(Updated)
Losing my data is one of my worst nightmare – I’m sure I’m not alone. Backing up used to require a lot of discipline (too much for me), so for years I ended up risking it all – not anymore. Mozy is an online backup service you set up once and can forget about… that is until disaster hits, i.e. you lose data. Well, with Mozy installed it’s no longer a disaster, you can conveniently pick the date you want to restore from, and voila’ – your precious data files are back!
Mozy is still beta, but a very stable, mature one. Since my previous post it has improved significantly. The key improvement is tracking byte-level changes, which results in a huge bandwith usage reduction. Let me explain: if you use Outlook, and just received an email, added a contact..etc, most programs out there, even my favorite FolderShare will copy the entire file, which in my case is about 180MB. With most high-speed Internet providers still limiting upstream, that in itself could be a significant burden. Mozy tracks byte-level changes, so it will only need a very small upload. It also handles files locked by a program (another shortcoming of FolderShare).
You can configure your backups to occur at a fix time (during the night), or dynamically after a period of low system resource usage. This is what I do, and the result is several backups a day, all in the background, which I don’t even notice.
If you don’t have a “lifesaver” yet, here’s the signup link for 2G free space, and by following it you’ve just increased both your space and mine. Yes, they have a referral program: after your first backup any new user you refer will add 256MB to both accounts.
Update (8/9): In a funny coincidence just hours after posting this Mozy came out with a new release, which is said to be twice as fast as the old one ….
Update (9/7): “Why Smart People Do Dumb Things” (Like Not Backup Their Hard Disk) – Guy Kawasaki.
Update (9/17): TechCrunch reviews Carbonite, and refers to Mozy as well.
Yeah – if you live in the XP world. Notif you’re a Mac guy. But hey – I passed the link to my son Joe who could use that for his upcoming A-level studies. Especially since I had to re-partition his machine to get it back running. I’ll get him SaaS’d to death before he leaves š
lol, backing up ur data using a ‘beta’ service, that’s what I call life saving, lol, congrats š
That’s exactly my point: this is way too mature and stable to be still called a beta. But, hey, Google can keep the beta label for years, Flickr is still … gamma … oh, well … š
I’m not arguing the author’s points. He’s nailed it, as far as he goes. However, the Online Backup Advisor has a different take on Mozy. It’s funny and very informative.
http://backupadvisor.blogspot.com/2006/08/mozy-remote-backup-service-by-online.html
Respect Needs to be Earned Even in the Blogosphere
My Mozy is a Lifesaver post received a strange comment:
“I’m not arguing the author’s points. He’s nailed it, as far as he goes. However, the Online Backup Advisor has a different take on Mozy. It’s funny and very informative.”
I don’t particularly l…
I’ve tried a few of these online backup tools but find this one a lot easier to use. I use Data Deposit Box for my Online Backup. It is not beta and has been totally stable.
The important thing is you use something.
More Excuses for Not Doing a PC Backup
We now have Fewer Excuses for Not Doing a PC Backup says the New York Times. Do we? I really don’t want to do a backup. Which does not mean I don’t want my data safely backed up – I just don’t want to have to *do* &nb…
Hi, another good life saver is IDrive-E that offers 2GB of data backups for free. There is absolutely no limit on the upload or download size for backup and restore.
IDrive-E performs ‘totally hands-free automated backups’ of files and folders. It also does incremental backups that transfer only portions of file that have been modified or changed since the last backup. The user-friendly application allows you to restore large number of files with a simple drag-and-drop using the Windows Explorer like interface. All data transfer is encrypted with 128-bit Secure Socket Layer (SSL) Strong. IDrive-E also has 256-bit AES encryption on storage with an encryption password key provided by the user while installing the application.
IDrive-E has automatic schedule backup that will be continued even during machine logoff state (NT service mode). There is an option āAutomatic Power off after scheduled backupā with which you can automatically shut down the machine after the completion of scheduled task off-peak hours. IDrive-E retains 30 versions of backed up data and you can restore any version from these 30 versions. You can also restore latest versions of all your files or versions of files as of a specific backup set.
Of the two interfaces you can work with, the IDrive-E Classic interface is a simple Microsoft Windows explore like interface used to backup and restore files and folders. The IDrive-E Explorer view is meant for restoring files and folders and is not for backups.
Read the fine print. IDrive-E defines “unlimited storage” as having a 150GB maximum.
BEWARE of Mozy. I thought it was a great service but if you plan on ever restoring large amounts of data (like 47 G), FORGET IT. They can’t do it. They tried to restore by web – failed. They tried sending DVDs – 3 out of 12 were defective and unusable. They said they’d re-send but never did. It’s been about 2 months. Then they said they’d send a “hard drive” – and then they didn’t do that. BEWARE – if you actually need your data recovered and it’s a lot, they are unable currently to do that well. It’s been a nightmare.
I tried Mozy but I prefer Memopal the online backup from Europe. Smart performance and a very good tools to search the files http://www.memopal.com
I also tried Memopal that offer 250GB free, still in beta version. There are also well done sharing tools.
I did not find Mozy helpful, it aborts backup attempts repeatedly and will attempt to backup files too large to upload (i.e. Parallels image of Windows) despite my having excluded that file in configuring Mozy. At this time I have not had a successful backup in over 2 months. I would not recommend this service to anyone.
online backup is very important to save your important business information.
great article!
I’ve found this coupon https://mozy.com/?code=KMLYU7
you get 2.5 GB free (checked, it works!)