Online Backup Services

Online backup services are definitely not one-size-fits-all. Sites distinguish themselves according to the particular features provided. For example, Mozy offers bare bones storage only, without the option of file sharing. Other sites such as Xdrive and IBackup feature both storage and file sharing, but with different sharing options. Mozy, Data Deposit Box and Carbonite provide incremental backups, running invisibly in the background and detecting changes to a file while you work. Most online backup services have client software that allows users to access the service as if it were on a desktop, but the user-friendliness of each interface differs. Pricing also separates one online backup service from another. Some online backup services offer a certain amount of free storage space, but start charging when that space is exceeded.

Most online data-backup services have the same basic feature set. They allow you to either manually select an individual file to backup or schedule a full backup. You can set up parameters that allow the system to backup a file in real time when you save it (differential) or backup an open file as you change it (incremental). Some services (such as Mozy) feature a fully automated backup operation that kicks in when the system detects idle time or low processing activity on your computer.

Online file sharing is another common feature. File sharing allows other people to view designated files on the site's server and is a practical alternative to e-mailing large attachments. File sharing is convenient for businesses needing to share documents among remote users, as well as for home users who'd like to give a friend or relative access to photo or multimedia files. Most storage services use 128-bit SSL encryption while files are being uploaded or downloaded, and another form of encryption to protect files residing on servers. To further protect your files, most services keep backup copies of your files off-site, in physically secure locations.

Best online backup services

Reviewers at InformationWeek, Ars Technica, PC Magazine, WebUser, Tom's Hardware, SanjayParekh.com (a technology blogger), Online-Internet-Backup.com, Wonko.com and The Wall Street Journal head the list of critics that compare two or more online backup services, concluding that Mozy is the best of them. Serdar Yegulalp concludes his InformationWeek roundup: "The all-around winner for regular users and small business from this bunch was definitely Mozy, both for its plan structure and its unobtrusive client." In his Ars Technica review, Joel Hruska finds, "Of the services we tested here, Mozy Online struck the best balance between functionality and flexibility and is our overall top pick for an online backup service."

EMC Corporation acquired Berkeley Data Systems, Mozy's developer, in October. Reviewers and users feared a significant price hike, but MozyPro (*est. $4 plus 50¢ per GB per month) is still a good value. The new pricing structure is unique, charging for online storage in a logical and incremental way. Yet Mozy continues to have a significant price advantage over online backup competitors, which is one of the things reviewers love about Mozy. If you use 50 GB of storage, the monthly fee would be about $29 per month.

There are two versions of the basic version of Mozy, called MozyHome. MozyHome Free includes up to 2 GB of space at no charge, but you have to agree to accept regular e-mail advertising from Mozy. MozyHome Unlimited (*est. $5 per month) is a paid plan for unlimited storage (personal use only).

One catch is that you must download and install software to use Mozy. Reviews say Mozy has many nice features. The online restore function offers a tree view that gives you the option to pick and choose the folders and files you want to recover. Reviews say the restore function itself is a little awkward; you select which files you want to restore through the web interface, then wait for Mozy to prepare the files for you and notify you by e-mail. You can also restore individual files from your desktop. Mozy provides 128-bit SSL encryption for data transport and 448-bit Blowfish encryption on their server for security. To view your files, you use Mozy's de-encrypt utility or a private key of your choosing. (A warning message makes it clear that if your key is lost, so is your data, since no one will be able to access it.)

Mozy starts a backup when it detects that your computer has been idle for 30 minutes or if the CPU is less than 20% busy (you can adjust these settings to suit your needs). Mozy compresses files, tracks changes and keeps multiple versions of files. However, if you delete a file, Mozy deletes it, too. Reviews say this online backup service is easy to navigate, although upload speeds are slow, and we saw some evidence in blogs and user reviews that Mozy gives preference to paid users. One reviewer writes that it took Mozy 36 hours to prepare restore files for a free account, but only 18 minutes to a paid account. In older reviews, reviewers experienced interruptions in uploads. This problem is not expressed in Mozy reviews from the past year.

Mozy is for storage only, not file sharing. It works with Vista and older versions of Windows as well as with Mac OS. Mozy’s elevated standing with reviewers of online backup services is addressed by the one dissenter: computer consultant Michael Horowitz’s blog at CNet.com is titled, "Everybody likes Mozy -- except me." Horowitz doesn’t like the fact the Mozy software is always running or that Mozy deletes files users have already deleted from their hard drives. His complaints don’t stop with those two, but a couple of them are factually inaccurate.

