Best Cloud Storage Services

We all have been struggling with keeping our online data safe and secure from the intruders, hacking, theft and from natural disasters for decades now. The threat is even more serious for the businesses where thousands and millions of users are storing their data for safekeeping. In such cases, a disaster or a cybercrime attack could be catastrophic. That is why it is utterly important to invest in a data backup like SOS online backup so that you don’t have to face the losses, both in the form of data and in the form of money.

Introduction

SOS Online Backup from Infrascale is one top of the scale software option for cloud backup. It assure you to keep all your online data safe and secure with minimal downtime and quick recovery. The software has been in service since 2001 and has gained a loyal customer market till now. The company altered its name to Infrascale in 2012 but its main backup software retained the same name.

Although from the price point of view, SOS online backup software is a little bit expensive but what gives this software and service an advantage over other competing software is its blazing speed.

The reason for its amazing speed is its widespread network of servers which is based in India, US, Ukraine and Australia. Infrascale’s SOS online backup managed to overcome the server congestion issues which limits the power of this software. Finally it is able to use the full internet bandwidth to give you the best service possible.

Some of the popular features of this software include mobile backup support, true archiving, unlimited versioning, NAS and private encryption. But it also lacks some of the most important features like continuous backup, file access through browser and two-factor authentication. So people have mixed reviews regarding this software.

You can also invest in the office version of SOS online backup in order to backup your business devices but still the cost factor is worth considering here as well.

In this review article, we will look at the features, pricing, pros and cons of the software and will finally rate the software based on the review. Moreover, you will also find coupon codes for the software if you are interested in buying. Even if after going through the review you still feel confused, there will be a list of frequently asked questions and their answers which will help you finally make the decision whether to invest in the software or not.

Pros & Cons of SOS Online Backup

In order to decide if you want to spend your hard earned money on any product is by getting to know its pros and cons to weigh the product usability. Below are listed the pros and cons of SOS online backup by Infrascale so that you can have a clear understanding of your gains and loss:

Pros

1. Local and online backup

2. Hybrid backup

3. Mobile backup

4. Reliable security options

5. Network attached storage (NAS)

6. Blazing fast downloading speed

7. Private 256 AES encryption

8. Unlimited storage

9. Unlimited file size and versioning

10. Archival features

Cons

1. Expensive as compared to competitive software

2. No availability of sync features

3. Missing two-factor authentication

4. No file sharing option

5. Outdated user interfaces of both desktop and mobile apps

6. Continuous backup is missing as well and is only limited to individual files

7. No access to files through browser

Features of SOS Online Backup

Below are listed some of the incredible features of Infrascale’s SOS Online Backup:

1. Mobile Backup

Not only does the SOS Online Backup provides full security and backup for your desktop devices but it also offers backup options for your mobile devices as well. Most of the backup software are only designed for desktop backup so having a software that protects your smartphone devices with backup is something good to get started with. By backing up your mobile devices and smartphones using SOS Online Backup, you can prevent data losses caused by software glitches or hard drive crashes. It gives you a one-stop shop to backup all your devices including PCs, tablets and mobiles. You can even backup unlimited NAS devices with SOS Online Backup as well.

2. File Archiving

Another amazing feature of SOS Online Backup software is that the files are never deleted, and never means “NEVER”. It offers true archiving which means that even if you delete your files from the device, it will always be available on the cloud which won’t be deleted automatically. The Save Forever feature of SOS Online Backup allow you to access all the present and past versions of your files in just a flash. However, you do not get free unlimited cloud space so you will need to set the client to remove the deleted files from the cloud after a fixed time limit.

3. Unlimited File Versioning

SOS Online Backup software also allows you unlimited file versioning which means you can change and edit your files and documents as much as you like and it will not up much of your backup space because only the modified part of the file will be backed up. Due to this, file versioning should not use much of your backup space.

4. Multilayer Encryption

According to the claims of SOS Online Backup software makers, your data is 100% secure from hackers and prying eyes as it is encrypted with the military grade multilayer encryption model. You can rest assured that your data is well-protected under the hands of a great encryption protocol.

5. Ease of Use

Another great feature of this software is that you don’t have to be technically trained to use it. It comes with user-friendly interfaces and easy to follow installation wizard that helps you to get maximum advantage of its features. You just need to download and install a desktop client of the SOS Online Backup application in order to run it on your home devices. It works great on both macOS and Windows. The installation will only take a minute and then you have to log in to your account that you have created while registering with the SOS Online Backup software. After logging in, you will be asked to choose a security plan to get started and your account will be all set to use.

6. User-Friendly Interface

The desktop interface of the SOS Online Backup is quite simple, clear, minimal and easy to use. As soon as you launch the application, it will scan your hard drive to give you recommendations about creating a backup plan. It has a link that will take you to the web portal of SOS Online Backup.

7. Web Portal

Web portal give you browser access to your backup software. It will display your dashboard where you can view notifications, backup statistics and information like total space used, etc. The client also gives you the ability to monitor different processes and to generate reports. With this web portal, you can also review your logs and backup history. And not only this, you can export these logs and backup reports to Excel, which is quite an exciting feature. Another amazing feature of this web client is allowing you to set retention and versioning policies which fairly cleans up the backup space.

8. Mobile Backup Client

It offers a mobile backup client as well so you can handle the backup of your mobile devices and smartphones on the go. It allows you to access the cloud storage. You can also view the files you have downloaded and browse through the favorite files and you can easily create and mobile backup plan. With the mobile backup client you can schedule your backup according to your needs. The client is available for iOS and Android.

9. File Backup & Restoration

File backup and restoration feature is a fairly easy option to work with. It needs a selected file or folder for backup which you can do manually or automatically. The desktop client helps you to automatize the process by scanning the files that can be backed up. After the scan is completed, you will see the files and the backup space it will need. You can also edit the automatic scan by excluding the specific files based on its type or size or by specifically including the files. Folders can also be excluded and there is also a separate option for custom file types.

The backup features SOS Online Backup provides include backup scheduler, incremental backup, external drive backup, NAS backup, hybrid backup, mobile device backup and block-level file copying.

The restore features SOS Online Backup provides include mobile app access, deleted file retention and file versioning.

10. Online Backup Scheduling

SOS Online Backup gives the facility to schedule backups so you can create a backup of your important data at your own pace and your own timing. Continuous backup in SOS Online Backup is not a reliable option as it is only taken while the files are being edited. The default setting of an SOS Online Backup is set to a daily schedule. If you want more extensive backups, you can set it to an hourly schedule as well but you can’t backup in minutes or seconds because the smallest option is only an hour. You can also enable manual backup option by altering the default settings.

11. Hybrid Backup

SOS Online Backup also allows you to take backup on both the cloud and the local folder that can be an external device, which is known as hybrid backup. Hybrid backup is the best example of implementing the 3-2-1 rule.

12. Blazing Speed

SOS Online Backup is known for its amazing backup speed because of its worldwide spread servers and data centers. However, initial backups may take some time if you have gigabytes of data to be backup up and this speed also depends upon your distance from the server and the stability of the network connection. The distance factor is almost negligible because you are always in close proximity to one of the 16 worldwide servers of SOS Online Backup software.

13. Extensive Security

SOS Online backup is not set to encrypt your files by default. But if security is your ultimate demand, you can manually choose AES 256 encryption. This option is particularly useful if you are backing up sensitive data or business information. SOS Online Backup allow you to keep your encryption key or you can give this task to the software itself. If you choose to keep the encryption key yourself, you will have a private end-to-end encryption which is known as “zero-knowledge encryption”. This ensures maximum protection as only you can read your files.

If you want full private protection, you need to set it before your start the encryption process and you cannot change it later. Although private encryption is more secure, but once you forget your password, SOS Online Backup won’t be able to help you to reset it. SOS Online Backup also deploys SSL/TLS protocol to protect the data during transmission.

The software also uses RAID configurations for real-time monitoring and redundancy. The data centers re also fully secured with temperature-controlled environment systems, 24-hour staff, badge access, video surveillance and redundant power backup systems.

14. Privacy

The software provides complete privacy by complying with the Swiss-U.S. and EU-U.S. privacy shield frameworks. The main purpose of the use of this framework is to ensure proper management, collection and use of the information that is sent from Switzerland and EU to U.S. SOS Online Backup is owned by Infrascale so its privacy policy is hosted on its website. Even if you enable private encryption, it is still important to read privacy policy regarding the personal user information.

Pricing of SOS Online Backup

SOS Online Backup is considered a bit expensive as compared to its competitors but the fact that it offers different subscription levels to the users is truly worth considering. You have the option to choose from multiple packages according to your needs. But the packages are all too expensive than those which are offered by the competitors making this software all the less desirable. Below are listed the details of the packages offered by SOS Online Backup.

SOS Online Backup offers a package of $3.75 per month with forever and unlimited archiving and retention, infinite and unlimited version history, and almost all the features whereas the similar package of its competitor Carbonite is under $8.33 per month and MOZY offers it under $5.49 per month. The details of the pricing comparison can be seen on the official website of SOS Online Backup here and the package details are described here.

Review & Rating

SOS Online Backup is a reliable backup option for both home and offices but it lacks a few important features that other backup software offers in almost the same price. The features like browser access, two-factor authentication and continuous backup are all missing which is undesirable if you want full protection and security. Moreover, the software is also a bit expensive which give buyers a pause. Though the speed, security and privacy offered by SOS Online Backup is quite amazing, people can still get the same services including the missing ones as well in much less cost through competitor backup software like Carbonite, Acronis and SpriderOak, etc.

The rating of the software is as follows:

• Ease of use (78%)
• Features (80%)
• Pricing (76%)
• Security (87%)
• File backup and restoration (72%)
• Support (83%)
• Speed (80%)
• Privacy (80%)

Here is the review video for SOS Online Backup:

SOS Online Backup Coupon Codes

Below are listed some of the coupon codes that you can use to get some few bucks off:

1. 25% SOS Online Backup, here is the link.

2. Save up to 25% on Online SOS Backup here.

3. Some more coupons for SOS Online Backup here.

FAQ for SOS Online Backup

Some of the frequently asked questions regarding SOS Online Backup are given as follows along with the answers so you can decide whether to invest in the software or not:

What is SOS online backup?

Ans. It is an online backup company owned by Infrascale which is based in El Segundo, California. The company came into being in 2001 and later its name was changed to Infrascale in 2012 but the original software is known and distributed by the same name.

How to cancel SOS online backup account?

SOS online backup account subscription can be cancelled using a service named “Trim”. If you are no longer using the SOS online backup service and want to cancel your subscription, you can simply text Trim to cancel it and its done, as simple as that.

Summary

SOS is a reliable online backup option for personal and professional use with some amazing features and incredible flexibility but it demands a high amount of monthly or yearly investment from your end for its services. You can find comparable services in a lot less price in other competitive online backup software. The average rating for all its services and its cost will be 4 stars or 80%.

References

1. https://www.sosonlinebackup.com/

2. https://www.offers.com/sosonlinebackup/

3. https://www.promocodewatch.com/sos-online-backup-promo-code

4. https://givingassistant.org/coupon-codes/sosonlinebackup.com

5. https://www.cloudwards.net/review/sos-online-backup/

6. https://www.sosonlinebackup.com/

7. https://5bestthings.com/sos-online-backup-review/

Visit Jungle Disk Website

The operational mechanism of almost every business has changed drastically as compared to a decade ago. Digital repositories have replaced the hard-copies and digital marketing has increased the sales many folds with lesser investments. The same goes for any project whether it's academic or a professional one. A digital platform is more comfortable and result oriented than the conventional one.

However, in tandem to the exponential usage of the digital platforms, threat to the data exposure has also increased. In fact, a user had more control to data safety measures using the conventional ways. But, the digital platform provides better results. Thus, using this new mechanism is a necessity to remain in the business.

A digital data is always prone to threats and a multi-million company may need to shutdown its business. These threats include but not limited to a hardware failure, data mishandling, unannounced power failure, natural calamities like fire, flood and earthquakes. Computers and external hard disks can provide quick bucks to local thieves. How can we forget the cyber criminals who can derail a well-running business overnight, even sitting miles away.

Apart from the data loss vulnerabilities, a project may face a monetary threat as well. Criminals have always misused any great invention. This has started happening with the cyber world as well. Today, cyber criminals can encrypt all your data on your computer or website and demand for a ransom, in order to bring back your business online. The ransom is always in the form of cryptocurrency (which is one of the applications of great cyber inventions of this century, called blockchain technology). Cryptocurrency is not a government regulated currency. The victim, or his government officials can never track where the paid ransom had gone.

While a business leverages the potential of a digital platform, it's also important not to undermine the possible risks involved with the technology. Thus, the privacy and security of data are necessary for the success of any project, whether at a local or global level.

This data security has to be applied at various levels to ensure that no stone has been left unturned. A single door, even slightly opened, may cost a fortune to the project. First, the data security needs to be applied at the local level in the form of a regular backup of every bit of necessary data. A 3-2-1 backup strategy should be applied which ensures that you never lose any data and never pay any ransom for the encrypted files. As per this strategy, every data should have three instances. One is the original data which lies on the father computer. The second copy should be taken on an external hard disk. The third copy should be saved miles away on a server which resides inside an infrastructure, quite resistant to natural calamities with high 24/7 security and surveillance.

Another layer is online security. This millenium belongs to information, and this information is gathered from data. Thus, a good pile of data can be quite lucrative to someone. There are individuals and even groups who can steal or distort the data by finding the loopholes in your security system. Thus, a robust firewall needs to stand between your data and those cyber-criminals.

Apart from these, human errors and mishandling can be decreased by installing business level password management utilities.

Various companies offer these services. It's important to choose a provider which suits your requirements. Keep on reading this article to dig deeper in this context.

While it's important to brainstorm every aspect of data security, applying the same is quite a Herculean task. Yes, it is. Because it's almost impossible to track down every front with a single piece of software.

Gladly, there are some softwares who promise to take care of every aspect of the security of the data. The user does not have to worry about a single dimension regarding the data security on the digital platform.

One of these multi-talented heroes is Jungle Disk. And yes, just as its name, the company itself trails quite an interesting history. Keep on reading the article to have more some food for thoughts.

This article is designed to dissect the multi-dimensional service provider, Jungle Disk. On its way, this article will explore the various features of Jungle Disk so that you may decide whether it is a hit-or-miss for you. But don't even stop there, because southwards, this article is packed with user curiosities about Jungle Disk. Those answers may give you more insight into the saviour.

Jungle Disk Review

David Wright, the man behind Jungle Disk, found Atlanta the best place to start providing backup service to the individuals and business owners. It was 2006, when Jungle Disk was finally established and started functioning. However, in 2008 Jungle Disk was acquired by Rackspace Hosting, Inc. David, the founder had to leave Jungle Disk after the acquisition. It's worth mentioning, that Jungle Disk was one of the first backup service providers to use cloud backup and Amazon S3. In fact, David put quite a thought in the name Jungle. Using the Amazon S3 led to the word Jungle, to give a feel of Amazon Rainforest.

In 2010, Jungle Disk was shifted to San Antonio. During these years the development of Jungle Disk suffered because Rackspace was building a cloud infrastructure software program. It was 2013, when Jungle Disk was once again in the priority list of Rackspace. Its customer support was revived from ticketing to chats and phone support. In January 2015, Jungle Disk spun out of Rackspace and now is a privately held company in San Antonio. Yes, Jungle Disk started its march towards success.

In December 2015, Jungle Disk acquired SafetyNet, the first backup for Quickbooks online. Just three years later, in March 2018, Jungle Disk announced one more acquisition. It acquired TeamPassword, the password manager for collaborative projects.

Currently, Jungle Disk provides a cloud backup, a password manager and a suite to protect from cyber threats. It uses Amazon S3 and Google cloud storage to store its user's data. It can backup any data whether it's on your computer, external drive, NAS or mobile. It can even backup data from other cloud storage like Google drive, pCloud, Dropbox. Currently, Jungle Disk has a wide user base of 25, 000 customers. Jungle Disk services are dedicated mainly to business users.

This is just the warm-up, keep on reading to know more about Jungle Disk.

Jungle Disk Plans

Jungle Disk offers its services for small to mid-sized companies. Its plans are called cybersecurity suites. A company which has between 2-20 employees can avail a cybersecurity suite as per its requirement. Jungle Disk spreads the services of cloud storage, collaborative password management and network security through its plans. Jungle Disk has straight forward three variants of plans viz.

1) Cybersecurity Starter

Cybersecurity Starter is the basic plan of the Jungle Disk. This plan does not include the collaborative password management tool and network security. Cybersecurity Starter plan's features are as below

i) $8 per employee/month

The Starter plan starts with $8 per employee per month.

ii) PC, Mac, Linux, server, mobile backup

With Jungle Disk, the user can take backup of any variant of computer. Is it your awesome Linux machine, a Windows PC, a Mac or a server? Or you have an Android or an Apple in your hand. Jungle Disk will take care of every data even with the Starter plan. Jungle Disk plans refer to users, not to computers. Which means a registered user can use any number of computers and mobiles in the plan.

For servers, there is a different plan of $5 per month per server.

iii) External device backup support

Jungle Disk understands that today a company's employees can not collaboratively work on projects without NAS and network drives. And the external drives support the portability and local backups of data. With Jungle Disk Starter account a user can backup all these external devices.

iv) Email Archiving

In a business every email matters. Thus, even if an employee has left the organization it is important to store his send/receive emails for a specific time frame. Also, the archived emails may be a saviour when quoting a very old work or communication.

Jungle Disk offers email archiving which enables the backup and storage of emails as well.

v) Phishing Alerts

Although today most users are quite aware of the phishing emails, still phishing incidents are a reality and people get victimised. Jungle Disk assures that suspicious emails will always be reported to the user.

