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Norton Online Backup Online Backup Review |
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| Fast and transparent browser-based backup; a little pricey and no file sharing | |
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Norton got into the online backup game when it bought SwapDrive back in June of 2008. Norton has long been the name to trust in Internet security, so online backup would seem to be a natural move for them.
Norton Online Backup is $49.95 for a year. You get 25GB of storage that you can share among multiple PCs. Unlike most products we reviewed, Norton Online Backup runs entirely from a web-based Interface. Though oddly there's no Mac support. A task-bar module keeps you apprised of the backup activity and will let you run manual backups and restores. Still, you will be shuffled off to the web-based UI for just about everything. That UI is perfectly fine. It's simple, maybe a little too simple for some. You can set the backup frequency (monthly to daily) and the type of file (by default Email and Videos are not included). You can decide when you'd like the backup to run, but it's a bit like scheduling the cable guy to come out: you can choose time slots, but not a particular time. When the backup runs, it's a pretty quiet process. One thing lacking is an estimated time of completion, though it does show a percentage of data backed up. Also, it would be nice if you could schedule more frequent backups. The backups did seem rather speedy, however. After backup, the files are available for restore or transfer to another machine. You can select individual files, or a complete backup. There are no bells and whistles here though. You can't send file links to others, nor can you set up public folders. You also won't find any iPhone or Blackberry apps to access your documents with when you're on the run. Norton is a tad more expensive than most of the other fixed and unlimited storage solutions we reviewed. It's solid, but nothing special on its own, and at $49.95 we'd have a hard time recommending it above cheaper, higher capacity services with more features. |
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| Free Trial: | 30-day free trial |
| Paid Storage Fees: | $49.95/yr |
| Gigabytes (GB) of Storage Included: | 25GB |
| File Access Options: | Access from any PC web browser |
| System Compatibility: | Windows Vista, XP |
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