While Mozy online backup is the runaway favorite of reviewers, Carbonite (*est. $50 per year for unlimited storage) is rated as the second best in several roundups. In a review for InformationWeek, Serdar Yegulalp says, "Carbonite came in a close second, because of its even more elegant client design." Joel Hruska, in his evaluation for ArsTechnica.com, concurs: "Carbonite would likely work best for light computer users on slower broadband connections [i.e. DSL] that are interested in a simple service with a user-friendly presentation." Yegulalp adds that Carbonite is "simple without being simpleminded," with an elegant user interface. Editors at WebUser.co.uk also rank Carbonite second behind Mozy; reviewer Andy Shaw prefers Mozy’s restoration options, however.

In his Tom's Hardware review, Sean Kerner explains that Carbonite is simpler to use, and has a better way of identifying what files you've designated to back up. Still, he prefers Mozy for its better overall functionality: "With its multi-layered bandwidth and CPU throttling, combined with multiple options for restoration (including the online interface), Mozy has a leg up on Carbonite."

PC World's Tom Mainelli also recommends Carbonite. He likes that you set it up once, and after that, "it just works." This means that Carbonite has an unobtrusive style of backing up in the background while you work. Although some users might be wary of a background backup system, Mainelli points out that Carbonite founder David Friend assures that the service consumes very little processing power and memory. This is because Carbonite is designed to work when you've stopped working. When it detects no keyboard or mouse activity, it begins to do backup. When you begin typing or moving the mouse, it stops. Several reviewers criticize the service because it doesn't offer users a personal encryption key, but forces you to rely on the backup service's own encryption key.

PC World's Mainelli’s only criticism about Carbonite is that the upload time is slower than other online services. When you first load the software, the online backup service kicks in immediately and backs up everything on your desktop and in your My Documents folder. You can monitor this initial backup (which can take several days) and subsequent backups by clicking a lock icon in the Windows toolbar. If it's green, your stuff is backed up; yellow means the backup is still in progress; red indicates a problem. Carbonite offers a 15-day free trial. After that, it costs about $50 for one year or $90 for two years, which works out to about $4.16 a month to backup as much data as you want.

Online backup services with file sharing and business features

Basic backup services like Mozy and Carbonite don’t enable file sharing. That’s great for maximum security, but if you want to share or exchange media files with family members and friends or have a need for business collaboration, you need an online backup service that makes that possible.

InformationWeek conducts the only review of Pro Softnet's IBackup (*est. $10 per month for 5 GB; $20 per month for 10 GB; $50 per month for 50 GB) this year. IBackup earns top ratings from Computer Power User, PC World and WebUser in 2006 evaluations. It was also top-rated in a huge, but ancient (2004) roundup conducted by PCPro.co.uk. InformationWeek’s Serdar Yegulalp says that IBackup's advantage is that it has pro-level features, including the ability to backup MS Exchange and SQL server information. It’s an "also-ran" in the roundup because of its niche and complexity. Yegulalp also says he preferred another service called eSureIT (multiple plans, starting at *est. $10 per month for 1 GB of storage from one computer), "thanks to its slightly more flexible handling of backup and restore operations." eSureIT has not been recently reviewed elsewhere.

IBackup offers an interface that's intuitive and well organized, according to some reviewers. The service has wizards that automate backup and restoring of data, system states, SQL databases and Exchange Server information. IBackup also supports multimedia streaming and file sharing, so you can play music and view photos straight from the IBackup server. Security features on the site are robust, with IBackup keeping 15 copies of your backup files and maintaining separate data centers at three different locations. Encryption is 128-bit SSL, but an IBackup upgrade offers AES "bank style" 256-bit encryption, according to their website. IBackup allows others to view your files without registering, which could be a benefit.

With IBackup, you can schedule incremental, differential or full backups. Computer Power User’s Warren Ernst praises IBackup's speed and sophisticated suite of functions. In his tests, the test file uploaded in only 25 minutes (some services took 12 hours to do this). However, while backing up the test file, IBackup used 11% of the host system's CPU, so you'll likely notice a slowdown if you continue working while creating a backup. However, you can always pause a backup, setting the system to resume at a time when the network is the least congested. According to Ernst, restoring files is as simple as backing them up. IBackup works with Windows, Mac, Linux, Unix and Exchange servers, and it offers a 15-day trial. This online backup service also has an advantage in that it has been around since 1999, a relative eternity in this category.

Unlike IBackup, Box.net (*est. $25 per year for 2 GB; $80 per year for 5 GB; $200 per year for 15 GB) requires no download of software. The online backup service is completely web-based. Box.net enables file sharing and collaboration, but doesn’t have the business or media-play features that IBackup has.