2) Cybersecurity Standard

Cybersecurity standard is the second plan of Jungle Disk. This plan does not offer the network security.

i) $10 per employee/month

The Jungle Disk standard plan is offered at $10 per employee per month.

ii) Starter Cybersecurity features

The Standard Cybersecurity plan already consists of all the features of Starter Cybersecurity plan of Jungle Disk.

iii) Secure Password Management

This feature is the highlight of Standard Cybersecurity plan. With this plan, a secure password management tool is provided. This tool helps the teams to generate secure passwords for various logins. These passwords can be shared among the team members. The admin can add or delete members in the team.

iv) Browser plugins

To speed up and ease the process of password generation and sharing, Jungle Disk provides plugins for most popular browsers Firefox, Chrome and Safari. A user has to login to his Jungle Disk account through the plugin. Then he can access the shared passwords of the team and share the passwords with the team.

v) Two-factor authentication

The password management tool Standard Cybersecurity adds an extra layer of security in the form of two-factor authentication. After entering the login credentials, a user needs to input the received code to access the Jungle Disk password management tool.

vi) Activity Logs

Logs of everything done is important. They provide a historical view, in case something needs to get caught up from the past. Or, just to identify the reason for a current problem. The password management tool provides the feature of logging activities. Email notification facility is also provided for password creation or modification for the team members. Addition or deletion of a member in the team is also notified to the team members.

3) Cybersecurity Complete

Cybersecurity complete is the third plan of Jungle Disk. This plan provides the full-fledged features to the user. Network protection if the highlight of this plan.

i) $16 per employee/month

The Jungle Disk cybersecurity Complete is offered at $16 per employee per month.

ii) Starter + Standard Cybersecurity features

This plan already consists of all the features provided in the Starter and Standard Cybersecurity plan of the Jungle Disk.

iii) Firewall

It's not safe to transact the data online without a firewall. While the home firewalls are quite limited to be used for a business purpose, the small and mid-sized companies can't afford the costly enterprise firewalls.

Jungle Disk ensures the online safety of its client data by providing a highly efficient cloud firewall as a part of its security suite. This firewall acts as a robust filter between the users' computers and the cyber world. When a user signs up for a network protection plan, a Cloud-Link device is shipped to the user free of cost. Additionally, the remote support for Cloud-Link installation is also provided free of cost. The virus signatures and other firewall algorithms reside on the cloud, thus the device is always updated with the latest algorithms.

The Network Protection subscription comes with a 30-day money back guarantee. So, in case you don't find it not doing its job efficiently, you can always ask for a refund before the 30-day trial period is over.

iv) VPN

The Network Protection also provides Virtual Private Networks (VPN). This feature provides more privacy and work speed.

The user can manage his firewall protection and VPN's with the help of a web portal too. This feature comes handy when the user is far away from his office and needs to manage the team member's VPN or firewall.

v) Ransomware protection

A ransomware can derail a well-growing business overnight. The loss is not just in the terms of business credibility among its clients, but monetary as well. The victim needs to pay for a ransom to the attacker. And yes, this ransom may cost a fortune to the victim.

The Network Protection provided by the Jungle Disk takes well care of the activities on the computer in real-time. Thus, if by any chance a ransomware enters the user's network, it is blocked instantly. Of course, the user is informed about the blocked attack so that the user and his team can identify the activity that triggered the ransomware attack.

vi) Backed by monetary guarantee

Jungle Disk is so confident about its Cybersecurity Complete plan that it offers a monetary guarantee. This varies from $10,000 to $50,000 depending on the Network security plan user has activated.

The Cybersecurity Complete suite is offered in three plans for the Network protection. All the plans are offered per location basis. These plans are

A) Lite Network Protection

i) $49 per month/location

The Lite Network Protection of Cybersecurity Complete is offered at $49 per month for one location.

ii) Backed by $10,000 guarantee

The Lite Network Protection offers a $10,000 guarantee in case the suite fails to block an attack.

iii) Upto 10 employees

The Lite protection can be used for maximum of 10 users. If you have more than 10 employees, consider choosing an upgraded Network Protection of Cybersecurity complete plan.

iv) Free OmniWAN firewall

OmniWAN is the next generation of advanced cyber security. It is a multi-layered security stack that inspects all the traffic using the half of a dozen leading security engines of the industry. All data is tunnelled through the omniNet cloud where a thorough screening process happens for the traffic. This happens for both the incoming and outgoing traffic. Any malware, suspicious link, threat or intrusion is detected and block in real-time. Every security-check happens to the cloud thus there is no chance that any threat can infiltrate to the user's computer.

OmniWAN also optimised the bandwidth by reducing the packet loss and stacking the traffic according to the preferences.

v) Data leak protection

The Lite network protection also promises to secure the privacy of the user's data. The Lite suite prevents any data loss or manipulation while data transaction.

B) Standard Network Protection

i) $89 per month/location

The Standard Network Protection of Cybersecurity Complete is offered at $89 per month for one location.

ii) Lite features

The Standard Network Protection plan of the Jungle Disk offers all the Lite Network protection features as default.

iii) Backed by $25,000 guarantee

Jungle Disk offers a $25,000 guarantee to its Standard Protection plan users, in case an attack gets infiltrated to the users' network.

iv) Upto 100 employees

The Standard Protection plan is offered to a team of maximum 100 users. Thus, if you have a bigger team consider the next Network Protection plan.

v) Static IP

The IPs provided by the ISP are dynamic. They change every time the router reboots. A static IP is important to host a server. Without a static IP, the network computers will ping to another location from time to time while connecting to the server.

Static IP also helps keep track of the activity on a computer. This may help with logging and bandwidth tracking purpose.

The Standard Network Protection of Cybersecurity Complete plan provides the static IP to maintain the server.

vi) Port forwarding

Port forwarding also known as tunnelling, is used to forward a network port from one node to another. This process helps to bridge communication between two computers, if behind a router or firewall.

The Standard Network Protection of Cybersecurity Complete plan allows the port forwarding so that accessing a computer from outside the LAN will never be a problem.

C) Pro Network Protection

i) $139 per month/location

The Pro Network Protection of Cybersecurity Complete is offered at $139 per month for one location.

i) Lite + Standard features

The Pro Network Protection offers all the features of Lite and Standard Network Protection by default.

ii) Backed by $50,000 guarantee

The Pro Network Protection guarantees a $50,000 insurance, in case the security of the client gets breached. This insurance cover reflects the confidence of Jungle Disk on its product.

iii) Gigabit network interfaces

The Pro Network Protection promises a high-speed LAN. This plan provides Gigabit Ethernet. With a Gigabit network, the data transactions over LAN are instant.

iv) Upto 4 LAN or WiFi networks

The Pro Network Protection also allows the use of upto 4 LAN networks or 4 WiFi networks.

v) Site-to-site & 3rd-party VPN

If a company has various branches, then any local branch can use the site-to-site VPN using its internet to connect to the LAN of the main branch.

The Pro Network Protection offers this site-to-site VPN facility so that the other branches can use the LAN of the main branch.

Jungle Disk Features

1) 10 GB Free

As soon as a user opens an account with Jungle Disk, 10 GB space per user is allocated on the cloud for backup. This 10 GB is a part of the Jungle Disk plan and the user does not have to pay for it. This is quite a sufficient space for a single user to get started in the office.

2) Choice of storage cloud

As Jungle Disk had tied up with Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud Storage, the user always has the choice of backing up his data to his preferred server. This applies to per user not just per Jungle Disk account. Which means, different users of a Jungle Disk account can use either AWS or Google server to backup their data.

3) Encryption

Jungle Disk takes the security of its user's data quite seriously. All the data is encrypted with the military standard AES 256-bit encryption. This encryption is done even before the data leaves the user's computer for the cloud.

Using a specific algorithm and with the help of user password, specific encryption keys are generated. Using these encryption keys, user's data is encrypted. This encryption key is also encrypted with the 256-bit encryption. To decrypt the data, this encryption key is used.

4) Backup from cloud storage

Jungle Disk does not limit its users to backup their data which is just present on their devices. It goes that extra mile to backup user's data present on a cloud storage like Dropbox and Google Drive. So, in case you want to have a copy of your cloud storage on the Jungle Disk as well, go ahead and take the backup.

5) External Device Backup

While a NAS serves the purpose to share the file among the office members quickly, an external hard disk supports the portability of the data. The network devices are used to map the computers and easily retrieve the files from other computers. No office, even with limited employees, require these data transaction facilities. Thus, a backup of these devices is also important to prevent any mishap.

Jungle Disk supports the backup of NAS, network devices and external hard disks as well. Which means that Jungle Disk is competent enough to take care of your every bit of data.

6) Server Backup Support

Servers serve as a data and network hub for any company. It works a hub because it has more processing power as it handles lots of processes than a PC can handle at a time. It can be used to whether allocate the appliances like shared printer, fax, internet to specific user or not. Any digital facilities to an employee can be assigned by using a server. It can be used as data storage and retrieval hub for the employees as well.

Jungle Disk supports backing up the server data. The server plan is $5 per user per month. However, it should be noted that the minimum cost for a Jungle Disk account is $8 per month.

7) Email Archiving

Archived emails provide a historical record of communication even after years an employee has left. This features can be used for an audit and revisiting a communication which has been buried down by the time. In case of hacked and deleted email accounts, this feature turns out to be a saviour.

Jungle Disk offers email archiving for office 365 and G suite. It provides unlimited email archiving and storage with its plans. It also offers an eDiscovery feature to easily search the required emails from the server. In case, your email account gets hacked and all emails get deleted all you need to do is restore them from the cloud server.

8) Share and Sync

Taking backup of data is important. But, at the same time sharing the data with someone is also a crucial part of a successful business. You cannot give your backup account credentials to someone just to give them a single file residing on your cloud storage. A sharable link accomplishes the purpose.

Besides, sharing, syncing is also a necessity. It's time-consuming to every time share a link to a specific person. Syncing is a feature which updates the files residing in a folder among the members. This process is done automatically as soon as a file arrives at the sync folder.

Jungle Disk provides both the features of sharing and syncing. One just has to keep a tab on the file size limit as Jungle Disk limits the sharable file size to 5 GB and sync folder capacity to 10 GB or 100,000 files.

9) Password Management

With the password management tool which is provided in the Standard and the Complete Cybersecurity suite, team members can share the passwords among them. Jungle Disk also offers the browser plugins for the popular browsers like Firefox, Chrome and Safari.

Credentials of this password management tool are secured with two-factor authentication. On top of that, the members of the team are notified via email about the password modifications, team members addition and deletion as well.

10) Network Security

Jungle Disk offers complete network protection, which is the highlight of its Cybersecurity Complete plan. A user is provided with a Cloud-Link device and remote installation support free of cost. Any malicious activity is detected and blocked on the cloud itself, thus, the user's computers are never affected with any threat.

Jungle Disk Pros

1) Pay per GB

As soon as a user signs up an account with the Jungle Disk, every member of the account is provided with a 10 GB space on the cloud. After this 10 GB is occupied the user pays only for what he needs. Jungle Disk offers 1 GB at 15 cents ($0.15) after the 10 GB space gets filled up with the backup.

This is quite different from other backup service providers, who allocate huge storage space, of which mostly remains unused. In addition to this, even if a user occupies the allocated space, he has to upgrade his account to get more space. This upgraded plan is often more expensive than the one he just occupied.

2) Backup from any device

Yes, Jungle Disk is not biased with any device. It supports all of them. All your data on that awesome Penguin, Apple, Windows, Android and iOS can be backed up with Jungle Disk. All you have to do is install the respective client or mobile app for your device and you are good to go.

3) Unlimited versioning

A major edit on a file may seem to be a serious mistake after months. But, the file before that major edit is gone and now the user is out of luck. Having a backup of a previous version is quite a saviour in such situations.

Versioning feature of a backup service keeps the preferred number of previous versions of a file. Jungle Disk even with versioning goes to the extra mile and offers an unlimited number of versions to be saved on the cloud. Yes, there is no limit to the versions of a file you can have for a file. You can also instruct Jungle Disk to restrict the number of versions in order to save the space on the cloud.

4) Unlimited Deleted file retention

Once a user deletes a file on his computer, it remains alive on his cloud storage, this is a feature every competent cloud backup service provider offers. Usually, there is a limit to the number of deleted files a user can retain on the cloud. Even with the retention of the deleted file, Jungle Disk does not put any limitation.

Of course, you can instruct the Jungle Disk to retain specific numbers of deleted files to save your storage space.

5) Fast

Using the Amazon Web Services S3 and Google Cloud storage gives Jungle Disk the advantage of high backup and restoration speed.

6) Security

The military grade AES 256-bit encryption secures the user data from an evil eye in the cyber world.

7) Complete package

With the backup, password manager for the team and network security, Jungle Disk establishes itself as a complete suite for company having 2-250 employees.

Jungle Disk Cons

1) No single user plan

Jungle Disk is not for personal users. It is only for small to mid-sized companies. Because, while for a server Jungle Disk services start from $5 per user per month and one user is charged as $4 per month for backup, the minimum cost for Jungle Disk is $8. Thus, one can not use Jungle Disk services for just one server. Either he has to have two servers or pay the price difference i.e. 8 – 5 = $3. Same applies to the personal computer user. Either two computers have to be in the plan or pay the difference 8 – 4 = $4

2) Does not have own server farm

While there are some perks for using the Amazon Web Service and Google Cloud Storage like speed and choosing the preferred storage and server location in EU or US there is a downside as well.

Not using own servers for backup, means Jungle Disk (and its users) is forced to abide by any changes the cloud storage provider applies in future.

3) No continuous Backup

A continuous backup is a saviour in unfortunate incidents such as hardware failure or unannounced power failure. While a file is being edited, such incidents corrupt the file which may be very important. A continuous backup takes the backup of every edit of the current file. Thus, even a file is corrupted for whatever reason, it can always be restored from the cloud.

However, the Jungle Disk does not offer the feature of continuous backup. Absence of this feature may be a deal breaker for some users.

4) No Image Backup

There are times when the OS gets corrupted and the only way is to reinstall the OS. Even after reinstalling the OS, a user has to again install all the preferred applications to get back to business.

A good image backup software not only backsup the OS, but also backsup the installed applications as well.

Jungle Disk does not offer the image backup, thus absence of this feature may be a limitation for certain users.

Our Rating 4/5

Jungle Disk Frequently Asked Questions

1) What is a Jungle Disk backup vault?

Backup vaults of Jungle Disk employ the file level compression and de-duplication to reduce backup time, size and storage costs. This is like an incremental backup. After the initial backup, subsequent backups save time and storage by backing up only the parts of the file that have been modified.

2) My server is appearing on the Jungle Disk Client?

It may take some time for all your servers to appear on the Jungle Disk client during the connection. If your server has not appeared on the server management client even after some time follow the below procedures

a) Try restarting the Jungle Disk Server agent service on your server. You can follow the detailed procedure to restart the server agent here.

b) Your firewall or antivirus may be blocking the connection. Try whitelisting the Jungle Disk server agent in the firewall and antivirus. Then restart the server agent o your server.

c) Try resetting/updating. the server license key. To do so, follow the below process

i) Login to your Jungle Disk account

ii) In the control panel go to Licenses

iii) Click the Reset link on the server you are trying to connect to. A new license key will be issued to you. Copy this new license key.

iv) On Windows connect to your server remotely by Menu -> Jungle disk folder -> license key tool and enter the new license key.

v) On Linux enter this new license key to the license file and save.

vi) Restart the service again.

This will solve the problem.

3) Can I import my current passwords to Jungle Disk TeamPassword?

Yes, Jungle Disk allows importing all your current data to the Teampassword database. To do so, follow the below procedure

a) Login to TeamPassword

b) Click https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#import_data

c) Click step:1 Prepare your data

d) Click on "This Template" to open a spreadsheet sample

e) Copy all your csv data

f) In the spreadsheet leave the first column blank and headers untouched

g) Paste your csv data in this spreadsheet

h) Create a title for each of your passwords. This will be used for the search feature

i) Put a comma after each entry

j) Go back to Import data page

k) Click on step 2: Copy Prepared Data

l) Copy all the content of spreadsheet and paste in this window

m) Click on step 3: verify and manage sharing

n) Check that your all the data is correct

o) If there is any error, you can rectify it manually

p) Done

4) How can I close my Jungle Disk account?

Before deleting the Jungle Disk account it is important to mention that first, you must delete all your data on the Jungle Disk account. If you don't delete the data, you will be billed even after closing your Jungle Disk account. This is because Jungle Disk uses the third party Amazon S3 and Google cloud servers.

To close your Jungle Disk account, follow the below procedures

i) First, you need to cancel your license

ii) Go to this link and click Cancel against all the subscriptions

iii) On the same page, on top there is a warning asking you to delete your data as well. At the end of the warning, there is a link which says click here. Click that link to delete your data

iv) Finally you will be taken to survey. Fill that. Then enter your Jungle Disk account password and hit Delete

v) A data deletion message will be displayed

vi) Done

As the Jungle Disk bills are postpaid, you will get one bill even after deletion.

Carbonite Review

If we talk about the online backup services Carbonite stands among the biggest names. Carbonite was formed in 2005 in response to the increasing eagerness of the people for simple and reasonable online backup systems. This was formed to facilitate homes and small businesses mainly. We can estimate the quality of services delivered by Carbonite by the range of its customers. It provides services to more than eleven million organization and customers. Carbonite is based on four basic pillars

• Power
• Simplicity
• Value
• Security

Carbonite makes sure that the services offered by it although be best output of modern technology but at the same time they must be understood by each customer like family, enterprises or small businesses. The best and unique thing about Carbonite is that it is the pioneer of its field. Carbonite employs a large number of employers to protect the data of its consumers. The number of files kept in online cloud are over 700 billion while the files that have been recovered exceed 600 billion.

Features of Carbonite

Carbonite is one of the best software products that helps you restore your data in case of a data loss. The great fame which Carbonite has achieved today is because of its noncompetitive and remarkable features. These appealing features of Carbonite distinguish and highlight carbonite among its rival companies. Carbonite does not only provide unlimited storage rather it also facilitates you by easy installation, video backup, hard drive backup, remote file access and automatic backups. Additionally, Carbonite provides private encryption to make your data more secure and safe with backup scheduling. Courier recovery service is another features of Carbonite. This is a process in which carbonite backed up files are shipped to the Carbonite Safe Backup Pro subscribers in an external hard drive. This external hard drive is needed to be sent back within a particular time. The above subscribers must be the residents of United States.

Mirror image backup once had been the features of Carbonite which has been removed later on. Mirror image backup is a program in which everything on your computer is copied and saved in an external hard drive. This process backs up everything without any discrimination from documents to software to videos to photos to even the files in the recycle bin.

Lets talk about the features in detail.

