PC Authority test six of the most popular services.
A NAS drive is ideal for sharing documents and media with all the PCs on your network, but for critical data it’s worth remembering that hard disks can fail. Once you factor in the possibility of theft and fire damage, it pays to back up your most vital data remotely. Using an online service is never going to be as fast or convenient as backing up to a local hard disk, so it’s best viewed as complementary to a NAS device.
Mozy
Mozy is the most basic here and offers 2GB of storage for absolutely nothing, and unlimited storage for a bargain US$5 per month. There are various presets to tick, depending on what you want to back up: various office file types, My Favorites, media collections or there’s a file-tree to create your own.
Scheduled backups can be set, but Mozy works best by monitoring modified files. However, it will only back them up differentially, when the system is idle. It uses 448-bit Blowfish encryption and you can use the Mozy key or enter your own as long as you keep it safe. Locked files can be backed up from NTFS-formatted disks, while older versions of files are kept for 30 days before they’re deleted, and backups can be restored onto any PC via the website.
But few things in life are free: the user interface is painfully basic, plus the fact that it doesn’t continuously back up files as they change makes Mozy less effective for vital work.
3/6
Carbonite
Carbonite, on the other hand, is well worth paying for. Taking the view that people are inherently lazy and don’t want to pick and choose files to back up, the US-based firm charges a flat annual rate of US$50 regardless of how much you back up. After initially choosing what to store, the user interface is barely needed, as the software integrates with Windows Explorer. Colour-coded dots on files keep you up to date with the backup progress, and all selected files are encrypted with a 1024-bit Blowfish key before transfer.
Backup is continuous rather than scheduled, and you can alter the Internet priority to prevent it disrupting your work. Modified files are sent after ten minutes of inactivity, but only generally once in a 24-hour period; however, you can manually force a constantly changing file to back up immediately if it’s vital. Your Carbonite virtual drive appears in My Computer, letting you browse and restore individual files with ease.
That ultra-low price is per PC, and your backup is locked to the PC it was taken from, so sharing files isn’t possible. But Carbonite is purely a backup service and, thanks to its set-up-and-forget convenience, it offers great value for home users.
6/6
Boomerang
Boomerang is the consumer arm of UK-based DATABarracks, and features a well-designed and flexible user interface. A wizard lets you select from organised lists of file types and helpfully integrates with Outlook. Backups can be scheduled or files backed up when the PC is idle for a few minutes.
When restoring, you can view thumbnails of your files, and unlimited differential file versions are stored in case you need to roll back. The account integration allows you to change your details or upgrade your plan without leaving the client software, and you can log in to the website and restore files using any PC.
Boomerang’s added control and flexibility makes it well worth paying the £24 ($60) over Mozy. It takes a different approach to Carbonite, but the fact that it can be used on an unlimited number of PCs widens its appeal. Bear in mind at the time of review it was in the final beta stages with a few significant bugs, so wait for the final release.
4/6
BullGuard Backup
Early 2007 launches are expected from McAfee and Symantec, but security expert BullGuard has got there first with its online backup module. Prices are tempting: just $50 for 2GB, plus you get an extra 1GB free for signing up, and each further gigabyte costs $25 up to a maximum of 5GB.
A wizard walks you through the process of selecting what to back up, including Outlook integration, and you can choose to save files daily, weekly or monthly. As it’s aimed at home users, there’s no continuous backup function, but each backup set can be given its own quick-start Desktop icon, and the resume function worked flawlessly throughout our tests.
BullGuard sends full differential files and keeps past versions, and your online drive can be accessed simply via Explorer. Alternatively, use the website to restore files onto any PC with an Internet connection. Your account details are accessible via the client software, as is the superb free 24/7 live chat support, which is a service no other home product comes anywhere near matching.
The flat rate per gigabyte means the value diminishes as you add more storage capacity, and the 5GB cap limits its appeal somewhat for power users. But the simple software – which integrates into any existing BullGuard security suite on your PC – and great prices at smaller sizes make BullGuard a good choice for home use.