Box.net is top-rated by TopTenReviews.com. The website’s reviewer is especially impressed with the security features (including layers of security with a business plan) and ease of use. We found a slew of blogs that advocate Box.net. Comments from readers are interesting. Many Box.net users high-five the bloggers, but many recommend other services instead. A couple of them describe why IBackup is better. A ReviewSaurus.com blog is balanced, and concludes that Box.net is good, but expensive compared to others.

WebUser’s review from August 2006 downgrades its rating for Box.net due to file-size limits, but these are not currently mentioned on the Box.net website, so that may have changed. Tom's Hardware provides the most recent and most credible review, and it is favorable. Sean Kerner compares Box.net with Omnidrive (1 GB free, *est. $40 per year for 10 GB). He says, "Of the two, Box.net is clearly superior in that it does everything that Omnidrive does, but better. Box.net's add-ons and widget capabilities are really slick and give it a clear win."

TechCrunch rates both Box.net and Omnidrive among the top three services, but the review is nearly two years-old. Omnidrive does require downloaded software.

Box.net can augment the storage and options for your ISP-hosted website. Box.net provides a scrambled URL, which the service operators claim won’t be indexed by search engines, where your folders can be found. You can then e-mail the URL to business associates or your social sphere. The pages are free of advertising.

AOL’s Xdrive (free up to 5 GB, *est. $10 per month for up to 50 GB) offers more free storage than its online backup competitors. Tom's Hardware has the only recent credible review, and says the deal has no catches. Reviewer Sean Kerner is unhappy with the level of user control, but if you want free storage with file sharing, this is the service to choose.

In several older reviews, reviewers' attempts to backup failed. With a lack of follow-up reviews and the scarcity of newer reviews, we can’t confirm that the drastic problem has been solved. Recent user reviews are predominantly unfavorable, but we didn’t find a statistically valid quantity.

Xdrive offers 5 GB of free, secure storage and has features nearly identical to those of IBackup. While in transit, files are encrypted, and uploaded files are stored in a password-protected area. A useful Xdrive utility called "Skip the Download," allows you to download website files (such as forms, articles, product manuals, etc.) directly to the Xdrive server without first placing them on your hard drive. A weakness of this service is that you can’t backup open files. To register for an Xdrive account and get 5 GB of free storage, you need to create a free AOL screen name. Sharing of files is permitted, but friends who wish to see your files must also register.

At the high end among online backup services, Iron Mountain Connected Backup/PC (starting at *est. $80 per year for 250 MB) is an option. This service is oriented to home and small offices. The company uses data compression to speed uploads and reduce needed storage capacity. Backup scheduling is user-controlled. Backup security features include the ability to create a system rollback in the event of data loss and the opportunity to acquire CDs or DVDs (*est. $25) of backed-up data. Iron Mountain encrypts files and can save incremental backups.

Iron Mountain Connected Backup/PC earns the highest rating among business backup services tested by ArsTechnica.com. Reviewer Joel Hruska says it is the fastest of the five online backup services tested, but it is also the most expensive.

According to a write-up at Computer Power User, Iron Mountain offers a quick and easy approach to getting your backups done. Installation is easy, and starting it initiates a prompt to locate common backup files. You can schedule backups manually or allow Iron Mountain to operate during CPU idle time.

Data Deposit Box (*est. $2 per GB per month) is another business-oriented online backup service. It is not recently reviewed by consumer-oriented publications. eWeek has a neutral review, but reviewer Daniel Dern did have problems retrieving some files.

In older reviews, PC World and Computer Power User reviewers also found Data Deposit Box very easy to use, though with limited backup options. Like both Xdrive and IBackup, Data Deposit Box offers an intuitive interface, snapshots, accelerated uploads and secure offsite storage. But unlike the other two services, Data Deposit Box features only incremental backups, which means that once a file is saved, the system looks for changes, extracts them, compresses them, encrypts them and stores them on the server -- a completely automated and transparent function. Data Deposit Box cannot backup files that are open, however.

You only need to enter an e-mail address for file sharing. Once you install the software, the system begins backing up common folders such as Windows desktop, Windows Favorites, My Documents, Microsoft Outlook or Outlook Express and any other files you add. After this initial backup is completed, Data Deposit Box makes incremental backups whenever you change and save a file.

Data Deposit Box offers password protection and encryption, and a special notification feature allows you to share folders via e-mail with hyperlinks. Data Deposit Box works natively with Windows and offers a 14-day trial.