Carbonite Pricing

Carbonite provides three backup plans depending upon the number of computers and servers connected to the backup system and the choice of the customers. These plans are as follows:

• Carbonite Safe Basic
• Carbonite Safe Plus
• Carbonite Safe Prime

Carbonite Safe Basic

Carbonite safe basic plan offers unlimited storage for backed up files. If you pay for this plan on monthly basis you need to pay six dollars per month. For annual subscription you will be paying $ 71.99 dollars per year which becomes $ 6/ month. If you subscribe for two years the annual charges to be paid are $ 136.78 which becomes dollar 5.7/month. Subscription for three years cost $ 194.37 which becomes dollars 5.40/month. You can save up to 5% on two year subscription while you can 10 % on three years of subscription. These savings are not only limited to the Carbonite safe basic plan rather this package is applied to all three back up plans.This plan is featured with unlimited storage, phone, email and chat support, 128-bit encryption and remote access files to computer files.

Carbonite Safe Plus

The Carbonite Safe Plus is a popular plan. This plan provides you unlimited storage for your backed up files along with external hard drive back up system. If we talk about the pricing of this plan it costs $ 111.99 /year for annual subscription which becomes $ 9.34 per month. Two years subscription costs $ 212.78/year which means that you have to pay $ 8.87 on monthly basis. Three years subscription plan becomes more reasonable with total cost of 302.37 per year. This means that your monthly charges will be $ 8.40 per month.

Carbonite Safe Prime

This plan offers unlimited storage for back up along with many other unique features. These features include external hard drive back up, courier recovery service and 256-bit encryption etc. These features make it quite expensive and on annual basis it costs $ 149.99 which makes a sum of $ 12.50 per month. For two years subscription charges paid will be $ 284.98 annually. On monthly basis you need to $ 11.87. Leaving the first two options if you opt for three years subscription plan your annual charges will be $ 404.97 while your monthly charges will be $ 11.25. Prices are in front of you, now you can decide which Carbonite plan you are going to select for yourself.

Use of Carbonite

The first thing which you need to do is the installation of the Carbonite on your respective device.

Once it is installed it works very smoothly on your computer without disturbing your normal operations on your computer. The reason behind this uninterrupted backup is that Carbonite uses one of the very important devices called as VSS ( Volume Shadow copy Service ) to copy the files at the back of your computer.

www. techopedia.com/ defines VSS as following

"Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) is a set of Component Object Model (COM) interfaces in Microsoft Windows that provide the framework for doing volume backups and for creating consistent, point-in-time copies of data (known as shadow copies). Business applications, backup applications, fast-recovery solutions, file system services and storage hardware are put into coordination so that VSS can produce consistent shadow copies".

So, VSS allows Carbonite to work without reducing the efficiency and productivity of your Operating System.

Using Carbonite you can permit Carbonite to automatically backup everything on your computer like pictures, videos, user settings, desktop files, software, music, documents and other files etc. On the other side, you can select Carbonite to include nothing into your backup. In this case Carbonite is not going to backup anything of its own,rather you have to manually select files only these files would be added to backup. Automatic backing up by Carbonite is preferable as it saves our energy which gets dissipated in selecting the files.

Carbonite automatically backs up everything therefore, you just need to relax with a great peace of mind that every important piece of information on your computer is protected and secure.

Above image shows the main page of the Carbonite. Using this page you can see your personal details, your payment history and seek support if you want. You can view your backed up files by clicking view my backup. Using the Get my files back icon you can restore the files which have been backed up. For this you just have to select a file from your backed up files and navigate it your computer. Gradually and slowly you will have the required file in your device. Other things which you can do are you can add computers as well as reinstall Carbonite from the above shown page.

Things have been mentioned on this window surely in a different way but the images and simplicity of the words may keep nobody confused about the usage of Carbonite.

File and Backup and Restoration

As stated earlier once carbonite is installed it will start uploading files that exist on your device. Carbonite automatically backs up the files as it can work automatically without any efforts from your side. With Carbonite you can upload an entire file which is not possible with some of the other online backups. The initial backup may take time but gradually backup functioning will gain its normal speed. You can backup any kind of data like photos, videos, documents etc. When you make any change in your files the changes you made will be backed up instead of the whole files. This incremental back up saves our precious time. This kind of Backups are not provided by other soft wares like Jottacloud. Incremental back up is defined by t he https://searchdatabackup.techtarget.com/ website in the following way;

" Incremental backups were introduced as a way to decrease the amount of time and storage space that it takes to do a full backup. Incremental backups only back up the data that has changed since the previous backup".

Carbonite uses block level file copying algorithms to back up the changes from the hard drive to the cloud. This algorithm enables Carbonite to work smoothly without lowering the functioning of your computer.

Above image shows us the various options we can set for our backups. You can set up any of the back up options for your device. You can select continuous backup that is mostly recommended. You can go for backup once a day or you can opt the last one too which enables you to stop backup at certain hours of the day. If we talk about the options provided for backup in backup settings of Carbonite though they are fine but they could have been increased by providing other options like weekly, twice a day or monthly backup. If you want to stop your backup once it is started you can do that by clicking the pause my backup option.

At data centers your back up is kept protected by RAID ( Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks or Drive).

https://searchstorage.techtarget.com/ defines RAID as;

"RAID (redundant array of independent disks; originally redundant array of inexpensive disks) is a way of storing the same data in different places on multiple hard disks to protect data in the case of a drive failure".

Carbonite keeps data on at least 15 hard drives.

As far as the restoration is concerned, it is as easy as backup. For restoration you have two options. You can restore a single file or restore everything on your cloud. For restoring a single file back to your computer the desktop client may help you sorting your file by name or by extension. Once the file is located you can easily restore it by clicking the download button. Not only single file can be downloaded like this but several files can be downloaded at the same time. For downloading everything in the cloud you will be asked first that whether you want to download the files in the original destination or a separate folder has to be formed on the desktop? Once this decision has been made rest of the responsibility is taken by Carbonite. Click the download button and Carbonite will provide whatever you want.

Carbonite takes every possible measure to maximize the satisfaction of its customers. Carbonite Versioning is one of the similar kind of measure in which the deletions you do or changes you make to your files accidentally or intentionally will be saved, so that you can access them in case if you want to retrieve them. File versioning is supported for windows only by Carbonite.

Carbonite saves the three latest versions of your files. Deleted files are saved for thirty days, in these 30 days the deleted files can be obtained by the Carbonite safe customers who reside in US through courier recovery method by Paying dollar 9.99 per recovery. All the customers of Carbonite can access their data by courier recovery method by paying various amounts depending upon the plan they are using. The hard disk has to be returned else its charges which are usually 130 or 300 will be given by the customer.

Speed

Carbonite takes a lot of time for the initial backup and complete restoration. Apart from these both activities the speed of normal activities depend upon the speed of your internet connection, the data to be backed up, the vicinity of your location to the server and extra.It can be said that Carbonite is neither too slow neither too fast however its speed can be enhanced by reducing the load on your device and reducing the number of devices connected to your internet etc.

Color usage in Carbonite

we know that every color has a different meaning and they can convey various information to the viewer. Not only this usage of colors make things fascinating and bewitching. Carbonite use colors to give several messages to their customers related to the backups. Green dot on a file indicates that the file has been backed up while orange dot shows that it has been selected for backup. In case of Carbonite green color is the sign of completion. A yellow dot on a folder tells you that certain files in it have been chosen for backup, while a green dot on a folder shows that all the files in that folder are backed up. when there is a half yellow dot on a folder you must understand that some files in that folder are backed up and rest of them are not.

To enable the color coding on your device you need to activate it in the backup setting section. If you will tick the show colored dots on files and folders followed by save setting then your setting will be activated in your device.

Security

Carbonite uses data encryption to protect your data. https://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/ defines encryption like this "In computing, encryption is the method by which plain text or any other type of data is converted from a readable form to an encoded version that can only be decoded by another entity if they have access to a decryption key. Encryption is one of the most important methods for providing data security, especially for end-to-end protection of data transmitted across networks".

Carbonite uses AES 128-bit encryption which is less stronger than AES 256-bit data encryption. Additionally, two factor authentication can be turned on to enhance the security. In this case along with the password an additional security key would be required to enter into your account. Physically the data centers have ample facilities to protect your data. The data centers are equipped with electric scanners, temperature controls, television surveillance, backup generators and continuous power supply. Guards also protect the data center 24 hours a day. These measures have made your data highly secured.

Privacy

Privacy policy of carbonite is cool. The information that Carbonite collects from its customers include name, email address, telephone number, address, password and users name etc. Carbonite also collects banking information like debit card, credit card and various other payment methods. In short Carbonite collect the data which is shared with it while submitting the forms, uploading, downloading or it can be obtained from a third party. While using Carbonite you allow Carbonite to use, process and share your data for research, survey, reporting and other business purposes. Carbonite answers the question why it uses data by saying that it uses the collected information for marketing purposes, to abide by law and in certain cases to perform a contract.

Customer Support

Support can be obtained in the following ways;

• First from knowledge base
• Second from FAQ section
• Third ask for technical support

The customer support of Carbonite is efficient and functional. The knowledge base of Carbonite provides vast knowledge covering many topics asked by customers. Usually the team responses within 24 hours. Team is comprised of competent and active members. Most of the customers seem satisfied with the support provided by Carbonite support team.

Alternatives to Carbonite

Software market is full of such products which products which act a substitute for Carbonite. A range of software can provide the same services as provided by Carbonite but certain differences distinguish each of them from others. The alternatives of Carbonite include names such as;

• Backblaze
• IDrive
• Jottacloud
• Arq Backup
• Google Drive

Carbonite vs Backblaze

There are many features of online backups to be compared to reach at a correct backup systems for your computers or phones. Selecting a right backup service is crucial as it takes efforts and money. Following features can be compared in order to reach at a better conclusion for the selection of an affordable and effective backup system:

• Carbonite plans are expensive as compared to the plans offered by Back blaze.
• Back blaze offers only one plan while carbonite offers three plans basic, plus and prime.
• Back blaze uses AES 128-bit data encryption while Carbonite can switch to AES 256-bit encryption which is more secure and safe.
• Carbonite use color coding while Back blaze do not.

Carbonite and Jottacloud

• Carbonite protects your data by encryption while Jottacloud lacks this quality.
• Carbonite has an active support team while Jottacloud is quite lazy in providing customer support.
• Carbonite is expensive Compared to Jottacloud.
• Carbonite provides unlimited storage while Jottacloud is limited in that quality.

Carbonite vs IDrive

When we try to compare IDrive and Carbonite there can be a great competition between both. Both are famous names. IDrive's real -time backup for Mac makes it a strong competitor of Carbonite. The 10TB of storage space provided by IDrive under various plans is sufficient enough to store files of any size and quality. Lets compare both;

• Carbonite provides its customer an unlimited storage space, this remarkable feature of Carbonite beats many alternatives in the game.
• Carbonite can keep data in archive for up to 90 days and Idrive is incapable of doing that.
• Color coding is the property that rests with only Carbonite, IDrive is deprived of it.
• Carbonite can not provide full backup on mobile devices while IDrive does that very well.
• Carbonite can not provide support for windows phone while IDrive does that.
• One of the best thing that Carbonite can not do is that it can not save the latest 30 changes made to a file while IDrive has this unique feature,

Pros of Carbonite

• Peace of mind
• Tough encryption
• Unlimited storage
• Customer support

Peace of mind

Electronics where they have made life easier and comfortable at the same time, they have made data vulnerable to loss and susceptible to attackers. Therefore, a system is needed that protects your data so that you can obtain it when a disaster occurs to your hard drive. Carbonite many people think is a great peace of mind as it copies and saves everything on your computer. It runs behind the scene and smoothly performs its work. When you keep it on auto it will perform its function without demanding a penny of effort from you however, if you keep it on manual mode you need to instruct it about the files which are supposed to be backed up. So, let Carbonite perform its work while activating the automatic backup and sleep with a peaceful heart and mind.

Tough encryption

On carbonite your data is coded with AES 256-bit encryption so that only the authorized person could avail it. When private encryption is turned on then encryption switches to AES 256-bit data encryption which is more secure more safe.

Unlimited storage

Carbonite offers three backup plans and on all of them unlimited storage space is provided. As people are getting advanced and businesses are expanding the apace required by customer is also increasing. In this regard Carbonite is a great help and gives you unlimited storage space at reasonable prices.

Customer support

24/7 support is provided by the Carbonite team to its customers. As mentioned above there are three platforms from where support can be obtained i.e Knowledge base, FAQ section and technical support. Questions asked are promised to be answered within 24 hours by Carbonite.

Cons of Carbonite

Carbonite is considered to be one of the best products still it is not there with its loopholes. Carbonite can disappoint you in the following cases;

• Speed
• Pricing

Speed

We all are in hurry and we want all activities around us in a quick and hurried manner. And when it comes to a network speed no one can compromise on it. A low network speed where dissipates a lot of time at the same time, it drains your energy too because you need to perform certain things again and again.

If you talk about the backup speed of Carbonite, as stated earlier initial backup takes a lot of time. The backup speed may also depend upon the size of data to be backed up. The smaller the data the lesser time it will consume. Once all of the folders and files are backed up Carbonite starts working at a much faster rates.

Restoration speeds for normal functioning is normal but when you restore everything that is saved online it will make you wait for hours and even days which is quite annoying. One of the Carbonite article suggests the following steps to increase the speed of your downloads and uploads.

1. First you need to directly connect your computer to the router.
2. Secondly, you need to avoid uploading and downloading activities as your backup or restoration goes on.
3. Thirdly, you need to reduce the load on your PC and the internet so that backup move on uninterrupted.
4. Finally, you have to make sure that your internet speed is up to the benchmark.

If these steps are ensured hopefully Carbonite can satisfy you with its upload and download speeds.

Carbonite Pricing

Carbonite has recently increased the charges on all its plan. These prices are high enough to be paid. As the similar services are provided by other backup companies like iDrive and Back blaze at lesser and cheaper prices, its stupidity to go for higher prices.

So, keeping all the goods of Carbonite in mind if you want go for Carbonite you can visit https://www.carbonite.com/ .

FAQs

1. Can Carbonite backup to an external hard drive?

Carbonite supports external hard drive backup on Mac and window operating systems. An external hard drive that is connected to your computer through USB can be backed up easily. Carbonite Safe plus and above can be used to backup an external hard drive. You have to right click the hard drive connected to your computer for window OS followed by clicking back this up. Your external hard drive is ready for backup.

2. Can Carbonite backup my iPhone?

Carbonite mobile can be used to access the files that have been backed up using Carbonite mobile. Carbonite mobile app is available foe iPhone, iPad and android.You can use Google play store to download Carbonite mobile app.

3. Carbonite how to restore files?

Restoration can be performed on window and Mac OS. For restoring files on Window operating system you should open Carbonite backup drive, it will show you all your backed up files. Select the files and folders and navigate. Once position is defined click the restore button and your download will start. Files can be navigated to the original position or they can also be downloaded into new folder too.

4. Can I use Carbonite to free up space on my hard drive?

No, because Carbonite is an online backup not an online storage. An online storage provides you the facility of freeing up space on your hard drive while transferring your data to online storage. So Carbonite can not help you in this regard.

5. Is Carbonite secure?

Carbonite use 128-bit encryption for protecting your data.

6. What does Carbonite Backup ?

Carbonite backs up almost everything on your computer like photos, videos, PDFs, other documents, email, music and settings. However, any file greater than the size of 4 GB has to be added to the backup manually. Videos are backed up automatically with Carbonite Plus and Prime, they must be added, manually for other plans.

References

• https://www.carbonite.com/what-is-carbonite
• https://www.cloudwards.net/review/carbonite/
• https://www.capterra.com/p/131526/Carbonite#features
• https://reviews.financesonline.com/p/carbonite/
• https://www.lifewire.com/mirror-image-backups-2617930
• https://www.lifewire.com/carbonite-review-2617904
• https://www.techopedia.com/definition/27707/volume-shadow-copy-service-vss
• https://searchdatabackup.techtarget.com/tip/Data-backup-types-explained-Full-incremental-differential-and-incremental-forever-backup
• https://searchstorage.techtarget.com/definition/RAID
• https://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/
• https://support.carbonite.com/articles/Personal-Pro-Mac-Windows-Backup-Speed

Visit Zoolz website

Today, if a business does not have a website, its owners are really ignorant about leveraging the potential of the internet. In fact, it's quite surprising that some businesses run completely online, they don't have any brick-mortar offices. Just like the internet has opened several doors for marketing, sales and financial management, it has also empowered the digital criminals as well. A business can be floored in just one night because its owners have not paid attention to the security of their data. Human errors, hardware failures, mishandling of data or the hackers can wipe out a business website in minutes. Yes, it's important to give a thought about data security, just like providing security to your own house.

As a code (rule), an office might be taking regular backups of the data in an external hard drive. But that's not sufficient. Local backups in the external hard drives are prone to the same unforeseen events like flood, fire, earthquake. These incidents do not only damage your original data in the computer but they damage the backed up hard drive as well. Don't forget the thieves. Your computers and hard drives may give them good money. Thus, only local backups on external hard drives should not be the plan to protect your data.

Cloud backups copy all of your data on their servers. These server farms are constructed while taking precautions for natural calamities. High level security and surveillance ensure that your data will not get stolen. In case of any unforeseen event like hardware failure, data mishandling or human error you can always restore the files and the folders from the cloud. A backup on the cloud also ensures that you will never have to pay a ransom to the hackers even if they succeed installing a ransomware on your computer or website. You can always restore a previous version and take a sigh of relief.

There are several cloud backup services out there. This article eases your efforts by reviewing one of the cloud backup service called Zoolz Cloud Backup.

Zoolz Cloud Backup Review

Zoolz offers cloud backup of your data. For backing up the data, Zoolz uses Amazon's data centers, which are located all around the world. To be precise, it uses Amazon Glacier service to backup and restore the data. Data restoration from Amazon Glacier is slow, really-really slow It takes almost 3-5 hours just to prepare the files for download. But Zoolz does not backs up to its own servers. This slowness is the default feature of the cold storage of Amazon Glacier.

That being said, Zoolz offers good plans, great security and average speed. It supports the backup of external hard disks and network devices. It is also very easy to use and the interface is quite intuitive.

Zoolz Cloud Backup Pricing plans

Zoolz offers 6 plans for cloud backup. All plans are covered with 30 days money back guarantee. So, in case you don't feel comfortable with Zoolz you can always ask for a refund before your 30 days are over.

