worry about one computer's data, we suggest looking into Carbonite.

Cloud storage can be helpful for data you can replace if necessary, but if you really need to keep your hard drive's files safe, secure, and accessible, SugarSync is the way to go.

Q. I want to purchase Carbonite. What is the coupon code for the 10% discount?

A. You don't need one! All you have to do is follow any link from NextAdvisor to Carbonite, and the 10% discount will be applied automatically.

Q. Can I store more files on cloud storage than on my computer? I would like to delete several files from my Mac that take up a lot of space but would like them to be available as online storage. Can this be done, or does it only store the same info as the Mac? Also, my husband has different files on his PC; do we have to have identical files?

A. Cloud storage, or online backup, can sync with your computer. But you can also upload files that you don't want to be on your local hard drive. When you want to access them, you will usually have to download them again from your online backup service's client portal. For this kind of usage, we recommend a service like SugarSync, which is easy to back up manually rather than automatically, so you can have more control over what goes to your cloud.

With SugarSync, you can also back up an unlimited number of hard drives, so your two computers don't have to share the same files. Delightful bonus: When you follow a link from our site to SugarSync, you'll get a 15% discount for an annual plan on top of the already-discounted annual plan price (total discount: 29% off the monthly price), and you'll still get a 30-day free trial.

The 2012 onslaught of Internet security software has begun: We're pleased to bring you our review of ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite 2012. Even though it's not ranked by AV-Comparatives, its improvements from last year's version and addition of several valuable features (e.g., 2GB of online backup space, parental controls through Net Nanny) actually bump it up one more star in our rankings! So if you're looking to keept your computer protected, check out all our reviews of anti-virus, anti-malware, and anti-spam software.

The following is an actual user-submitted question:

Q. How secure is sensitive information with Carbonite?

A. Carbonite online backup uses the same encryption technology as online banking and e-commerce transactions. The service encrypts your files with 128-bit Blowfish encryption before copying them off your computer. The next layer of security uses Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology to transmit your files to Carbonite's data centers, and they stay encrypted on those servers; Carbonite tightly controls personnel access to your files with biometric scanners and electronic key cards with PINs. Plus access to your backup is protected by your encryption key, which Carbonite (and you, presumably) keeps strictly confidential. Finally, Carbonite hires a professional security firm to test the security to make sure you're the only one who can access your files. Rest assured that your data is secure with Carbonite.