Neil J. Rubenking of PC Magazine congratulates Data Deposit Box because it's easy to configure, has a simple payment scheme, offers file sharing, features web-based access to files from any browser and allows online backup for any number of PCs. But the praise ends when it's time to restore those easily-backed-up files. You can only restore files one at a time, says Rubenking. Files are loaded back to your machine in a temp folder, sorted by numeric value so that a 10-byte file appears ahead of a 9 GB file. (If you want to restore your files to their original location on your hard disk, you need to type in the full path name.) The restore function provides access to only the latest file in a revision.

Data Deposit Box charges for file revisions (and limits the number of revisions you can store) and warns that, for security, Data Deposit Box compresses and encrypts your data while still on your hard drive before uploading it, so that you need to allocate extra disk space.

SOS Online Backup (starting at *est. $.50 per month for 500 MB) is another higher-end business service that hasn’t been reviewed recently. PC Magazine gave the beta version an Editor’s Choice Award a year and a half ago, and PC Pro gave it a Recommended award a year ago. On the other hand, New Zealand PC World attempted to review the service and couldn’t get it to work, even with the help of SOS tech support. Reviewer Doug Griffiths was unwilling to shut off his firewall to see if that was the cause.

SOS Online Backup stores unlimited versions of files. Right click to schedule a backup to run hourly, daily, weekly or monthly. Between your scheduled backup times, the SOS LiveProtect feature quietly kicks in and watches for new saves on your desktop. When it detects one, LiveFeature compares the newly saved file to a previous version, extracts the differences, compresses them and uploads the file again. Reviewer Stephen Withers at Atomic.com was impressed by that, as were some users posting to the site.

Withers points out a few display bugs and echoes PC Magazine reviewers' assessment that the upload process could be a bit easier. For example, you're presented with seven ways to search and select files for backup. SOS offers some user-friendly features, like a disaster recovery plan that provides (for *est. $30) an overnight DVD of all your files.

Important Features: Online backup

Here's what experts say to consider when looking for an online backup service:

• You may not want to store highly sensitive information on a website. Many reviewers express wariness about the privacy of data stored on remote servers. They note that employees of the online backup services may be able to access your files.

• Check the system requirements. Most online data-storage services come with an application that manages backups and file transfers, but not all services are compatible with systems other than Windows.

• Most sites make it easy to transfer files. Some sites have you store a small client on your desktop to represent a virtual drive as a local drive.

• Look for online data backup with automated scheduling. The best online data-storage services can relieve you of time spent on backup. Whether you schedule backups to take place hourly or daily, you should have a choice of full control or a hands-off, automated task.

• Consider your Internet connection. Backup is faster when connected via cable or DSL. However, if you have a dial-up connection, simple file transfers could take hours. Initial backups of large files can still take hours or even days, even on a broadband connection, so it’s best to perform large file backups at night.

• Utilize other forms of backup. Online data-storage is a huge time and space saver, but you should never put all your data eggs in one basket. Most services do not warrant that they can restore your data. Hardware, software and business problems are all risks. Consider alternatives such as CDs, DVDs, external hard drives and USB flash drives for primary storage.

Our Consensus Report shows how many times products are top-ranked by reviewers included in our
All The Reviews Reviewed chart.

# of Picks	Model	Prices
12	Mozy	MozyHome Free (up to 2 GB per month free) MozyHome Unlimited: (*est. $5/month unlimited) MozyPro (*est. $4 plus $.50/GB per month)
3	Box.net	2 GB (*est. $3/month) 5 GB (*est. $8/month) 15 GB (*est. $20/month)
2	IBackup	5 GB (*est. $10/month) 10 GB (*est. $20/month) 50 GB (*est. $50/month)
1 each	Carbonite, DriveHQ, Iron Mountain Backup/PC, Omnidrive, SOS Online Backup, Xdrive

Mozy is the overwhelming favorite of reviewers, particularly in the most recent testing. In addition to topping most comparative reviews, it’s recommended in many single-service reviews (not shown in the Consensus Report chart). Reviewers like both the free version of Mozy and the entry-level paid version. Carbonite is the closest direct competitor to Mozy, and in comparative reviews, Mozy is unanimously preferred. Although reviewers say Mozy’s balance of virtues and disadvantages is the best, they mention many reasons why at least some consumers and small businesses would be better off with another service.

Box.net is favored by reviewers if you’re looking for a service that enables file sharing. IBackup also allows file sharing, and is recommended in a couple of older reviews. However, its high prices and advanced features peg it as much more of a business than consumer service.

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