Pricing for Zoolz plans is as below –

a) 1TB

$16.67/month. Paid annually

b) 2TB

$33.33/month. Paid annually

c) 5TB

$83.33/month. Paid annually

d) 10TB

$166.77/month. Paid annually

e) 20TB

$300/month. Paid annually

f) 50TB

$750/month. Paid annually

Difference between instant and cold storage

Zoolz uses both Cold storage and Hot storage. Before moving ahead with the article, it is important to understand the difference between both the storages.

Hot (instant) Storage

A hot storage is used widely among the cloud backup providers. Its features are as below

a) Backup is instant

b) Provides instant restoration of data.

c) You can upload from the drag and drop feature

d) You can create folders from the online account

Cold Storage

Cold storage is mainly for archiving the data. While the backup charges are minimal in the industry, the usage charges are heavy. Which means that you can upload your data to the cold storage server for the minimal price but the more you or your team downloads the data the more the charges.

Features of cold storage are as below

a) Backup is instant

b) Restoration starts after 3-5 hours. It just takes this much hours to prepare the files for download.

c) Download speed is slow

d) No drag and drop feature for upload

e) You can not create folders from the online account

Zoolz Features

1) Drive Shipping

The first process after a user purchases a cloud backup service is to upload his all the computer's data to the server. This uploading of all-data is called seeding. While the process is necessary, it's too much time-consuming. It can take weeks to upload all the data to the server. Also, this process consumes lots of bandwidth. To bypass this time-consuming process, Zoolz offers a data shipment solution. This shipment is offered for both the backup and restoration process. This service from Zoolz comes with a charge and described below.

Zoolz provides two ways to ship your data to Zoolz.

a) Your own Hard Disk

To save your bandwidth and complete the initial seed process quickly you can opt for this option. It is important to mention that this service works only with the instant (Hot) storage. This service includes an unlimited number of internal and external hard disks. In case of external hard disks, you have to send the data cables and adapters as well.

You have to copy all the required data on the hard disk and send it to Zoolz. After receiving the drive, your data is securely transferred to your Zoolz account. After your data is transferred to your account, the hard disks are shipped to your address without any cost. Hard disk option supports, desktop, laptop, netbook and servers only.

The pricing structure for this service is as below –

a) 1 TB (1 Device) – $160

b) 2 TB (1 or 2 Devices) – $225

c) 4 TB (1 or 2 Devices) – $380

d) 8 TB (Up to 4 Devices) – $740

e) 16 TB (Up to 8 Devices) – $1500

b) Snowball Appliance

If you have more than 10TB of data, you can ask Zoolz to send Snowball appliance to you. Zoolz will send you a new Snowball appliance on which you can copy your data can send it back to Zoolz.

Amazon's Snowball is a specially designed device to transfer a huge volume of data between the computers. One Snowball can contain 80TB of data. Snowball also applies encryption to your data. So, your data is safe while transportation.

Some of the features of Snowball are as below –

i) Simple and Compatible

Once you initiate a Snowball job, an appliance is automatically shipped to your address. Attach the Snowball to your computer and run the Snowball appliance client. Select all the required database in your computer, external hard disk, network drives or NAS. After all the data has been transferred to the Snowball and the appliance is ready to be shipped an E-ink label will be automatically updated. A local carrier on behalf of AWS will collect the appliance. You don't even have to pack the appliance. Once the appliance is received, all your data is transferred to your Zoolz account.

ii) Transfer Huge Volume of Data

One Snowball can contain 10TB of data and several Snowballs can run parallel while transferring the data. Thus, in case you have several TB of data, Snowball can become very handy.

iii) Encryption

All your data on the Snowball is encrypted with military grade 256-bit encryption. So, your data is safe during transportation and transfer. The encryption key is maintained by the Zoolz Key Management (KMS) service and is never saved on the appliance.

iv) Tamper Proof

Snowball appliance is designed with tamper proof technology. The enclosure of the appliance is a tamper-resistant body. Thus, ensuring the safety of your data.

The pricing structure of the Snowball service is as below –

a) 10 TB (1 Device) – $250 + Processing fees

b) 20 TB (1 Device) – $500 + Processing fees

c) 50 TB (1 Device) – $250 + Processing fees

d) 70 TB (1 Device) – $250 + Processing fees

e) 100 TB (2 Devices) – $500 + Processing fees

The processing fee varies based on the data volume. For 10TB data, processing fee is $100 and for 50TB it is $300.

Also, you have 10 days to copy your data and generate the E-ink return label. Every additional day costs $15. Transportation of Snowball is provided by the Amazon AWS.

Zoolz drive shipping for both the hard disk and Snowball is offered only for the servers located in North America, Europe and Australia.

2) Hybrid backup

A good backup plan is a 3-2-1 plan. Which simply means that you must always have 3 copies of your data. One on your original computer, one on an external drive, NAS, external drive as a local backup and one on the cloud.

Zoolz provides you with this 3-2-1 backup plan by not only backing up your data to the servers but it also backs up the data to a local device as well.

3) Tribrid Backup

According to Zoolz, no data should be treated equally. There is some data which is of high priority every time and there is some data which is rarely used. Thus, both of these data categories should have different storage places. One, which should be downloaded quickly because it is of higher priority every time and downloading of the other category data can take some hours because it is not actively used. Zoolz uses Amazon AWS's S3

and Glacier service to differentiate the priority of both these data.

While S3 is quick but expensive, the Glacier is slow but inexpensive. The S3 is the instant (hot) storage and the Glacier is the cold storage. The features of hot and cold storages have been explained in the above section.

You can categorize your data as per its priority and choose which one goes for instant and which one for the cold storage.

Zoolz cloud backup is the only service which provides both the instant and the cold storage for your data. It will backup the data to the designated type of storage as per your settings.

Zoolz applies tribrid backup. It backs up your data to one local storage and the other on the cloud to instant and cold storage.

4) Continuous backup

You will never lose any bit of your data ever again. Your all the efforts on the current file can go in vain just because of a hardware failure or an unplanned power disruption. Resumption of power failure can bring back your data, only if you have kept on saving continuously after every edit. But, what if you have not saved a major edit? Even if you have continuously saved the edits, the hardware failure will never let you get back that file again.

At this situation, Zoolz appears as a saviour. It keeps on backing up your data to the server, silently. You may never know that it is continuously backing up your current file until you lose it.

In such situations when you lose your current working file, all you have to do is, download the file from your Zoolz account and you are back to work again.

5) Unlimited users

Yes, you read it right. A Zoolz account offers you unlimited users. You can add as many users as you want and they all can backup their data to your account. All you have to keep in mind is the storage cap of your account.

6) Unlimited External/Network devices

With a Zoolz account, you can backup all your external hard disks and network devices. None of your data will ever be prone to mishandling, hardware failure or hacking. Zoolz will backup all your external hard disks and network devices as per your settings.

7) Unlimited NAS

Network Attached Storage (NAS) have simplified the file storage and sharing facility in offices. It contains huge volumes of data of all the users. With Zoolz you can even backup not just one but unlimited NAS.

Make sure that you choose the appropriate storage account with Zoolz to maintain the storage cap.

8) Versioning

Zoolz backs up your files incrementally. Which means that if a file is edited, only the edited part of the file is backed up and updated in the file present on the cloud. This creates several versions as well.

A user can instruct Zoolz as to how many versions it should keep as a backup. As per the current threshold set by Zoolz the user cannot keep more than 10 versions of a file.

9) Files for Lifetime

Zoolz promises to keep your files forever in your account. Which means, even if you delete a file on your computer (the computer mapped to Zoolz account), that file is never deleted from the Zoolz account.

Your deleted file is only erased from your Zoolz account only if you manually delete it.

10) Encryption

The data is always prone to theft and distortion. This can happen either on the computer while transporting the backup hard disk or during the online data transfer to the cloud. There is always a huge possibility that someone either for fun or with some serious intention may steal or manipulate the data. Thus, a cloud backup service which doesn't give importance to the security of its user's data does not remain alive for long.

Zoolz considers the security of its user's data very seriously. Firstly, it allows the user to choose a password which leads to the generation of an encryption key. This encryption key is managed by Zoolz Key Management (ZKM) and never stored with any external device. Also, this can only be retrieved only by the user password.

Zoolz always applies military grade 256 encryption to the data. First, the data is encrypted using the 256-bit encryption, only then it leaves your computer for the cloud.

Zoolz always uses the SSL connections which eliminates the possibility for anyone to peep while the data is being transferred.

Thus SSL + 256-bit-encryption + encryption-key makes your data transfer to-fro Zoolz quite safe.

Zoolz Pros

1) Attractive user interface

Zoolz provides a modern and very intuitive user interface. All the options are self-explanatory and provide very smooth interactions.

2) Hot and Cold Storage

Zoolz is probably the only cloud backup service which provides both hot and cold storage options to its users. While the hot storage provides instant download but expensive, the cold storage takes 3-5 hours just to prepare the download but is quite inexpensive.

A user has the choice to categorize its files depending on its priorities. If a file is used quite often then it should use the hot storage for instant availability whereas a file lesser in use should go to the cold storage.

However, finally, the user needs to decide what he wants to do.

3) Unlimited users and devices

Zoolz not only offers unlimited users but it also offers unlimited devices as well. Just keeps a check on the storage cap of your selected plan.

4) Sharing options

Your all the files are stored in your account and all the users can download it without any problem. But what if you want to provide a backed up file to someone else who is not a user on your account.

Zoolz provides sharing options to all the files you backup with its service. All you need to do is, login to your Zoolz account, select the required file and generate a sharing link. You can then email this sharing link with anyone and he will be able to download the file.

As an added security you can opt for a password while creating the sharing link.

Zoolz Cons

1) Doesn't have its own server farm

While Zoolz provides the cold storage from Amazon Glacier and hot storage from the S3 which has been described as a plus point in the Zoolz pro section, it may sometime turn out to be a negative point for Zoolz as well.

Zoolz has to abide by any change applied in the terms of the Amazon AWS. This, in turn, will affect Zoolz users as well. If in future Amazon AWS applies a change to the pricing of its Glacier or S3, it will directly impact the Zoolz user's pocket as well. Of course, Zoolz will not be bearing the extra bucks.

If Zoolz develops its own server farm, it won't be depending on the third party servers, which will make Zoolz more independent.

2) No Two-Factor Authentication

Passwords are passwords. They get stolen and forgotten. The two-factor authentication provides an extra layer of additional security. This step ensures that it will be the account holder who can access the account.

Zoolz does not provide the two-factor authentication thus leaves its user's account vulnerable. Although Zoolz does not lags behind just because of the lack of this feature, but adding a two-factor authentication layer will prevent the trespassers and provide more peaceful nights to its users.

3) No Linux support

There are hundreds of distributions based on the Linux kernel. It also provides the most secure and flexible environment for computers and the servers. If a user is too security conscious he prefers a Linux distro. Users of Linux distros are increasing every year in an exponential manner.

Excluding Linux support leaves Zoolz with just the users of Windows and Mac. It also gives an impression that Zoolz team is not able to understand the technology very well.

4) Only 10 Versions

Just imagine that you are working on a file and you are editing it every day. You are doing the major edits every day. One day you feel that some parts are unnecessary thus delete those parts of the file and start working once again. After 20 days you realize that the parts you deleted were quite precious and you need it back. But man, they are gone.

So you login to your Zoolz account in hope to get the previous versions of the file because usually cloud backup services keep older versions.

Alas! you find out that Zoolz keeps only the last 10 versions of your file and the version you were seeking is gone from the Zoolz account as well.

Yes, 10 versions are too few for a cloud backup service.

Our Rating- 2.5/5

Visit Zoolz website

Zoolz Cloud backup Faqs

1) What is No-Zoolz zone?

Your computer contains several professional and personal files and folders. It's quite possible that you do not want some of your files or folders to be backed up by Zoolz. Thus, to provide you with the freedom to exclude the selected files and folders, Zoolz creates a folder called No-Zoolz Zone.

When you install Zoolz on your computer, A folder called No-Zoolz Zone is also created by the Zoolz software. This folder gives the user a flexibility to exclude certain files and folders. All the user has to do is put his files in this folder and it will ever be backed up by the Zoolz service.

This feature comes handy when a user needs to backup the whole computer but exclude certain files and folders.

2) What are Zoolz’s Vaults?

Zoolz backup account provides you both a storage and a vault. Just like Zoolz provides an instant and a cold storage, it also provides instant and cold vaults.

These vaults are used for sharing purposes with collaborators, team members and others. You can either drag and drop any file to vault from anywhere or from your storage for sharing.

Remember if you want to share a file already backed up with Zoolz, there are some rules.

a) If you want to share a file backed up as instant storage, you can share it only using the instant vault.

b) If you want to share a file backed up as cold storage, you can share it only using the cold vault.

3) How to use vaults in Zoolz?

Vaults are used to share the files with collaborators or team members without altering the folder structure of Zoolz storage.

There are two types of vaults i.e. instant and cold vaults. Below procedure explains how to upload files to these vaults.

A) Instant Vault

i) Method 1

a) Login to your Zoolz account

b) Select to My computers tab

c) Select the Instant Vault option from the left hand panel

d) Create a new folder

e) Drag and drop the required file to this folder

f) Done

ii) Method 2

a) Login to your Zoolz account

b) Select to My computers tab

c) Select the Instant Vault option from the left hand panel

d) Create a new folder

e) Click the upload option and browse to the required file

f) Done

B) Cold Vault

i) Method 1

a) Login to your Zoolz account

b) Select to My computers tab

c) Select the Cold Vault option from the left hand panel

d) Create a new folder

e) Drag and drop the required file to this folder

f) Done

ii) Method 2

a) Login to your Zoolz account

b) Select to My computers tab

c) Select the Cold Vault option from the left hand panel

d) Create a new folder

e) Click the upload option and browse to the required file

f) Done

4) How Can I Restore Files From The Vault?

There are two methods to restore a file from the vault.

A) Method 1

i) Click the Zoolz agent in the system tray

ii) Select the Open dashboard option

iii) Click the Restore option

iv) From the drop down of Computer name select Vault

v) Select the data that you want to restore

vi) Click Next

vii) Select the restore location

viii) The cloud icon will change to red

ix) Done

B) Method 2

i) Login to your Zoolz account

ii) Select the My Computers tab

iii) Click the Vault option on the left hand side panel

iv) Select the files you want to restore

v) Click the download icon

vi) Done

5) How can I add files and folders to the cold storage?

There are two ways you can add more files to your cold storage.

A) Method 1: From the Zoolz Software

i) Right click the Zoolz Agent in the system tray

ii) Select the Open Dashboard option

iii) Click on the Data Selections

iv) Refer to the Cold Storage tab

v) Add the paths of the files and folders that you want to backup

vi) Click the Save icon

vii) Done

B) Method 2: Using a Policy

i) Login to your Zoolz account

ii) Refer to Policies tab

iii) Create or Edit the existing policy

iv) From the Cold Storage tab add the paths of the files and folders you want to backup

v) Assign the policy to the specific user.

vi) Done

6) What is Zoolz Smart and Turbo features?

Zoolz provides a feature of continuous and scheduled backups. These backups run without any user intervention. Zoolz provides a feature which enables throttling of the bandwidth and system resources. The user can instruct the Zoolz client whether it should use full system resources and the bandwidth or not.

For this, Zoolz has provided two features —

A) Smart Mode

When you are using your computer, you don't want Zoolz to be a system hog and slow down your computer. In this situation, you can instruct Zoolz to use minimum resources by enabling Smart Mode. With this feature, Zoolz will automatically compute how much resources you are using and how much is remaining. Then it will intelligently use on the fraction of resources which does not slow down your computer.

B) Turbo Mode

When you plan to leave the computer and want Zoolz to use the resources at maximum to speed up the backup processes, you can enable the Turbo Mode.

In Turbo Mode, Zoolz will not compute the used system resources and utilize the available bandwidth and resources to the maximum.

7) I lost my encryption password. Is there any way Zoolz can retrieve my files?

To maximize the security of your data, Zoolz encrypts your data with the help of an encryption key along with the 256-bit encryption. Zoolz creates the encryption key with the help of your password along with some algorithms. To decrypt the data you need to provide the password and then again the algorithm is applied using the reverse engineering process to arrive at the encryption key. Then your data is decrypted.

Zoolz nowhere stores your password. Thus, if you lose your password, you lose your data. There is no way Zoolz can retrieve your password or your data.

Always make sure that either you take the assistance of a password manager to save passwords or write down somewhere safe for future use.

8) How can I change the encryption password of Zoolz backup?

Zoolz never saves your password. In fact, it uses your password to generate an encryption key. Only this encryption key is saved with Zoolz, not your password. Thus it is not possible to change the Zoolz password.

In case your password has been compromised and you feel that it is necessary to change your password, the only way is to take a new backup of all the data. To do so first you need to uninstall the Zoolz software from your computer. While uninstalling don't check the keep settings check box so that all the settings are also removed.

Then follow the below process –

i) Login to your Zoolz account

ii) Download Zoolz software from your account

iii) Install the Zoolz software

iv) After installation is complete open the Zoolz client

v) Enter your login credentials

vi) Configure a new backup

vii) Seta new password or leave it blank

viii) Upload your files again to the Zoolz

ix) Done

9) How can I contact Zoolz support?

Zoolz offers various ways for its user to know and learn the software features. There is a complete Zoolz wiki which will guide you for every process.

In case you want to contact the Zoolz support you can do that via

i) Live chat

ii) For technical support a dedicated ticket mechanism is available

iii) You can provide feedback for the product

iv) You can call Zoolz support UK + 44(0) 203 9232219, Int. +1 (202) 697 9164

10) Does cold storage support back up of external devices and NAS?

Yes, cold storage supports backing up external hard disks, network drives and NAS.

To do so, follow the below process

i) Open Zoolz desktop software

ii) Go to Data selection

iii) Select the cold storage tab

iv) Add folder

v) Browse to the designated source to backup from

vi) Save your selections

vii) Done

11) Do I have to configure two backups to back up files to Cold Storage and another to back up to instant storage?

While Zoolz provides the tribrid backup which means it parallelly backs up the data to local, cold storage and instant storage, but you do not have to configure the files separately. You have to provide a single configuration which instructs Zoolz as to which file will be backed up to the cold storage and which file to the instant storage.

