Mozy Online Backup
byThe search for the ultimate backup utility has taken me to far ends of the Earth. Well not quite the ends of the Earth. However, my latest stop has quite successful. For while, I was backing up files to my schools server, which offers a paltry 400MB. I needed more. I thought about using my personal website as a storage location since I have tons of free space just waiting to be gobbled up. But I really wanted to have differential backups.
Without getting too technical, differential backups are like save points. I can go back to any time in the past and restore that version of my file.
The only way I knew how to do this was using rsync, and getting that setup would haven’t been near impossible since while I have SSH access, I don’t have the rights to install programs and run them. So scrap that idea.
A few months back, Kevin Tofel from jkOnTheRun mentioned Mozy. I though I’d give it a try and boy is it easy and awesome.
Here’s why Mozy is so cool:
You get 2GB for free! This is perhaps the biggest selling point. One of the other online backup sites I was looking at, Box.net, only offers 1GB. With Mozy, I get twice as for the same low cost (of free).
It’s easy to setup. Selecting files is a two part processes. First you select types of files to backup: documents, settings, bookmarks, financial, etc. Then you can select folders to backup as well.
It’s secure. This for me is a huge deal. Mozy uses 448-bit BlowFish encryption with my own private key. This means that unless you have my super secret password, you better count on spending the next few millennia trying to get access to my data.
Backs up open and locked files. I have Mozy set to backup around 4am every morning. Basically, I just leave my Tablet on and it does the rest. But what if I forget to close a document? Some backup programs would freak out and not backup the document I have open. But not Mozy, it will backup the file even if Windows has a lock on it.
Bandwidth Throttle. Not a huge deal for me, but still worth mentioning. You can set maximum uploads limits on Mozy so it doens’t suck all your bandwidth when it’s sending your files to their server. I do this at 4am, so it’s a non-issue for me.
One other thing worth mentioning is that you don’t have to perform an entire backup session at once. For example, let’s say that I have Mozy set to backup files X, Y, and Z. Mozy starts running at 4am just like I told it to. It backs up file X and starts to backup file Y, but then my Internet stops working because I have a crappy ISP.
No problem. When my Internet comes back, Mozy will pick back right where it left off.
Give it a shot!
Other posts that may interest you:
This setup sounds great for many individuals.
My needs are slightly different, mostly I need more storeage space.
I found a program called BeInSync. It just syncs specific folders on one computer with another, similar to Microsoft’s Folder Share. The neat part is it syncs folders in real time. That was particularlly appealing to me because the more I carried my tablet around the more concerned I became about losing data. My school also issues a pitiful 500 MB of storeage to students so that wasn’t an option.
I simply put BeInSync on my desktop PC at home and on my tablet. So as long as both PC’s are online my tablet will sync with my desktop. When I say sync I mean as soon as one updates a file it will automatically send it to my desktop.
The peace of mind I have with this kind of system is incredible because I know that if I am walking from class to class and something happens to my tablet I will have all my data from that day, not just from a previous backup date.
Mozy sounds great but this may be another option for some people in my situation. The downside is for the automatic sync option you have to pay for BeInSync.
February 16th, 2007 at 1:35 pmThere is an excellent website for online backup information, news and articles. Check it out here:
http://www.BackupReview.info
This site lists more than 400 online backup companies and ranks the top 25 on a monthly basis.
Cheers,
February 17th, 2007 at 4:16 pmHey, you should put up your reference number for Mozy so that you can get some extra gigs of space with the help of some of your websites readers… I am sure more than a few would be more than willing to do that…
February 19th, 2007 at 1:41 pmtry http://www.xdrive.com. it offers 5 gigs and has desktop and browser functions. Its nice to use it to back up my onenote files and pictures.
February 21st, 2007 at 8:13 pmIf you are willing to brave Vista, with buisness or ultimate you can sync your laptop automatically with your desktop (breifcase function that actually works) and also refer to an earlier image of your drive, or a single file. It has a lot of goodies for tablet users too.
February 23rd, 2007 at 10:33 amThe product I most heartily recommend for online backups is Carbonite. UNLIMITED online storage for 50 bucks a year, with a local client that is very unobtrusive. No, it won’t work for synching files between computers (try BeInSync’s less buggy competitor Foldershare for that) nor is it good for sharing files with school lab machines (try XDrive’s more ambitious competitor Omnidrive for that) but it works perfectly for what it claims, online backup. And it’s easy enough to use that you can give it to non-saavy family members. (Full disclosure: I’m in no way related to any of the products mentioned here.)
February 23rd, 2007 at 1:56 pm[...] From studenttabletpc.com: You get 2GB for free! This is perhaps the biggest selling point. One of the other online backup sites I was looking at, Box.net, only offers 1GB. With Mozy, I get twice as for the same low cost (of free). [...]
April 12th, 2007 at 10:35 amHi all. Saving my most essential data has become a must!!!! I finally found a great guide to online backup with useful and simple information on this service. Get it!!! mini guide to online backup
June 20th, 2008 at 3:45 amI discovered a Memopal (www.memopal.com) “cutting edge solution for online backup”
They merged online backup, online storage and file sharing services into one product.
If you try this service you will notice that (contrary to most competitors): - You can access your files in (true) real time with a web browser - They really offer 250 GB (some competitors offer a fake unlimited web space, they say “fair use”) - You can share a file or many files with the 1-click-share functionality - Some of your files will be uploaded very very fast (turboupload) - The service and website are in 10 different languages
I’ve also found two useful guide to online backup on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_backup
June 24th, 2008 at 6:00 am