Online Backup Service Reviews

CARBONITE REVIEW:Go to Site | Back to Chart

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Carbonite is an excellent service that should really appeal to the home user that is looking for an online backup service that they can configure once and forget about. It is the best pure online backup service we have reviewed because it requires very little, if any, ongoing maintenance. Subscribers simply need to install the software on their PC or Mac and walk through the basic configuration wizard. From that point on, Carbonite will run quietly in the background backing up all your important files. If any backed up files are lost, such as in the case of hard drive failure, then Carbonite subscribers can quickly and easily recover them using from any computer in a few simple steps. The down side is that Carbonite has no free storage option and limited remote file access options. That being said, users that only need access to backed-up files when an actual loss has occurred will be extremely happy with this service. Additionally, at just over $4.00 per month with their two year plan and even deeper discounts if you choose the year plan, Carbonite is cheapest way to back up your important computer files. Carbonite recently added Mac support, which puts it roughly on par with Mozy. We strongly recommend the Carbonite online backup service.

MOZY REVIEW:Go to Site | Back to Chart

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Mozy is an excellent online backup service, with free use of 2GB of storage (unlimited storage space is available when you upgrade to their monthly plan) and the ability to access those files from any computer at one low monthly price. At one point, Mozy was the only online backup service we had reviewed that provided support for Mac users. Now that ElephantDrive has launched a Mac version that is no longer the case. However, Mozy recently took its Mac service out of beta, which means that it is now just as stable and effective as their PC service. Mozy was recently acquired by EMC, a large Fortune 500 corporation that provides industrial size storage services to other large corporations. From our perspective, if the storage services offered by Mozy and EMC are good enough to store large amounts of sensitive business data, they are definitely good enough to store the important files and documents of home users. The EMC acquisition also helps ensure that Mozy will be around for a very long time since they now have the backing of a multi-billion dollar corporation. Overall, we would highly recommend Mozy to most consumers looking for a file backup solution.

WEBROOT REVIEW:Go to Site | Back to Chart

Webroot Secure Backup offers an interesting and unique array of features that differentiate it from other online backup services. Unlike Carbonite and Mozy, Webroot does not offer unlimited storage. Instead, there are a range of pricing and storage options: $29.95 for 2GB, $39.95 for 5GB, $49.95 for 10GB, $69.95 for 25GB, or $99.95 for 50GB. However, also unlike Carbonite and Mozy, Webroot can back up data from up to three PCs for a single account, rather than requiring users to pay a fee for each computer. In addition, Webroot Secure Backup can run automatic local backups to CDs or external hard drives, as well as online backups. Webroot allows users to retrieve their data from any computer with Internet access, and facilitates file sharing. Users can simply email a download link, which will allow the recipient to obtain the selected file directly from Webroot’s servers, while built-in security ensures that they can only see the file you choose. Webroot Secure Backup provides multiple of encryption and security.

The Webroot Secure Backup interface is almost too simple, offering little in the way of explanation or direction. Unlike some online backup services, Webroot does not back up any folders, such as the documents folder, by default. Once configured to run hourly, daily, weekly or monthly backups at the time of your choice, the software runs smoothly in the background without disruption or distraction. Users also have the option of receiving email reports after each backup. The software requires the Microsoft.NET framework in order to operate, which can easily be downloaded during the installation process. Webroot Secure Backup is not available for Mac users at this time.

Webroot is an excellent option for consumers who wish to back up data from multiple PCs with a single license and do not require unlimited storage space. Customers who wish to try the service before making a commitment can take advantage of Webroot’s free trial, which includes 2GB of storage for 30 days.

ELEPHANTDRIVE REVIEW:Go to Site | Back to Chart

ElephantDrive uses Amazon web services to store their customers' data. While it may seem strange for an online storage company to outsource their storage services, we actually see this as a big plus because ElephantDrive is a relatively new company. Given that they leverage Amazon's world class infrastructure, ElephantDrive customers should have no worries about the stability and security of their personal data. At $4.95 per month or $49.95 per year, ElephantDrive's basic Home plan is comparable with Carbonite and Mozy in terms of cost and features. There is also a Home Plus option for $9.95 per month or $99.95 per year that will cover up to 4 computers. The Home Plus option is actually a great value if you have 2 or more computers to backup since it is slightly cheaper than buying two subscriptions from other services and significantly cheaper than buying 3 or 4 subscriptions.