To do so, follow the below process

i) Select the cold storage tab

ii) Specify which files to backup over there

iii) Use smart selection and my computer to backup your files to the instant storage

iv) Done

12) After Windows upgrade, Zoolz stopped working. What should I do?

Its quite possible that a Windows update may damage a Zoolz core file. If a core file is damaged then the Zoolz services will not work properly. It will not take any backups either to the local or to the cloud.

To resolve this issue, you need to either re-install or repair the Zoolz software.

To uninstall follow the recommended procedure in Faq section of this article. Just remember that you must check the Keep Settings check box while uninstalling.

To repair, follow the below procedure

i) Login to your Zoolz account

ii) From the Dashboard, click the Download Zoolz button in the upper right corner

iii) After the download completes, run the setup file.

iv) Click the Update / Repair option

v) Follow the repair wizard

vi) Done

13) How can I delete a computer from Zoolz account?

You can add multiple computers to your Zoolz account which also means that the data from all those computers add up to the storage space of your Zoolz account. It may be a case that a computer is no more your user or you may just want to free up the space on your Zoolz account. In such situations, you need to delete those mapped computers from your account.

To delete the computer from your Zoolz account follow the below procedure

i) Login to your Zoolz account

ii) Refer to the Users / Servers tab

iii) Click the Computers tab from the left hand menu

iv) A list of all the mapped computers will be shown

v) Beside your desired computer click the action icon

vi) Select Delete Computer

vii) Click Ok

viii) Done

This process will remove the selected computer and all its data from your Zoolz account.

14) How can I uninstall Zoolz from my computer?

Zoolz can be uninstalled from the Windows and the Mac computer as described below

A) Windows

i) Go to your Control Panel

ii) Select the program and features

iii) Select Zoolz2

iv) Select Uninstall

v) In the window check the box Keep Zoolz settings if you want to reinstall Zoolz

vi)Select Uninstall

vii) Proceed with uninstallation wizard

viii) Done

B) Mac

i) Click Go on the Finder Bar

ii) Select Applications

iii) Locate Zoolz and Zoolz restore and delete them from there

iv) Click Go on the Finder bar again

v) Go to the Folder

vi) Type ~/.config/

vii) Hit Enter

viii) Genie9

ix) Delete the whole Zoolz folder from there

If you choose not to keep the Zoolz settings while uninstallation process, you have to start a new backup process from scratch. Zoolz will not recognize the older backups.

Websites Used

Pricing

What are Zoolz’s Vaults?

How Can I Restore Files From The Vault?

How can I add files or folders to the Cold storage?

Smart Mode and Turbo Mode

After the Windows 8.1 upgrade, Zoolz stopped working. Why?

Visit IDrive website

Every business relies heavily on the data, whether it's of the customers', employees', sales' or anything else important. We have not forgotten the days when these data were logged in hard copies and kept safe from mishandling/natural calamities. Today computers have changed lots of things. Introduction of internet has revolutionized the data accessibility. Now, such data is stored in digital format to access and share with others in real-time, from any coordinate of the world.

Still, the problem of data loss persists in the same manner as it was in the hard-copy-era. Even digital data is prone to mishandling, hardware failures and natural disasters. Such data-loss incidents can bring down a multi-millionaire company to the ground. Moreover, internet has opened one more window for criminals. If you are not alert enough, you may lose a fortune as a ransom to hackers, just to bring back your business online. In case, you don't have a backup or you can't pay the ransom, you're out of the business.

You may use a hard drive as a backup, but again, the external hard drive is prone to mishandling, hardware failures and natural disasters. Did I not mention how attractive your computers and hard-drives are, for a thief? A thief can leave you bare-handed, overnight. So, taking backups only on an external hard drive is not the way you can protect your business.

Data explicit that demand for a cloud backup is increasing year by year in an exponential manner. As per the google trends, the keyword "cloud backup" has seen a huge spike after 2008.

The above image from Google Trends for the keyword "cloud backup" says it all. This trend is for the duration 01 Jan 2008 to 01 Jan 2019. See, how from zero in 2008 this search keyword has taken a leap. This demand is a clear insight for the importance of a cloud backup.

Cloud Backup vs Cloud Sync

There is another service somewhat similar to cloud backup, which is called cloud sync. Let's have a glance at them to understand the difference, before moving ahead to the article.

Cloud Sync

With the sync feature, your files and folder are updated on the cloud. If you create a new document and fill it with data it is updated on the cloud server. If you delete the same file on your computer, it is deleted on the cloud server as well. So syncing is just a clone of your own files and folders. A file gone from your own hard drive is gone from the server as well.

Cloud Backup

With cloud backup services, you create a backup of your chosen files and folders on the cloud server. The first backup is called "seeding" which takes time depending on the upload speed. This process is similar to taking backup on the external hard drive, the only difference is that you take backups on the hard drives which are miles away from your home/office. After the seeding is done then the sequential backups are taken. It may be continuous (set and forget), time-triggered or manual. The magic part is that when you delete a file on your computer, it doesn't get deleted on the server. It remains there, undeleted. Just in case, file deletion turns out to be a sin, the backup service gives you a peace of mind. A good backup service can also retain the previous versions of a file as well.

IDrive Cloud Backup

A California based company Pro Softnet Corporation founded IBackup in 1995. Later, in 2003, Pro Softnet Corp acquired domain name idrive.com and certain assets of the company i-drive. This acquisition was based on the high brand value of the i-drive company which was in the process to be renamed. Owing to the years of experience in the digital storage, IDrive promises quality product.

IDrive is used vastly by the users because it provides unlimited devices to backup. Yes, you just think of a device that stores digital data and IDrive is ready to back it up, be it your desktop, laptop, mobile, external hard drive, NAS. This unlimited-device freedom comes with a storage cap. In the personal plan you are allowed to store maximum 2 TB/5 TB data (depends on your choice). For personal use 2 TB is quite sufficient, in case you run out of storage, the 5 TB plan is there.

iDrive Pricing

Currently, IDrive offers three plans

1. Basic- Free, 5 GB cap

2. IDrive Personal- One user, Unlimited Computer

a) $52.12 first year, 2 TB cap

b) $74.62 first year, 5 TB cap

3. IDrive Business- Unlimited user, Unlimited Computer

a) $74.62 first year, 250 GB cap

b) $149.62 first year, 500 GB cap

c) $374.62 first year, 1.5 TB cap

IDrive Features

1) Multiple Device backup

IDrive gave importance to one of the most demanded features of the users i.e. multi-device backup. Today, no business or work is limited to just one single device. Data spread spans from desktop (PC), laptop, server, NAS and extends to the palmtops (mobiles, tablets). Every bit of data is crucial for a business or any growing work. IDrive stands out from the crowd by allowing its users to backup any data from any digital device. You can backup your Windows PC, Mac, Linux computer, Linux servers, workstation, NAS. Fans of the awesome Linux OS have to download a specific set of IDrive scripts, which can be used to backup their penguin data.

While most of the other backup services only offer to browse through the backed up files through mobile apps, IDrive has given the flexibility to take backups even of your mobile data. You can backup contacts, calendar events, messages of Android or iOS. All you have to take care of is the storage cap you have selected.

Enjoy the freedom with IDrive.

2) File Sync

The difference between sync and backup has been discussed in the previous section. While you select only a backup plan with IDrive, you get a sync feature absolutely free. IDrive creates a folder on every device for sync. Storage cap of this sync folders is equal to the storage cap of the backup plan you have selected. Exempli Gratia if you have selected a 2 TB backup plan you will get a 2 TB sync storage as well.

Any file in the sync folder will be updated in real-time with all the devices connected with the account and on the cloud sync storage as well. It's more interesting to know that even if you have consumed all your backup storage space, you can still use the unoccupied sync storage. It's also interesting to know that IDrive sync service also keeps 30 versions of your files just as the backup plan does.

Sync is a feature separate from the cloud backup. Thus you need to activate this service via the desktop client or the web app. This will create a Sync folder on all the connected devices and on the IDrive cloud.

Update your team with the awesome sync feature.

3) IDrive Express

The first process after purchasing a backup plan is seeding. A seeding process refers to the initial backup of the whole computer. This process is quite time-consuming for almost every backup service out there. IDrive has given a thought to this time-consuming process and has provided a simple solution. It sends you a temporary hard drive through a service called IDrive Express. You can backup all your computer data in the hard disk, with the local backup feature of IDrive client and send back this hard disk to the IDrive. All the data is encrypted with military grade 256-bit AES encryption. User is also offered an option for a private key for added security. Moreover, not only the data is encrypted, the file paths are encrypted as well, in the IDrive Express.

Shipping of IDrive Express to-fro IDrive address is completely free of cost for United States residents. International users have to bear the shipping charges. IDrive personal users can avail once in a year this free IDrive Express offer and IDrive Business users can avail thrice. Subsequent IDrive backups are charged $59.95 per backup for IDrive Personal and IDrive Business both. IDrive also offers restoration from IDrive Express which costs $99.50 per request for both IDrive Personal and IDrive Business.

IDrive Express is a great solution for time-consuming cloud backups.

4) Versioning

This Idrive feature saves the previous versions of any modified file. You may create a disastrous modification to a file when you are not sober. You may realize the mistake when you get back to your senses. Yes, it happens with everyone. IDrive turns out to be your best friend in such situations. Because it has saved the previous versions of the same messed up file. All you need to do is, browse the older version of the file before modification and you are saved.

IDrive saves reasonable 30 versions of any file. I don't think anyone needs more than this. Users who have IDrive account before 11 July 2018 can restore only up to 10 versions only.

The best part with versioning is that the previous versions do not count for your storage quota. Only the latest version of your files will be added to your storage quota. This applies to both backup and sync versions.

5) Snapshots

Snapshots are referred as the historical view of your files and folders. Snapshot feature takes advantage of the versioning feature of IDrive. In contrast to versioning, snapshot feature let you restore a previous version of all the files and folders including the applications.

The Snapshot feature becomes a savior when you are under a digital attack. A virus may corrupt your whole data set on the computer. What if you become a target of a black-hat group and asked for a ransom in order to get rid of the ransomware. If you have backups on IDrive, all you have to do is restore a snapshot of a date previous to the attack and you are back to business.

Snapshots do not add up to your IDrive backup storage, so relax and say no to black-hats.

6) Disk Image Backup

This feature lets you back up every bit of your computer which includes OS, application files and the file structure as well. In case of hardware failure, OS corruption or if a critical OS file is missing you don't have to re-install the OS. All you have to do is restore from the Disk Image Backup. This takes much less time than re-installation and you are back to business in no time.

If you are restoring to a new/upgraded hardware make sure that you create a partition similar to the original, the one from where you took the Disk Image Backup.

Disk Image Backup like any other backup can be taken on the cloud, external drive, network mapped drive, network attached storage (NAS).

7) Continuous Data Protection

Continuous Data Protection (CDP) feature works in real-time. As you are modifying one of your files, IDrive's CDP feature is backing up the modified part of that file on the cloud. CDP doesn't let you feel its presence until something very unusual happens. What if you face a sudden hardware failure or a power failure while you are working on a crucial file. This is the time you feel the importance of CDP. All you have to do is restore the file saved by CDP on the cloud and you are saved.

CDP backs up only the files which are lesser than 500 MB. I think it makes sense, as watching and backing up bigger files will use more CPU and slow down your important work. It also does not watch and backup temporary files and system files because they keep on changing. CDP also does not cover the mapped or network drives and external drives.

CDP should not be seen as a replacement for the routine backup feature. It's just a savior for small files for unusual situations.

8) True Archiving

Archiving refers to the availability of old data. IDrive backs up your mobile and computer's data even from mapped drives and NAS. What makes IDrive a real saviour is that you can restore a deleted file from IDrive server even after a decade. IDrive never deletes any of the file or its versions for any reason.

Your files are deleted only by you in three situations viz.

a) You manually delete a file.

You find some large unnecessary files taking up space on the server thus you want to get rid of them. You choose those files on the server and choose to delete them manually.

b) You run an archive clean up

In IDrive, there is a feature called Archive Cleanup. In a situation when you run out of space on IDrive, you can run this process to delete the unnecessary files. This process retains only those files which are present on your computer and deletes the other ones based on your criteria. It first looks up your computer and matches the files on the cloud to start deletion.

c) You delete your IDrive account

If you decide to delete your IDrive account, all your files will be removed from the IDrive server.

9) Security and Privacy

It's the data which runs and grows the business. Thus backing up data became important, right? It is crucial to understand how much secure your data is with any cloud backup service you choose. IDrive applies military standard 256-bit AES encryption to your data. This with a private encryption key assures that it's only you who can get access to your data. While signing up on IDrive you have the option to generate a private key. You are the only person who knows about this key. Whether you use PC, workstation, Linux server, Mac or mobile, this private key option is available on all the platforms. Even while seeding with IDrive Express you have the option for this private key.

Make sure to keep this private encryption key safe. Without this key, you will lose all your backed up IDrive data.

10) Fast

While IDrive provides IDrive Express to seed your data to get you started faster, still its upload speeds will make you say wow. Yes, IDrive provides very good upload speed in comparison to other cloud backup services.

IDrive's download speed is not that fast but you won't even find it terrible.

IDrive Pros

Let's have a look at the most promising features of the cloud backup service IDrive.

1) Unlimited Device Backup

It's really a wonder that you can backup any of your digital devices like your PC, Mac, Linux, server, workstation, NAS, tablet or mobile with a single IDrive backup plan. Not only you can backup them but you can access any of the backed up file from any device connected to your IDrive account.

IDrive stands out of the crowd because it knows how important your every piece of data is.

2) Sync Capability

IDrive provides both the backup and sync features to its users. It's important to mention that every cloud data service provides either a cloud backup or a cloud sync.

Having stated that, IDrive's sync feature gives you that same storage capacity as your backup plan has. Once a file is synced, it's available to all the connected devices of the account in real-time.

3) Two-factor Authentication

IDrive has already given the military grade 256-bit encryption and an optional private key to make sure that the data is accessible only to you. Still as an extra layer of security IDrive offers a two-factor authentication feature. A code is sent to your registered email when you sign-in to make sure that it's you who is logging-in.

IDrive Cons

IDrive has tried its best to make its product wonderful but a review article seems incomplete without presenting the drawbacks. So here are the limitations of IDrive cloud backup service.

1) No Unlimited Storage

Enjoyment of multiple-devices backup comes with a storage-cap limitation. It can be 2 Tb or 5TB depending upon the plan you choose. When backing up from multiple devices make sure to keep in mind this storage cap. When you run out of storage you can always run an archive cleanup, discussed in the features section.

2) Slow Restoration

Yes, IDrive has wonderful uploading speed for taking backups. It even provides IDrive Express service to speed-up the time-consuming seed process but its download speed is slow. Thus the restoration process may take some time. Still, the restoration speed is more than lots of services.,

3) High restoration price from IDrive Express

As said, the IDrive restoration process is slow. In case you need it quick, the IDrive Express is always there. That being stated, restoration from IDrive is not free as the seed process is. You need to pay $99.50, which is quite expensive. This restoration service is paid for both IDrive Personal and IDrive Business.

Our Rating: 4/5

Visit IDrive website

IDrive Promo Codes

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IDrive: Frequently Asked Questions

1) How can I schedule the IDrive backup on Windows?

To start the IDrive scheduling, first, you need to login to your account. In case you have not added the two-factor-authentication do that, to make your account more secure.

After logging into your account, go to the Scheduler tab.

Here you will find various options to schedule your backups. These options are

a) Backup Set Name

This is a drop down list for your saved backup sets. You can instruct IDrive scheduler the criteria of online and local backups and name it over here.

b) Backup Start Time

With this option, you can instruct IDrive when it should start the backup process.

c) Daily Schedule

With this option, you can instruct IDrive to run the backups daily at the selected time.

d) Week-Day(s)

If you don't want to run the backup process daily, in this option you can select the days you want IDrive to take backups.

e) Start the backup immediately

In case you want to start the backup immediately, you can check this box.

f) Hourly schedule

You can check this option to instruct IDrive take backups every hour.

g) Cut-Off time

In case you want IDrive to abort all the backup processes at a certain point of time, use this option. Here you can mention the time at which all the backup processes will stop.

h) Email Notification

You need to know whether a scheduled job has run or failed. In this text box enter your email address on which you would like to receive the IDrive scheduler's notification. Here you can choose whether to always notify you or notify on failure.

i) Notify me on desktop

Check this box, if you want to get notified on the desktop. You will be notified as per the selected option of always notify or notify on failure.

j) Start the missed scheduled backup when the computer is turned on

You can select this option in case you want to resume any missed scheduled backup job.

2) Will IDrive perform a backup even if my computer is logged off?

IDrive always runs on your computer even if you are logged off. So, yes, IDrive will perform the backups even if you are logged off. IDrive will not backup only if your internet is not working or your computer is turned off.

3) What is the Bandwidth Throttle feature of IDrive?

IDrive has given you an option to throttle or increase the backup speed. You can use the Auto pause option instruct IDrive backup service how to use your bandwidth. Here you have two options viz.

a) PC in use

By default, IDrive uses 25% of your bandwidth when your PC is in use. If you feel faction is forbidding you doing your work, you can set a lower bandwidth usage here while using your computer. If you are getting more than sufficient bandwidths for your work you can increase the IDrive backup speed from here.

b) PC not in use

When you are away from your computer IDrive by default uses 100% of your bandwidth. You can increase or decrease the allocated bandwidth for IDrive here.

4) Where is my Sync folder located? Can I change its location?

Login to your IDrive account and click the Sync tab. Here you can find the location of your sync folder. It is mentioned under my sync folder. This is the default location of your sync folder. If you want to place it somewhere else, select modify and locate the new path.

5) What are the blue and green icons on the files in my sync folder?

The blue and green icons represent the synced status of the file. If a file is uploaded to the server it is marked with a green icon. This means that the file is accessible to all the devices connected to the account. If a file is showing a blue icon, it means that it is still uploading the file to the server and the file is not yet ready to be accessed by the devices.

6) What is a selective sync?

IDrive provides the same amount of storage for sync as your chosen backup plan. Which means if you select a 2 TB backup plan you get 2 TB sync storage as well. Thus you can sync 2TB data from your computer to all the computers connected to the account. But what happens when one of your computers attached to IDrive account consists less storage on the hard disk. This computer will not be able to download all the 2 TB synced data. Its hard drive will be full. The selective sync feature can be enabled on this lesser storage computer and only the selected files will be downloaded from the synced folder.