SOS isn’t cheap, but it’s more powerful than any of the home-focused offerings. The sheer number of ways you can select files is initially confusing – intelligent filtering, common file-type searching, simple drag and drop – but it makes your options infinitely more flexible.
Backups can be scheduled to run automatically, but the real highlight is SOS LiveProtect, which continuously monitors your chosen files and backs up any changes immediately. It backs up differentially, and you can decide whether to send the whole file or just the modified portion, or even let the software choose for you based on the local disk space available for caching.
To further its business credentials, SOS can back up locked and open files, run as a background service on shared machines and users can also provide their own unrecoverable UltraSafe password for added peace of mind.
Using the website, users can access their saved files from any PC and can even email download links for files to colleagues. Files can be searched by date, size or type to make it simple to find the data you need, and restores can also be carried out across networks from one main interface. For small businesses, SOS’s features more than justify the cost, such as 247 live chat support, and recovery of large backups delivered on DVD. Advanced home users could opt for the Media edition, which restricts you to media files but costs half as much.
Score: 5/6
Ibackup
IBackup is similar to the superb SOS Online Backup, but has a few notable extras. For a start, it has the most comprehensive scheduler, ranging from hourly to monthly, and it can automatically shut down your PC upon completion. It can retain the full file structure of backups to ease restoration and it supports locked files.
SQL and Exchange Server backups are supported, so for larger businesses it may be the only viable option here. But the interface doesn’t make for smooth running; it’s essentially just a standard Explorer window with a few tabs at the top, so configuring and maintaining your detailed backups can be a chore.
We’ve listed the Economy pricing, but there’s also an Advanced subscription that costs around twice the price but has extra features. Snapshots is one, allowing you to restore files from various points in time, and Sub-Accounts can be created on larger subscription plans to allow limited access by employees.
Larger businesses will find IBackup the best option thanks to its advanced features, and it still offers fairly good value. But for smaller businesses without servers, or even home users who want that extra level of control over their data, it can’t match the superb design and implementation of SOS.
4/6
How we tested
In order to test the services, we uploaded 500MB of files from our My Documents folder and then uploaded a further 250MB after a week, once some of the original files had been modified, and new files had been created. At the end of the month, we restored all files to a fresh test rig.
Buyers’ Guide
These services can’t all be compared directly, as some are aimed at home users, while others offer business features. Therefore, it’s important to decide exactly what you want from a backup service before you make your decision. Mozy, Carbonite, Boomerang and BullGuard are aimed explicitly at home users, backing up anything from emails and Word documents to music files and videos. They specialise in affordable prices for relatively small capacities. For most people needing to back up a home PC, they offer everything you could need. The only reason home users should consider the others would be for files that are regularly updated or particularly critical. Small businesses will handle both of these on a daily basis, and will have significantly more data to back up remotely, so SOS and IBackup are much more appropriate services.
Pricing Plans
| Mozy | Carbonit | Boomerang | Bullguard Backup | SOS Online Backup | IBackup | |
| Billing | Monthly or Annual | Annual | Annual | Annual | Monthly or Annual | Monthly or Annual |
| Website | Mozy | Carbonite | Data Barracks | Bullguard | SOS Online Backup | IBackup |
| 1GB | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | US$75 | N/A |
| 2GB | Free | N/A | GBP24 | $50 | US$93 | N/A |
| 5GB | N/A | N/A | GBP45 | N/A | US$147 | US$100 |
| 10GB | N/A | N/A | GBP60 | N/A | US$237 | US$200 |
| 20GB | N/A | N/A | GBP72 | N/A | US$327 | N/A |
| 30GB | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | US$597 | N/A |
| 50GB | N/A | N/A | GBP150 | N/A | US$957 | US$500 |
| 60GB | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 100GB | N/A | N/A | GBP240 | N/A | US$1857 | US$1000 |
| Other | US$5 per month, unlimited | US$50, unlimited | N/A | $25 for each extra GB | Media-only subscription half-price | See website for advance options |
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