ElephantDrive does limit maximum file size to 1GB and maximum monthly file transfers to 100GB. Home Plus users get a 2GB maximum file size upgrade. This means that ElephantDrive users are limited in the size and number of files they can upload or recover from the service each month. That being said, these limits are pretty high and most users would not reach them even if they had a great deal of music, video or other files. Like Mozy, ElephantDrive offers a free trial that allows consumers to try out 1GB of free storage on the service (Mozy offers 2GB). We would encourage consumers to try out both services for free to determine which user interface and file backup process works best for their needs. ElephantDrive also offers an attractively priced business plan that, at $34.95 for 1TB of storage, should meet the needs of most small businesses. Overall, ElephantDrive is a very good service with a variety of options that should meet most consumers' needs.

BEINSYNC REVIEW:Go to Site | Back to Chart

BeInSync is a solid, PC only download service which is similar in many ways to Mozy. However, BeInSync has much less storage available in their base plan and storage upgrades are pretty expensive (especially when you consider that Mozy and Carbonite offer unlimited storage). Like ElephantDrive, BeInSync outsources its storage to Amazon. We believe that most consumers would be better off with Carbonite or Mozy, but BeInSync does offer a 14 day free trial, so you can try the service risk free if you would like to experience it firsthand.

BOX.NET REVIEW:Go to Site | Back to Chart

Box.net is not a true online backup service in that it doesn't provide automated backups the way Mozy, ElephantDrive, Carbonite and BeInSync do. Box.net also has fairly low storage limits compared to others. That being said, Box.net does have excellent file access capabilities and the best collaboration tools we have seen. This is the best service for consumers who need to store and share some important files with others.

TIME MACHINE REVIEW:Go to Site | Back to Chart

Unlike the other services reviewed here, Time Machine is not an online backup service. It is an automatic backup system that is built into Mac OS X Leopard, and comes standard on new Mac computers. Instead of backing up your files online, Time Machine copies your documents onto an external hard drive. Time Machine is similar to an online backup service in that it works automatically in the background, and requires no actions or interference from you after the initial set up process.

When you connect your Mac to an external hard drive, Time Machine will ask if you’d like to make the external hard drive your backup drive. If you say yes, Time Machine will copy the entire contents of your computer to the backup drive. After this initial backup, Time Machine will make incremental backups, copying just the files that have been changed since the previous backup. As long as your backup drive is attached to your Mac, Time Machine will backup your files every hour of every day, saving the hourly backups for the past 24 hours, daily backups for the past month, and weekly backups for everything older than a month, remembering how your Mac system looked on any given day in the past. Once your backup drive is full, Time Machine will alert you that it will start deleting previous backups, starting with the oldest first. You can easily backup multiple Macs on a single external hard drive, as long as it has sufficient storage space. Time Machine works using fairly elegant software that will not disrupt you or slow you down while you are using your Mac. The default setting is to backup your entire Mac, but it is easy to select certain files or folders that you wish to exclude. Retrieving stored files is also simple and straightforward.

Time Machine is designed to work seamlessly with the Time Capsule, Apple’s wireless hard drive, which is available in two sizes. A 500 GB Time Capsule is $299.00 and a 1 TB Time Capsule costs $499.00. With a Time Capsule, Time Machine can continuously backup your Mac or Macs without cables. We found that connecting with a cable does make the process much quicker, particularly when retrieving stored files. Apple also advertises that the Time Capsule works as a wireless router, but we found that its signal was fairly weak and ineffective for this purpose. The machine also gets quite hot when in use. It does, however, interface very nicely with Time Machine.

Time Machine is a useful and well-designed feature, and works especially well with Time Capsule. Hourly backups of your Mac system or systems become effortless. However, the flaw in this system is the fact that a Time Capsule or other external hard drive is still hardware, and therefore vulnerable to the same dangers as your computer itself. It could potentially fail, or be stolen or damaged. While there are many advantages to this backup system, it is inevitably less secure than an online backup solution.