To activate selective sync login to your IDrive account and select the sync tab. Now click the selective sync. This will open a window with all the folders which are synced. You have to uncheck the folders which you do not want to sync to your computer. This process will remove those synced folders from only your computer and will never be downloaded. Other devices on the account will have the access to those folders.

7) How can I retrieve the previous version of my synced file?

IDrive sync service also keeps 30 versions of any file. To find a previous version of a file

a) Login to your IDrive account

b) Click sync

c) select my sync folder.

d) Right click the file and select Idrive –> versions

e) All the previous versions of that file will be shown

f) Select the desired version and download it.

8) What is the process to restore the IDrive data?

Follow the below procedures to restore the IDrive data to the local computer.

a) If you have re-installed the OS, first install the IDrive application.

b) Login with your username and password. Provide the private key if it has been set while creating the IDrive account.

c) From the restore tab select Restore files from my IDrive account or Restore files from my local, Wi-Fi and Express device.

d) Click restore now.

9) How to restore data from another computer attached to my account?

First, make sure that you have backed up your data to IDrive cloud from the computer you want to restore from, then follow below procedures –

a) Login to your IDrive account

b) From the Restore tab, select Restore files from my IDrive account or Restore files from my local, Wi-Fi and Express device.

c) Here you will see all the computers and devices connected to your account. Select the computer name you wish to restore the data from.

d) This will display all the files and folders backed up from that computer.

e) Select the desired files or folders.

f) Choose the desired location on your computer.

g) Click restore.

10) What is a periodic clean up?

The archive cleanup process has been discussed in the feature section of this article. This process matches the local computer data and removes unnecessary data from the cloud.T his way you get back the space occupied by the unnecessary files. Archive clean up has a control to how much of the data can be deleted at a time so that accidentally you don't delete any important files. This control is also a security measure, in case someone else gets access to your computer and wipes out your IDrive cloud data. By default, 25% data is set for deletion in the archive cleanup process.

Periodic clean up is an automatic archive clean up process. You can set the frequency and the deletion control percentage. Frequency can be set between 10 to 30 days and control can be set between 5% to 25%.

To use the periodic clean up follow the below process –

a) Login to your IDrive account

b) Select the backup tab

c) Select Archive Clean up on the toolbar

d) Check the box against periodic clean up

e) Select the number of day and percentage limit

Periodic cleanup is an automatic process of file deletion, so use it with caution. Also, note that periodic clean up does not run on mapped and external drives.

11) By mistake, I have deleted my important file from IDrive server. Can I restore them?

Once you delete your files from the IDrive server, you can still get those files within 30 days of deletion. IDrive as a precaution keeps all the deleted files from the server to the trash. These deleted files remain in the trash for 30 days. You can either move this file to its original location or restore this file to your local computer. By default, trash folder shows the latest version of the file.

So if you want to recover a deleted file before 30 days it must be present in the trash folder.

To restore the deleted files follow below procedure-

a) Click the trash icon.

b) select the check box against the desired file or folder

c) If you want a previous version of the file. Then right click –> view previous version and select the desired version

c) select the appropriate icon to restore or move the file or folder.

12) How can I avoid backing up a file?

There may be some files which for some reasons you don't want to backup. You can exclude these files by inserting the desired files/folders from view Exclude Files window.

13) How do I add my Linux machine?

To add a Linux machine to IDrive follow the below steps –

a) First, download the latest Linux script for IDrive.

b) Unzip the package file and go to the scripts folder.

c) Provide executable permission to the scripts. e.g. chmod a+x *.pl

d) Execute the script account_settings.pl and follow the instructions to set up your account.

e) Done.

14) How do I backup my mobile or tablet on IDrive cloud?

First, install the IDrive app and login to your IDrive account. This will take you to the backup process. All the available files and utilities are listed here e.g. contacts, calendar, photos, and videos. Select all or the appropriate ones to take backup.

15) How can I create a disk image backup?

A disk image is a copy of the original storage device which includes both data and structure information. Using the disk image option of IDrive you can copy your entire drive to a secondary location. This secondary location can be on another partition of the same computer, an external drive, mapped drive or NAS.

To create a disk image follow the below steps –

a) Launch the IDrive desktop application

b) Login to your IDrive account

c) Click disk image backup. The disk image screen appears.

d) Select local backup + cloud backup or Local backup only

d) Select the desired drive to create an image

e) Select the destination drive where the image will be stored.

f) Click schedule now

g) Create a schedule to create regular disk images

h) Done

16) Can I restore an image from a Windows to Linus or Mac?

Disk images created by IDrive are cross-platform. So, yes you can restore an image created on a Windows to Linux, Mac or vice-versa.

17) Can I change the frequency of continuous backup?

IDrive by default watches the changed files which are less than 500 MB and backs them up on the server in real-time. If you wish you can change the time duration of continuous backup to 10, 30 or 60 minutes. This option is available in the settings tab of IDrive.

18) Can IDrive restore an earlier version of multiple files in a single restore process?

You can easily restore an earlier version of a file by selecting it and right click. There may be some situations where you want to restore several files of the previous version. To do this follow the below process –

a) Login to your IDrive account

b) Select the restore tab

c) Select a folder whole multiple files' previous versions are required

d) Right click the folder

e) Point to restore versions

f) Click any of the following

i) Most recent

ii) 2nd most recent

iii) 3rd most recent

g) Click restore now

h) Done

19) How can I get support from IDrive?

IDrive provides several options to get your problem solved. There are lots of videos and faqs available on the IDrive website. If this doesn't solve your problem there are other options as well.

You can opt for a live chat and get your solution instantly or you can choose to mail directly to IDrive support at support@idrive.com. You can fill up a support form available on the website.

IDrive also provides phone support. USA residents can call at 1-855-815-8706. Residents outside the USA can call at 1-818-485-4333 Monday to Friday, 06:00 am to 06:00 pm PST.

20) How to uninstall IDrive?

To Uninstall IDrive follow the procedures below –

a) Windows

i) Start

ii) Programs

iii) IDrive for Windows

iv) Choose Uninstall IDrive

v) Click yes

Optionally you can choose the built-in uninstall manager to uninstall IDrive.

b) Linux

IDrive works on Linux with IDrive dedicated scripts. To remove IDrive from Linux computer go to the scripts folder.

Run Uninstall_script.pl

This script will remove IDrive and all its dependencies. It will also remove all the cron jobs of IDrive.

c) Mac

i) File > New Finder Window > Applications > IDrive.app

ii) Right-click IDrive.app > Show Package Contents

iii) Content >MacOS

iv) Double click IDrive Uninstaller

v) uninstall

vi) Done

References

https://www.idrive.com/online-backup-features

https://www.tomsguide.com/us/idrive-personal,review-5400.html

https://www.idrive.com/online-backup-classic-faq

Having a backup system is one of the essential ways to keep safe your data, especially if you have some type of business. There are many situations that could generate a loss of documents and data of great importance. Therefore, it is necessary to make use of the tools available today, where everything can be included in a cloud.

Backblaze Backup is one of the best options available in the market. It is economical, easy to use, practical and best of all, it is unlimited. With it any person, merchant or not, can count on a plan B to restore his files whenever necessary.

If you are looking for a program which can give you easy solutions, then it is time to prove this option. Here you can get all the information needed about the benefits and limitations you could find about it.

Before starting the software review, it is important to define certain aspects related to backup systems. Basically it is a replica of the files that you keep in your computer or any other device. In this sense, it is important to clarify that it is a long process, and not a simple one-off action. The security systems are kept constantly updating its backup, to go according to the state of the replicated hard disk.

Of course, sometimes there is need to restore the data as well while backup is in progress. However, in these days where information is mainly handled through computer resources, it is completely necessary to have different alternatives to make a backup whenever necessary.

Either because we are going to format the computer, changes the operating system, or because we have bought a new one, having a backup system will facilitate the task of transferring the information (previously selected by the system) to any other machine.

Choosing a security system should be based, in principle, on the space provided by the software. In the market there are excellent options, but few-like Backblaze Backup- offer unlimited space for all types of files.

Backblaze Backup characteristics

Backblaze Backup is a software developed and announced for the first time in 2007 by the company Backblaze. Its creators wanted to promote a different product, accessible to all the people who needed a backup system for their files, without being necessary to have some technical knowledge to manage it.

The platform appeared to respond to one of the main problems within this market: the difficulties that users face when using complex backup software. There are very complete and much more flexible platforms than the Backblaze product; however, they are complex to use and need constant checking. Others, on the other hand, are simple and economic but very limited, so they are discarded by companies or centers with great file management.

The product in question has received very good reviews within the public. In fact, the list of pros is quite striking in comparison to the cons that could stand out from the software.

With a low cost, easy payment, unlimited storage, minimalist platform, this product makes it clear why we are more and more prone to work through a cloud. The data will be stored under an encrypted system that only you can access when you consider it necessary.

Many times people need to seek many opinions about a product to make sure they are going to make a worthwhile investment. In the case of programs that are responsible for backing up this is very important. Nobody wants to spend money on a program that does not work properly.

So, with regard to Backblaze Backup, there are a lot of people who made reviews of this product while at the same time they explained a little about its operation and characteristics. Below you can see a video on the subject, in which you can learn a little more about this program, its features and benefits.

If you have decided you want to try Backblaze Backup, then we invite you to visit their website, where you can buy the program at an incredible price. The page is the following: https://www.backblaze.com/

Backblaze PROs

As already described above, there are many attractive features that this cheap software has. Just read any of the following pros to understand that purchasing Backblaze Backup is more than reasonable, even for personal use. Let's see:

Free Trial

If you are worried about making the investment of the monthly payment (even if the cost is quite low) do not worry. You will have the opportunity to try the software before having to cancel for it. This is very important, since you can familiarize yourself with its operation and determine if it is suitable for you or not.

Price

As it has been said several times, one of the main advantages that this software provides is its low price. There are very few options in the market that offer such good material for just $60 per year, and those that do usually do not have such complete features. Backblaze Backup is a software that does just the job for which it was designed, and therefore, there are few negative characteristics that could be pointed out regarding its operation.

Consequently, canceling just $6 per month for such a complete product is closer to an investment (or even a gift) than an expense. To make things better, its plans are fairly basic, so you will not have to complicate your life by choosing a relevant backup plan. The Backblaze team has chosen to unify all of this in a convenient and economical payment plan.

The only variations that the company proposes is the payment by monthly installments or by a single annual payment (which of course, has a slight discount), and even to cancel for a service of two years (also a little more economic). This is ideal for those who prefer to cancel at once to avoid making payments on an ongoing basis. Also, considering the discount, this is an excellent option to save a few dollars.

Easy to use

There are many people who discard (or even contemplate) the idea of ​​canceling some money for this type of service for fear of not knowing how to use it.

However, with Backblaze backup this is not a problem at all. One of the most striking features it has is its interface. With a simple and minimalist design, the user should only start the process and the software will take care of everything else. There are few elements that you must configure on your own and for this there is a lot of material available on the web regarding the product.

This particular feature has made it one of the favorite options for small, medium and even large companies. There are very few programs available in the market that combine the word "simple" with "unlimited storage space" in their descriptions.

Working in the background

Hand in hand with the previous feature, this is one of the main benefits of Backblaze Backup. After installation, the program will estimate the time it takes to back up all available files (discarding application files or temporary files). From that moment it starts to make the backup in the background, without this interfering with the other tasks you need to undertake on your computer.

During the first backup it will take a long time while all the files are uploaded. However, once all of them are in the cloud, the program will detect any change that appears on the hard disk and will make the modification immediately. This is very practical, because you will not even notice that the program is operating. In this way, even if a sudden accident occurs, the backup will be updated until the last moment the computer was used, or at least until a moment very close to it.

Backup copies are generated automatically, however, this could be modified if necessary. If the person does not want the copies to be created in parallel to the changes that may occur on the hard disk, then it will be enough for the user to select the frequency with which he wants the updates to occur.

Customizable backup

One of the most attractive features that this software provides is the selection of files for the backup. Naturally, the software will discard any possible temporary file or those from applications, since these are not necessary for storage. In addition, it can also complicate the restoration on another computer or on a formatted one if this becomes necessary.

However, this is not the only thing it provides. The user can select the files that he wants to keep and select those that he does not. This provides great advantages, since there will always be some data stored on the computer that is not important for the backup and that ends up taking unnecessary time and space. This adds another point to the range of options for personalization that the software has.

External hard disk backup

Usually the backup systems of this type work as a plan B. This means that most companies or users with great management of information have external hard drives in which they continuously do their backups. However, you cannot forget that external hard drives can fail as easily as an internal hard drive can.

Backblaze wants the users to cover all their needs with its product, and therefore, they also allow the backup of content stored on external hard drives. This can be very useful to bring to the cloud files that are outside the computer.

Speed ​​to back up

Anyone can’t deny the fact that backups take a long time to be completed, since this process involves duplicating each and every one of the files that a computer has. In this sense, the time this process takes will depend on the speed of the program that is being used. So that if you have a program with low performance this backup will take a long time.

This is where Backblaze Backup differs from other programs, since it offers a faster service than any other software. The program, after analyzing your hard drive, will be responsible for making the backup automatically and establishes a minimum time in which the entire process will be performed.

Different pages of reviews ensure that this time to make the backup copy is fulfilled in most cases. This can be checked by performing an initial test of the program, so that you can see by yourself the quality of the service.

The speed of the first backup will always take a long time to be completed. No matter how good the program used is, it will have to perform different processes to identify all the files that must be duplicated. So, the speed of this first copy will depend mainly on the speed of your internet service and if you decide to use Backblaze Backup, it will also depend on how close you are to the company's server.

Backblaze main servers are located in the states of California and Arizona in the United States. However, even if you are not near these places, the speed of the backup is very acceptable. This is a feature that has been highlighted by thousands of users of this Program.

Unlimited backups for all users

When a person or a company wants to back up all their files it is natural to expect that the backup can be made for all files that are available regardless of size. This is a problem with the current backup programs, since it imposes a quantity of available Gb that is not always enough.

Backblaze Backup offers you an unlimited amount of storage. That is to say, you can make backup copies of any number of files you want without any problem. So, if you want to keep absolutely everything you have on your computer or all the information of your company, then there is not a better program to help you with this purpose.

This feature cannot be achieved with another program, especially at the price that implies the use of Backblaze Backup. This is one of the reasons why this program has become one of the most recognized programs in making backups around the world.

The system is programmable and very flexible

Backup programs are well known for the difficulty involved in their use, regardless of whether you are a person with much knowledge in these types of programs or not. This creates a problem for people who do not have much computer knowledge, because they cannot configure the backup program to convenience.

Backblaze Backup offers you a very simple system with which you do not have to spend much time to configure the system, this being a great advantage compared to other programs. In this way you can choose which files you want to duplicate, the speed with which you want the process to be carried out and very important: how often the backup copies will be made.

This last feature is very important, since you never know when the backup may be necessary. Then, you can choose the modality of carrying out the process each day or you can configure the system so that it carries out the process every certain time, specified by you.

You can also make the backup copy done when you want, by choosing an option that allows you to do this process every time you click on the option indicated. This way you can make the backup every certain number of hours if it is completely necessary.

Quality customer service

One of the most important aspects that any paid computer program should have is a customer service system of very good quality. There, users can ask any question and those questions can be answered as quickly as possible. In this sense, a good customer service system must answer the questions you make within a few hours.

This way you can guarantee that the users of the system are happy with the service and can solve all their problems. Backblaze Backup's customer service meets these characteristics, so you can ensure that you can get a quick response and an effective solution to your problems.

Most of the doubts are focused on the use of the program. Why? Well, even though the system is very simple, there are always people without basic knowledge who need the help of professionals, and just for that is the customer service system of this program. Another highlight on this subject is the fact that Backblaze Backup offers live chat support, where users and specialists can help you answer any questions you may have in real time.

Computer tracking in case of theft or loss

The Backblaze Backup program is always associated with a computer, so you will always backup your files. However, this feature has another utility, since being associated with your computer, this device can be traced in case of any theft.

This is a feature that any similar program in the market has not got, that is to say, it is a unique advantage of the use of Backblaze Backup. One of the most common doubts regarding this issue is about the privacy of users, since they fear that their address can be revealed and that a security problem is generated.

This should not be a concern, since Blackblaze assures you that your information will not be disclosed at any time, unless it is absolutely necessary for any emergency.

Physical backups

Backup copies are important to ensure that files on a computer are not lost in case of an emergency. These emergencies can be of any type, that is to say, we can never know with certainty what will happen and when an event can occur that causes you to lose all the information that you consider important.

In this sense, when you lose information unexpectedly, what you most want is to recover your information as soon as possible. However, many times the internet service is not very good, so the backup would take a long time to complete, even days. This is where you can use a physical backup service.

This service consists in receiving by mail, no matter where you are, a copy of all the files you have in a very short time. This is possible with Backblaze Backup, since this program offers you the ability to receive a USB memory with a capacity of more than 250 GB or an external hard drive with a capacity of 2 TB.

The backup copies made by this program are stored in the company's servers, this being another form of security to avoid losing your important files.

Security for your information

The security of any program responsible for making backup copies is very important, since no person wants unauthorized people to enter their confidential information. So, a good program of this kind needs the security of the system to be as efficient as possible, so that no hacker can access the information on your computer.

This is a very common problem today, where all people use the internet and all can be easily connected. This connectivity, although it is one of the most essential features of the Internet, can generate security failures in systems with little protection.

Backblaze Backup offers you a very good security, since it uses systems that guarantee you can be calm at all times. One of these systems is the authentication of two factors, that is to say, each time you enter your account you need to enter a 6-digit code that changes constantly. This code can be obtained in applications to which only you will have access.

The encryption processes of this program guarantee that you can be very sure that no one will enter your information.

Backblaze CONs

Like all products, there are a few disadvantages to the use of Backblaze Backup. These are few in comparison to the numerous advantages already mentioned. However, it is important that in this review the possible user can find an overview in everything related to the product.

Just one computer

Yes, the product is indeed very economical, but it can only be used on a computer. This is an important disadvantage, since the price is only valid for one device. In addition to this, the software is based on the state of the computer to make backup copies, and is not too flexible when it comes to recovering files. This means that in case you lose a file and want to recover it, you must restore it before the next backup begins.

