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Do you know when the absolute worst time to think about backups is? It’s the moment when the tech support guy tells you your hard drive has died and your data is lost.
One error that the free online backups will not help is recovery of a file a split second after you delete that important presentation or cherished photo. Most free services do not save deleted files but write over the old file. An online backup provides 24/7 access to your files from any Internet connected computer, smartphone, or tablet style device. Data storage in the cloud is one of the quickest means to data archiving and recovery.
The requirements to judge the online backup are listed below.
- Storage Size: More free storage is obviously better. Our photo files are larger and we are taking more photos. This requires more storage.
- Document Synchronization: Documents and files created or changed need to automatically be uploaded to the “Cloud.”
- Long Term Reliability of the Site: Will your files be there available a year from now, five years from now? This is subjective. If I have heard of the service before I became editor of this category or one of our readers makes a compelling argument, the site will be considered reliable.
- Security: It should be assumed that security is minimal for the free sites. If the files you upload will not be encrypted, there's nothing to stop someone from looking at your files. This includes law enforcement officials who can serve papers from a judge requesting copies of your files. The services I have checked do not have encryption on the fly. Spideroak has pre-egress or pre-internet security. Your files are encrypted before they are uploaded.
- File Location: Ideally the files should be able to be located anyplace on your hard drive. Instead many online backup services require a special folder to be created. All your files will have to be stored in that folder. Also, the files will have to be stored on the local drive and copied to the online service.
So here I present some of the best online storage websites. I
have sorted them as per their merits:
#1 IDrive (www.idrive.com)
IDrive's parent company IBackup has been in business since 1999 and therefore meets the long term reliability requirement. The service has 5 GB of free storage. While not a lot by today's standard it is better than 2 GB. IDrive does provide pre file transfer encryption. You provide the private key which will be known only to you. This will secure your files from being read by others without your permission.
IDrive has both scheduled and continuous backup. The default is scheduled backup. IDrive also has versioning. In this way if you accidentally delete a file, it can be retrieved.
Your files can be stored in any place on your hard drive. This allows you to keep your current file structure. It will not be necessary to move your file to a special folder for backup.
Microsoft has changed Skydrive. It is now 7 GB if you are a new subscriber to the service. If you are an old subscriber and had 25 GB of storage you get to keep your 25 GB.
It has reduced storage space, no encryption and the annoying Skydrive folder you have to use. It is built into Windows 8 and the service is expected to be around for a long time as it's provided by Microsoft.
Skydrive's storage size is 7 GB. This is not very large by today standards. Skydrive originally was 25 GB. A new user can't get 25 GB free anymore. If you have an old Hotmail account you may have 25 GB.
Skydrive is easy to use. Once installed just move
your files you want to backup to the special Skydrive folder.
One of the Skydrive's negatives is no security. Do not put files on Skydrive that care and other people could see. It is not open to every one on the Internet but law enforcement could obtain copies of your files without your knowledge.
Another annoying negative is that it will sync only your files in the Skydrive folder. All the files you need to backup will need to be moved to the Skydrive folder.
A combination of back-up solutions may be the best strategy. Use Skydrive for your photos and non critical documents like kids homework, your non-financial files, and family pictures. Then use Spideroak or IDrive for your taxes and financial files.
Spideroak has end-to-end encryption. If you have documents you do not want anyone else to have the ability to see them, this is the service for you. The files are encrypted before they are sent to the Spideroak server. Since you own the encryption key, only you can open them. The downside for this service is that it only offers 2 GB of online storage.
The files Spideroak saves to the cloud can be stored in any place on you computer. A separate folder does not need to be created.
If you need to securely backup more than 2 GB of files, a free service is not for you. If you have more than 2 GB of files you want to keep and make sure no one can read them without your permission then I would suggest a paid service. Also, it automatically synchronizes files.
SugarSync now offers 5 GB free. You could increase your storage amount by referring people and taking an online quiz.
SugarSync meets the long term reliability requirement as it has been in this online storage market for many years.
It will automatically synchronize your documents and has the security features below.
* There is no encryption key stored on your computer.* Files are transmitted encrypted (128 bit AES) via SSL using a once only key.* At the SugarSync end they are stored encrypted on one server and the keys stored on another.* The keys are random and not generated from email addresses.* Keys are accessible to some SugarSync employees, hence also files could be provided by SugarSync in response to a court order or search warrant.
What sets SugarSync apart from other on-line storage is that it is not necessary to put files into a special folder (e.g. Dropbox & Skydrive), backup being managed through an Explorer-like file manager. You just select folders to be synced using check boxes and exclude sub folders not to be synced. For those wanting a special folder like Dropbox, SugarSync also provides one called Magic Briefcase and there is a non-synced Web Archive.
#5 Dropbox (www.dropbox.com)
It offers 2GB free storage to start while multiple paid options are also available. Dropbox offers file syncing between the PC / Mac / Linux and the cloud. Load the desktop client or upload through the web interface and begin adding folders to the Dropbox folder. Once in the folder, Dropbox synchs the file between the PC and the cloud and any other devices that you have enabled with Dropbox including mobile and tablets. Quick, light and in the background, Dropbox is a must try and is my preferred Online Backup Solution. One drawback to Dropbox is a folder named "Dropbox" which has to be created, then all the folders and files have to be moved to the "Dropbox" folder.
Like most of the online backup providers, Mozy offers 2 GB for free and the option to add more through paid services. Mozy comes with PC and MAC clients, schedule backups and even file encryption. The encryption capabilities provide some peace of mind to those looking for an Online Backup Solution but concerned about privacy.
This site has been tested for the past month. It meets one of three off-line backup requirements. The storage size is very large at 50 GB. The down side is that it does not sync files. Longevity of the free service needs to be proven.
P.S. Share
about your favourite online storage websites. For any suggestions, please
comment below.