This problem is much more noticeable in the case of large corporations, where the use of software becomes unfeasible. It is very expensive to acquire the product for each computer within a company, and in this case, the owners end up looking for options that are applicable for several machines with a single payment.

It cannot be reverted to an earlier version

Related to the previous point, the automatic copy prevents recovering files if something goes wrong and you need an erased file. However, this could be avoided by configuring the frequency with which the backup copies are made, so that they are not made automatically and on par with the activity of the computer. This can become a disadvantage only if the user does not have a good management of the program.

Versions limited to 30 days

The backup copies have an expiration of 30 days, and this can be a serious drawback, especially for external hard drives. If the equipment is moved frequently and is not connected continuously to the computer, the backup could be discontinued very quickly.

The time required to upload the files

Although one of its main PROs is the speed which it processes information with(thanks to the incorporation of numerous multi-processes performing this task), the load time in the first data upload can be quite long. Here geographical factors intervene and above all referring to the Internet server of each user. However, it is necessary to limit it taking into account that it is one of the negative aspects that appear among the opinions of different users.

In general, there are few negative aspects that have been identified in this software. Most users provide positive reviews, and they rate it with 4 or 5 stars. The faults that can present are practically imperceptible in comparison to the amount of advantages and positive characteristics it has. This product has been shown to have an inverse relation between quality and price. It works well in exchange for little money, and that's not something you get in the market every day.

Security programming

As mentioned above, the security of this program is very good. However, there is a problem with this security, since to access the aforementioned features it is necessary to program the system, which is not well known by users.

So, as it is not a feature of popular knowledge, many people do not get access to the security properties that make you feel more calm about the fact that your information will not be seen by someone without authorization. This represents a problem that other programs do not have, so it is advisable to look for information on how to configure security in Backblaze Backup.

If you decided to use this program and do not have much knowledge about computers, it is best to seek information on the subject from a specialist to help you configure the program. This way you can obtain the level of security needed to feel that nobody will see the information on your computer.

Privacy of information

With privacy we refer to the desire to keep the information away from people who do not have authorization to such information, a feature that is closely related to the security offered by the program. However, there is another problem: the use of passwords for information that is encrypted.

When you are going to back up your hard drive, and there is encrypted information on that hard disk, the Backblaze Backup program will ask you for the password of that file, so that this information can be accessed. This password will be stored by the system of the company that offers this product.

This would not be a problem if that company was not governed by the laws of the United States, which require companies that work with the cloud to share their information. Then, your passwords can be revealed if the authorities need to obtain or evaluate the actions of the company that offers the services of making backup copies.

You as a user have certain rights that you can demand if your privacy is invade, so it is advisable that you look for relevant information on the subject. Keep in mind that by giving confidential information to the company, you have the right to demand that such information to be removed.

Deficient mobile applications

Mobile applications are of vital importance in today's life, where a lot of people have smartphones with applications that help them perform trivial tasks more quickly. In this aspect Backblaze Backup fails, since its applications do not have much attraction for the users of this service. This application does not offer new features or new ways to improve the service.

Rating

The most recognized web spaces for software review show consistency within their qualifications for this software. Most agree that it is a high quality product, which has been very well received by users.

The common conclusion is that this is an excellent product when talking about a general audience in search of an online backup service. Large companies with larger backup needs will probably opt for a much more expensive (and complete) product. However, this does not discredit the product that Backblaze, one of the US companies specialized in security software and most recognized backup, has brought and improved for the public for a decade.

The Cloudwards web space gave a 4.5 star rating and a description of "very good" for the product. In its review this team makes a complete description of the product, considering the opinions of the audience and details about its characteristics. They conclude that it is a very complete product, which could not be considered in any way as a bad investment.

For its part, the Capterra website has a similar opinion. Within its web space awaits information of interest regarding the software, which also includes the opinions of more than seventy users who, in general, speak very well about their experience with the product. In this particular space are more marked the characteristics, the pros and cons with respect to the product that users have pointed out. In general, the team gives a 4.5 out of 5 stars to the backblaze software.

The Tom's guide website also offers a great overview of the product in question. It indicates its most important props and cons, concluding that the product is very good, although it is not suitable for those people who have multiple machines to back up. Its weighting for the Backblaze software is 4 out of 5 stars.

Similarly, the Pc mag website qualifies the software with 3.5 out of 5 in its rating. The author of the review considers it a fairly complete program for the purpose that it aims to achieve with it. However, it has obvious limitations that do not make it suitable for medium and large corporations if you really want to save money.

According to the above, the software deserves 4 stars out of 5. It is a complete and very functional product for general users. It has multiple advantages that make it worthy of a good place in the ranking. However, it is necessary to improve certain aspects in order to become the favorite choice among users.

Despite the good reception that the product has got among users and critics, the most advisable thing for you is to live your own experience using it. Considering that you have a short but profitable time to do your free trial, do not wait any longer and download the software into your computer.

One of the greatest opportunities that users have at their disposal is the possibility of requesting discount coupons for the product. With them it is possible to save even more money than they will normally do with such an affordable payment plan. Backblaze has wanted to become the best option for independent workers and users and they have achieved it.

Coupon codes

Do you want to save money? Backblaze Backup is a very economic program, but you should never stop looking for new options that allow you to achieve significant savings. Even saving a percentage of 10% can make a big difference, so it is necessary to conduct an investigation of coupon codes.

These coupons are offers offered by companies as a way to attract new users, so they can discover the attributes of certain products without spending money. The company that is responsible for distributing the Backblaze Backup program is not far behind in this issue, giving some coupons with very good discounts every month.

Normally it is necessary to carry out an investigation to find the most recent coupons, which work for a specific period of time. However, we give you a series of coupon codes that you can try to use to receive a discount, as well as we show you the most popular pages that usually offer this type of offers.

Coupon codes

· macworld2013

· locateme10

· 01c47e

· 0163js

· 01wp10

· 00g6zt

Web pages

· https://www.backblaze.com/

· https://view.everafterguide.net/backblaze.com

· https://www.coupons.com/coupon-codes/backblaze/

Conclusion

Backup copies are very important today, both for people who only use the computer for everyday activities as well as for large companies that need to keep their information protected. In this sense, to guarantee that quality support can be carried out, it is necessary to have a program that offers quality service.

Backblaze Backup is one of these programs, being also one of the most recognized. But is it worth using? It cannot be denied that the greatest attraction of this program is the cost it has, since by using this system, which offers unlimited storage, you only have to pay a fraction of what it costs you another program of this type.

This helps you save large amounts of money while receiving quality service, as well as support for absolutely all the information you possess. It cannot be denied that the program has certain characteristics that could be improved, these problems being security, privacy, not being able to perform backups on mobile devices, among other things.

But these problems can be ignored if you consider all the positive aspects that the use of Backblaze Backup offers. The ease of use is another of the great attractions of this system, since you will not have to spend hours of your life trying to find a way to configure it, but rather the process will be quick and easy to perform.

Features such as tracking your computer in case of theft or good customer service system are key points when choosing this program to back up your information. Properties like these are unique in the market, so you cannot find a program that meets the same requirements.

With regard to speed, some users have complained about the waiting time at the time of executing the program for the first time. This situation is completely normal with this type of programs, so everything will depend on the speed of your internet and the amount of data you want to duplicate. Once the first backup has been made, the rest of the backups will be done at a very optimal speed.

Finally, this program has had very good reviews on different websites and very good opinions from users, so its use is recommended, not only for the price, but also for the quality of the service. You can receive unlimited service, with very good features, economic and easy to configure.

REFERENCES

· https://www.cloudwards.net/review/backblaze/

· https://www.tomsguide.com/us/backblaze,review-5403.html

· https://www.bitcatcha.com/cloud-storage-reviews/backblaze/

· https://www.pcmag.com/review/290054/backblaze

· https://www.getapp.com/

· http://capterra.com/

Acronis True Image Review

Just as we needed to keep our data records safe in the hard-copy era, we need to apply all the safety measures to avoid any data loss in this digital age as well. Data loss was the reason of some well-established business failures. How can we forget the disaster created worldwide by the wannacry ransomware cryptoworm. Apart from other attacks, ransomwares are becoming favourite of black hats. Because, not only they halt the progress of a company for a duration, such attacks make attackers financially stronger.

Thus, it's of utmost importance to apply all the security measures to prevent such attacks.

Still, even applying all the security measures there is a huge possibility that you or the security companies missed something. This missed something is the only thing attackers need to infiltrate. Once they get into your website and lock everything all you can do is pay the ransom and get your business online.

Moreover, other than the cyber attacks, data-mishandling, hardware failures, theft and natural disasters like fire, flood, earthquakes are also some major reasons of data loss.

Luckily, now there is one more layer of additional security measure, in case your data has been compromised, damaged or just not accessible to you. This additional security measure is called cloud storage.

A cloud company copies all of your data to its own server, which is quite away from your computer location and as a precaution a good cloud storage company backs up your data to more than one server farm.

Acronis True Image Cloud Storage

Acronis is one of the leading cloud backup storage companies which assures that its users will never have to worry about ransomwares or data loss.

A Background to Acronis

Acronis was founded as a company within SWsoft in 2001. It started functioning independently in 2003 with a focus in backup and disaster recovery software based on disk imaging technology.

In September 2012, Acronis acquired GroupLogic, Inc., so that it can extend its backup services through mobile Android and iOS apps. Later in 2014, Acronis won the Mobility Product of the Year award at the Network Computing Awards.

Acronis was also recognized as a 2018 Gartner Peer Insights Customers' Choice for Data Center Backup and Recovery Solutions.

Acronis True Image 2019: A Review

Acronis has developed a disk imaging software called Acronis True Image for personal users and small to medium enterprises. It facilitates its users to backup their data to Acronis servers and restore it whenever needed.

Acronis neither supports unlimited computers nor it provides unlimited storage with any of the plans. Acronis does not put any limitation to mobile backups. While its plans are limited to one computer only, it does let you backup unlimited smartphones. Moreover, it does not even let you backup your external drives, network drives or NAS. But every Acronis true image plan comes with a local backup feature.

Acronis True Image Pricing

Acronis pricing structure is also slightly different from other cloud storage services. It provides three plans for Acronis True Image 2019 viz.

1) Standard

i) price: $49.99

ii) One time purchase

iii) Only one computer

iv) Standard plan consists only local backups.

v) It provides full image backup

vi) Quick recovery and universal restore

vii) Active disk cloning

viii) Standard plan prevents from ransomwares and cryptomining.

2) Advanced

i) price: $49.99 per year

ii) Only one computer cloud backup

iii) 250 GB storage cap

iv) Full image backup

v) Active disk cloning

vi) Quick recovery / Universal restore

vii) Ransomware and cryptomining blocker

viii) Office 365 backup

ix) Cloud backup and features

x) End-to-end encryption

xi) Social media backup

3) Premium

i) Price: 99.99 per year

ii) Only one computer cloud backup

iii) 1TB storage cap

iv) Full image backup

v) Active disk cloning

vi) Quick recovery / Universal restore

vii) Ransomware and cryptomining blocker

viii) Office 365 backup

ix) Cloud backup and features

x) End-to-end encryption

xi) Social media backup

xii) Blockchain certification of files

xiii) Electronic signatures on files

Acronis True Image: Disk Cloning versus Disk Imaging

Before we move ahead further it's important to understand the difference between disk cloning and disk Imaging because Acronis True Image provides both these features.

Disk Cloning

Disk cloning is the process where every bit of data is saved to and external storage media. Below points are worth to understand

i) Cloning process maintains the files, folders and its structure as well.

ii) Target drive should be of the exact same size as the source drive.

iii) You can not add more files once the cloning is done.

iv) Only one clone can be stored per disk.

v) You can directly boot from a cloned storage

vi) Cloning is best suited for data migration

Disk Imaging

The Disk Image feature backs up all the data to a single compressed file. Below points are worth to understand

i) All source files are compressed to create a single compressed file.

ii) Target drive/partition size exactness is not required. It should have sufficient free space, that's all.

iii) Multiple images can be stored per disk

iv) You can not directly boot from a disk image. First, you need to restore then only you can use the files.

v) Files are backed up incrementally, so you can add more files to the same disk image, after a backup is done.

vi) Disk image is used for data recovery.

Acronis True Image 2019: Features

1) Full Image Backup

While there are other cloud backup services which either don't let you backup your system and application files or this feature is not set by default, Acronis, on the other hand, provides the facility to backup your whole hard drive as a default feature. You can backup all your hard drive in a single file. This file can be opened even on any dissimilar hardware. In case something very bad happens to your core system files, all you have to do is to restore from this backup image. This feature uses incremental process to back up your data thus you can always add more files whenever needed.

2) Active Disk Cloning

Disk cloning process has been discussed in the previous section. What makes Acronis True Image awesome that you can clone your hard drive while you are working. All you need to keep in mind is that cloning needs exact same storage at the target drive and you can not save any other clone to that drive.

3) Cryptomining Blocker

Do you remember the disaster created by the cryptoworm, wannacry? It was probably the biggest cyber attack which asked for ransom to decrypt the data of infected computers.

Today, cryptocurrency has established itself quite well for underground activities. It's importance can be felt among black hats that the ransom is asked in cryptocurrencies and it can not be tracked.

Mining cryptocurrencies involve the process of solving very complicated equations called hashes. This requires a huge amount of CPU usage. Today, a small utility can be injected in your PC and you may have no idea that your computer is mining cryptocurrency of someone's behalf. That person (who injected) is enjoying the money being paid for mining the cryptocurrency.

While cryptominers don't steal or encrypt your data, they do steal your system resources and slow down your own computer.

These miners are either injected in your system or in the browser. A browser miner is activated when you visit an infected website while the system injected miner runs continuously as a hidden process.

Acronis cryptomining blocker blocks such miners from being installed in your system and browser both. It blocks these miners in real time and informs you so that you can take necessary action as per your current activity.

4) Active Protection from Ransomware

Although the invention of blockchain technology has provided quite help in various fields, the invention of cryptocurrencies (based on blockchain technology) have brought a disaster. Its invention has encouraged underground activities in the digital world. Ransomwares are the biggest example of this encouragement. A black hat can encrypt all your computer data and ask for ransom in cryptocurrency (bitcoin or monero) in order to decrypt your data. You as a business owner has to pay the ransom. The worst part, you can not track where your paid cryptocurrency has gone.

Acronis True Image protects you from any such incident. It actively monitors your processes and its artificial intelligence prevents any form of activity related to ransomware. This happens in real-time. Acronis also informs you regarding the blocked activity so that you can take necessary action regarding your current activity.

5) Backup when USB connects

This feature is regarding the local storage of Acronis True Image. You can take backups to any local storage attached to your computer. If you have configured Acronis to take local backups to an external storage, as soon as you will plug-in that storage you scheduled backup will start.

This Acronis feature doesn't need any human intervention, thus you don't have to remember to initiate the backup process every time you connect the USB. This feature saves you time.

6) End-to-End Encryption

We take backups on the cloud so that our data is safe. What if our data is distorted or stolen while the backup service is transferring the data from our computer to its server. This activity can dilute the whole idea of taking a cloud backup. Thus, a cloud backup without an encryption feature is really not a backup service.

Acronis True Image has covered all the breach points for data-loss. Below are the security features of Acronis –

i) SSL Connection

It does not matter whether you are just a common man or a somebody. There are activities going on to infiltrate to someone's data. This may be just for fun or really a serious attempt. All such infiltration happens mostly with the unsecured connections. Acronis products always use SSL to communicate with the servers. This ensures that there is no data leakage possible while the backup and restoration process is going on.

ii) Military Standard Encryption

Although Acronis uses the SSL for connections but the possibility of some serious data breach attempt can never be ignored. If a group of digital criminals is really serious to infiltrate and distort/steal the data, the military standard encryption fails them.

Acronis uses military standard AES 256-bit encryption, which is quite hard to crack. This level of encryption takes more time than the lower grade ones but it assures that even if someone gets access to your data they will not be able to decrypt it.

iii) Password

When you select a plan you also choose a password for backup as well. This password is only available to you, so keep it somewhere safe. Acronis, in no way saves this password, so there is no process to retrieve it through Acronis. If you lose this password, you lose your data. Also, in case someone else gets access to this password he may be able to decrypt your data as well.

Acronis uses your password with combination of AES 256-bit encryption to generate the encryption key. This encryption key encrypts your data before it leaves your computer for the Acronis servers. When you want to restore the data you provide the password, the data is downloaded in encrypted form and decrypted on your computer only.

Acronis encrypts your data with the generated encryption key then it communicates with the server over SSL connection. This provides end-to-end encryption to your data.

7) Blockchain Certification

This feature is for premium users only but is so unique that it needs to be discussed.

Acronis is the first and only cloud backup service which facilitates its users to verify whether a file that was uploaded to the server is same as the file which is downloaded. You can also use this feature to verify whether a copy someone has given to you is the same as the one you have given to him.

Acronis uses the blockchain technology to provide the file verification process to its premium users. This is done by solving very complex equations. In blockchain technology the blocks have the unaltered data of transaction and timestamps. This data can not be tampered or revised.

The Acronis Notary feature of the Premium plan uses the blockchain technology and computes the hash for each file. This is unique for every file and can not be altered. This hash algorithm generates the same output every time in any situation, given the same file as an input. Any small change in the input file results in a huge change in the output. Acronis has designed the algorithm uni-directional, which means that in no way to know the input file using the output results alone.

This feature may be quite appealing for the users who are in legal fields or the ones who rely heavily on contracts. The usage possibilities for this feature are endless.

8) Electronic Signatures

This feature is also only for premium users, but it's worth discussing in this article.

Acronis Notary also provides a facility to digitally sign the documents. As discussed above Acronis is the first cloud backup service to use the blockchain technology for providing some features. Digital signature is also one of the features of Acronis Notary.

We all sign deals, non-disclosure agreements and other agreements. These all require signatures. Today, digital signatures have vastly replaced the hard copy signatures. There are several services providing this facility, but what makes Acronis stand out from the crowd is that it uses the blockchain technology for this service. The digital signature of Acronis is called ASign and it is provided by Acronis Notary.

ASign uses the blockchain technology thus it creates a trackable and verifiable audit trail of the signatures. A unique link is e-mailed to the signees, when you select a file for ASign. Then you (and others) digitally sign the file via a website. A certificate containing the signatures and other information like date, time, and email addresses are of signees is created. This signature certificate is then notarized in a public Blockchain by Acronis Notary. This generates a publicly verifiable proof of its authenticity, integrity, origin, date and time.

Benefits of ASign

i) User friendly web interface and convenient email workflow for signees

ii) Digitally sign any file type image, video, text.

iii) The blockchain technology assures the authenticity of the files and certificates with time-stamp and transaction.

iv) No intermediary is required for certificate verification.

v) The initiator can track files through every step of signing and notarization process.

9) Continuous Protection

A backup plan doesn't know its job if it can not protect your live data, which is your current working file.

Acronis True Image is always prepared for that unplanned power failure or hardware crash. While you are working on that important project or the assignment in your office, the Acronis True Image is silently backing-up the modifications on the cloud in real-time. So, in any unplanned shutdown situation, you know that you have the most recent backup on the Acronis servers.

10) Sync

Syncing feature allows to share a file with all the connected devices in real-time. Acronis, in any plan does not allow more than one computer by default. To add more than one computer you need to pay more. However, Acronis allows multiple smartphone connection to a single account. Thus, you can sync a file on the computer connected to the Acronis True Image account and your all the teammates can access that file in real-time.

Pros

1) Unlimited Mobile

While Acronis True Image accepts only one computer by default, you can connect unlimited mobiles to the same account. You can backup the files in the mobile to the cloud and also restore any saved file from the cloud on the mobile as well.

While backing up from the mobiles always keep a check on the storage cap, It is not unlimited.

2) Disk Imaging and Cloning

Disk Imaging and cloning give you the arsenals for data recovery and system migration.

The best part about the disk clone is that you can boot from the media. You don't have to restore the whole drive, just plug-in the device and access the files you need.

3) Blockchain

Acronis is the first cloud backup service to use the blockchain technology for users. While this feature is available for the premium users only, with Acronis Notary one can check whether any file has been distorted in any manner or not.

Cons

1) Very Expensive

If compared to other cloud backup services, Acronis True Image is really very expensive. Its Advanced plan costs $49.99 for just one computer providing only 250 GB of storage cap. This says it all.

2) No two-factor authentication

Passwords are passwords. They get stolen and forgotten. The two-factor authentication provides an extra layer of account security and recovery which Acronis lacks.

3) No backups for external drives

You can take backups of your computer data to the external devices as a local backup. But Acronis True Image does not provide backup features for your external drives, network drives or the NAS (Network Attached Storage). Data on your all external devices are left to same data-loss vulnerability as it was before purchasing the Acronis plan.

4) No drive shipping either for seed or restore

The first step after choosing a backup service is to seed the data, which means uploading all the computer data to the server. Over the internet, it is a time-consuming process and can take days depending on the volume of data. A drive shipment makes the seeding and restoration process quite quick. All the computer data is backed up on this drive and shipped to the address of the cloud backup service. Over there this data is uploaded to the server. This process saves time and bandwidth both.

Acronis True Image, does not provide drive shipping either for seed or for the restoration which delays both the processes.

5) No unlimited plans

Acronis does not provide any plan which consists unlimited computers or unlimited storage. This, if compared to some other cloud backup services makes Acronis True Image lagging quite behind as a common user's choice.

Our rating – 3.0/5

Visit Acronis Website

Frequently Asked Questions

1) Can Acronis clone any hard disk?

While Acronis provides an awesome feature called cloning, you can not clone every drive. There are some limitations which need to be considered before cloning a hard drive viz.

i) No Partition cloning

As discussed in previous sections, cloning provides a bootable disk for your data, however, you cannot clone just one or two partitions. The cloning feature does not provide the freedom to clone partitions. You have to clone the whole hard disk.

ii) Same Size Hard disk

The cloning feature of Acronis True Image will start cloning only if the source and the target hard disks are of same size. If the sizes of the source and the target hard disks vary, the destination drive will not be selected as a target.

iii) Dynamic drives not supported

Only basic drives are supported by the cloning feature. If your hard disk is dynamic, you are out of your luck. Dynamic drive will not be cloned.

iv) Same logical sector size

As one more limitation of Acronis True Image feature, both the source and the target drives should have the same logical sector size. If the target is having a dissimilar sector size it will not be selected by the cloning feature as a target drive.

2) Can Acronis clone to a smaller hard drive than the source?

One of the limitations of the cloning feature is that both the source and the target drives should be of same size. But Acronis True Image cloning feature also supports cloning of larger disks to the smaller ones by resizing, if the smaller disk has the capacity to fit the contents of the larger disk.

3) Will Acronis True Image clone bad sectors?

If you know that your drive is having bad sectors, then it's a good idea that you should remove them firsthand. The cloning process should be done afterwards. It makes no sense to clone the bad sectors along with the data. You should run chdsk to remove the bad sectors.

No, Acronis will not copy the bad sectors, but it may freeze up if bad sectors are encountered too much. The cloning process will slow down your whole computer and finally show the error.

So, first remove the bad sectors then run the cloning process.

4) What is Acronis Bootable Media?

Acronis bootable media is a backup and recovery utility of Acronis True Image. With this, the user does not need to boot up the Windows PC, you can start performing the image creation, cloning, disk partition. You can perform both the processes of backup and restore with the Acronis bootable media.

Acronis bootable media has the same graphical interface as the Acronis True Image running on Windows PC. It is based on the Linux kernel and uses the Linux drivers to access the hardware devices. It is quite possible that the drive letters on your Windows PC may have a different name on Acronis Bootable Media because of the kernel difference.

The Bootable Media runs successfully on both the 32bit and 64 bit systems. You can run it from CD, DVD or USB.

Backup archives created in Acronis Bootabe Media can be restored in Windows PC and vice versa.

5) Can Acronis True Image clone Bitlocker drives?

Bitlocker is an encryption program of Windows. It encrypts the whole volume using the military grade AES 256-bit encryption. Thus, it provides very high level of security to the applied volumes.

As Bitlocker provides military standard encryption, Acronis cloning feature depends on the state of the Bitlocker status. There are three conditions of Bitlocker status to consider viz.

i) Encrypted and locked

If the Bitlocker is both Encrypted and locked, Acronis cannot enter and see the data of the volume. This means that Acronis cloning will not be possible if the volume is both encrypted and locked by the Bitlocker.

ii) Encrypted and Unlocked

If the Bitlocker volume is encrypted but unlocked, then Acronis can enter the volume and take the backups. However, if one or more other volumes are both encrypted and locked the cloning process and Full PC image backup will fail. In order to take the whole PC image or clone, every volume should be at least unlocked if not decrypted.

iii) Decrypted and Unlocked

If the volumes are neither locked nor encrypted then the cloning and disk image feature will work normally.

6) How to delete old backups in Acronis True Image?

As Acronis true Image provides limited storage, it's important to keep a check on the storage used. This will save you lots of time while some important file needs to be backed up or synced immediately.

As a first step you should always specify the personalized settings for automatic clean up. You can provide settings for Automatic Cleanup Rules to delete the older versions automatically. For this,

i) Login to your Acronis account

ii) Select Backup

iii) Select the cloud

iv) Select Advanced tab

v) In the Acronis Cloud Cleanup option specify the number of versions you want to retain.

vi) Check the box that says Delete the versions that are older than. Here you can specify the retention duration for the backed up files on the cloud.

There must be some files which you no longer need, and they are just adding up to your cloud storage. You can remove these files manually. You can perform the deletion in two ways viz.

i) Deleting an entire backup

If a backup has become an unnecessary burden and eating up your storage space, you can delete that entire backup. For this

a) Open Acronis True Image

b) Identify the backup you want to delete

c) Select the dropdown arrow beside the backup

d) Click delete

You can perform backup deletion from the Acronis web app as well.

a) Login to your Acronis account

b) Select the Files tab

c) Identify the backup that you want to delete

d) Move the cursor on the backup

e) Click the gear icon that appears

f) Select Remove from the dropdown menu

g) Click delete

h) Done

The backup, its versions and all the schedules will be deleted. Use this feature with caution because all the files of that backup will be gone.

ii) One time clean up

You can perform a manual cleanup as well. This cleanup will not affect the encrypted backups. Encrypted clean up (automatic clean up) has already been detailed above.

For manual clean up,

i) Login to Acronis account on the web.

ii) Select Storage tab

iii) Click clean up space

iv) Configure the clean up settings

v) Click clean up now

vi) Done

7) Does Acronis True Image provide validation of backups?

While taking backups is one part of data safety, the other one is the restoration process. If the initial or any incremental backup is corrupted then all the further backups will be of no use. Thus, it is important to validate your backups from time to time, to make sure that the backups are not corrupted due to any unforeseen reason.

Yes, Acronis True Image provides the feature to validate the backups. As a sequential process, first you need to validate the full backup then validate the incremental backups. To validate,

i) Select the back up

ii) Click Operations

iii) Select Validate backup

iv) If the backup is password protected, provide the password

v) Validation result is shown in the line below backup's box

8) How can I backup my mobile and Tablet to NAS from Acronis True Image?

Acronis provides backup of unlimited mobiles and tablets. You can store data from these devices to cloud, computer, external drive and NAS.

To take a backup of mobile and tablet to NAS, follow the below process

i) Install the Acronis android or iOS app to device

ii) Install Acronis application on the NAS

iii) Both the device and the NAS should be connected to the same Wi-fi network

iv) In mobile app select Backup to NAS computer

v) In mobile app select Scan QR code

vi) Your NAS application will show a QR code

viii) Scan this NAS QR from the mobile app

viii) Both mobile and NAS are paired

ix) Start backing up your mobile device

You can browse the backed up files on NAS directly from your mobile. You can also restore the files from the mobile as well.

9) How can I exclude a file or a folder from a backup on Acronis True Image?

There may be some files or folders on your computer which are either not very important to backup or they will use too much of the allotted space. Thus, it is important to exclude such files from being backed up.

To exclude a file, a folder or certain file types follow the below procedure

i) First select the source and the target

ii) Then Select Options

iii) Click Exclusions

iv) Check the box Files matching the following criteria

v) Click the + sign

vi) Specify the criteria or browse to the file or folder

vii) Click Ok

viii) Done

10) How can I restore from the external drive with Acronis True Image?

Acronis True Image provides very easy steps for restoring the data, just as it provides for the backup. To restore from the external drive, follow the below procedure

i) Attach your external drive to the usb

ii) Boot from the rescue media

iii) Acronis True Image 2019 window appears

iv) On the home screen, select My Disks below Recover

v) Select the backup for recovery

vi) In the Choose Recovery Method choose the method as per your need

vii) On the What to Recover screen locate the system disk and check the box

viii) Review and click next

ix) Confirm the summary and click proceed

x) Done

11) How can I restore from Acronis True Image cloud?

It is always advisable to create one local back up and one cloud backup of the original data on your computer. Acronis True Image backs up your all the data securely to its servers.

Acronis stores your previous versions and the disk image as well on the cloud. In case you want to restore the data from the cloud, follow the below procedure

i) Restore files and folders from the cloud

a) Start Acronis True Image 2019

b) On the sidebar, click backup

c) From the backup list select the backup which contains your desired files

d) On the right panel, click recover files

e) You will be taken to Acronis website

f) Provide a password if applicable

g) Select the Files tab

h) Select the required files and folders

i) Click Download to start recovery.

If you have selected more than one file or folder it will be downloaded in a compressed form.

By default, the data will be downloaded to the Download folder. You can change this destination in the settings.

ii) File version recovery

By default, Acronis downloads the most recent version but sometimes a previous version of a file seems to be more important than the recent one. You can download the previous version of a file as follows

a) First reach to the backed up files ares

b) Select the file whose previous version is required

c) Click the gear icon on the right-hand side.

d) Select view versions in the opened menu

e) All the versions are listed

f) Select the required version

g) Click download icon next to it

By default, the file will be downloaded to the Download folder. You can change the destination in the settings.

12) How to uninstall Acronis True Image?

You can uninstall the Acronis True Image from the Windows' Add or Remove Programs feature, just the way you uninstall other installed softwares.

In case, uninstallation fails, you can use the Acronis True Image installer (exe file). Double click the file and choose to uninstall.

In case even this doesn't uninstall the Acronis True Image, there is a utility provided from Acronis. You can find the complete procedure here.

Websites Used

https://kb.acronis.com/ati2019/faq

https://kb.acronis.com/content/56634

https://www.acronis.com/en-us/personal/computer-backup/

Dropbox Review

Finding a reasonable storage space on local drives and even external drives is quite tough these days. And sharing them with your peers, colleagues, and subordinate is even more difficult. You cannot always keep these drives with you. Well thanks to technology, you don’t have to. Cloud storage company Dropbox is an amazing platform that allow you to keep your valuable data online making file sharing a less complex. Cloud storage does not only provide online storage space for you but also ensure safety and protection of your valuable files. This means that you can keep and share your important data on cloud storage without any worry.

But there is a plethora of cloud storage platforms available online, which one should you trust? Dropbox is one amazing cloud storage platform giving you amazing features and in astonishingly reasonable price.

Introduction

Dropbox is considered one of the best cloud storage and file sharing platform today with its amazing services. It is an American file hosting service having headquarters in San Francisco, California. Dropbox surfaced in the market in 2007 and till now it has gained more than 50 million users securing the second spot in the best cloud storage platform list while Google Drive maintained its first spot having more than 1 billion users. Although the competition is hard enough, yet it has managed to maintain its position as the second best cloud storage service.

Dropbox couldn’t beat Google Drive because it lacks some very important features like the zero-knowledge encryption. Moreover, it has also undergone a major breach in 2012 degrading its position as compared to Google Drive. Other than that, it is an amazing cloud storage service with perfect features like ease of use, availability of desktop, mobile and web versions, integration with Office online and an amazing native note taking app.

It may not be as competitive in terms of pricing as the other cloud storage platforms but still its feature set worth the investment. You will see a detailed review of Dropbox, including the pros and cons of this service, its features, and its pricing. Moreover, this service is also given reviews and ratings so that you can decide whether it is worth the investment or not. In the end, the frequently asked questions are listed in case you have any query regarding this service. So let’s dive into it.

Pros & Cons of Dropbox

Below are listed the pros and cons of this cloud storage platform:

Pros

1. Provides Dropbox Paper service

2. Smart sync

3. Fast sync

4. File versioning

5. Ideal OS support

6. Office Online integration

7. Smooth file sync

8. Integration with various apps

9. Action history can be viewed

10. Amazing feature set for Pro users

Cons

1. No zero-knowledge encryption

2. Expensive

3. Unreliable free version

4. Could offer more privacy and security

Features of Dropbox

Below are listed some of the amazing features of this service:

1. Store & Access Files, Anytime, Anywhere

With Dropbox, you can store all your important files at a single place and can access them with ease and comfort. No matter whether you are working on your computer, laptop or tablet, you can bring all your files at one platform. The changes you make on any device is synced automatically across all your devices and you can continue working without any hassle.

2. File Sharing

It also offer you easy file sharing feature, which means you cannot only store your files online but can share it with your peers as well. Even if your peers don’t have a Dropbox account, they can still access the file you shared with them. The features that file sharing provides include file link sharing, folder sharing, upload links, links expiry dates, folder permissions, and link passwords. For file sharing, you need to set permissions of each user you are assigning access to. You can share links directly by copying and pasting or sending them via email. You also have the ability to protect your links by setting expiry date, using a link password, disabling downloads, etc. One amazing facility of Dropbox is that the files are automatically synced so you and your peers can stay on the same page.

3. File Syncing

It has an amazing sync feature which allow you to sync the files and folders that you choose. In order to do that, you need to place the file or folder that you want to sync in the sync folder which is then automatically synced to cloud and the connected devices giving you a single updated copy of your file at all times and at all places. In fact, Dropbox is the one who invested the sync model that even competitors are using today. The features that file syncing provides include selective syncing, older syncing, block level syncing, and bandwidth management.

4. Dropbox Paper

In Dropbox, you can create your very own collaborative workspace where you and your team and collaborate to form a piece of work. It is not like an ordinary workspace but an advanced version of that. You can work with videos, images, links, Pinterest boards and even codes to finalize your project. To put it in simple words, it is a document editing service which is shared by you and your team members so you can work together while being at remote places.

5. Dropbox Showcase

This feature allow you to package your work beautifully so that you can share it with your clients and subordinates. It gives you an opportunity to impress your boss with something unique. With the Dropbox Showcase, you can keep an eye on who has seen what and can track the progress of your work, all with this single feature.

6. Dropbox Business

You can even manage your team using this amazing feature known as “Dropbox Business”. With this feature, you can organize the files and folders of your company, track team activity and can even secure the access to shared data with team members. In short, team management is made easy with this feature.

7. App Connection

With its amazing Online Office collaboration, you can work on your favorite platform while share it using the Dropbox features. With this amazing feature, you can keep working on your favorite apps and tools as Dropbox is integrated with them.

8. Security

It ensure security of your data by giving you control over who can access your files. You can delete the files if you lost your device or recover it when needed. Moreover, it offers data encryption along with transmitted data encryption with the highly secure encryption protocol (AES 256-bit). It also offers two-factor authentication and a US based server location. It uses TLS protocol to prevent attacks like man-in-the-middle. Moreover, data at rest and in-transit are both protected as well.

9. Free Trial for Beginners

It offers free trial for beginners which means you can enjoy all the Dropbox Professional features for up to 14 days without spending any penny. But after the expiration of the free trial, you have to pay the subscription free to keep getting its services. However, Dropbox does offer free off-site file storage and sharing options which does not include professional services but the basic features.

10. Ease of Use

This platform is known for its simple and easy to use interface which adds even more to its value. It offers a good user experience with an ability to interact using the desktop, mobile or web app. You can simply access the desktop version of Dropbox using the system tray icon. With this icon, you can open its web app, its sync folder and Dropbox Paper. Moreover, you can view your recent files and notification from this system tray icon. If you need to change the settings, you can click the settings icon to open the preferences. Everything is displayed using symbols and icons making the desktop app quite easy to use.

Similarly, you can use the menus on the web app to navigate between Showcase, Paper, your homepage and your files. You can see your files in the form of a list or grid. With the easy drag and drop facility, click on the icons and right-clicking options, web app is made quite simple for the users.

Same goes with the mobile app. It is pretty simple and straightforward and lets you automatically backup your gallery. You can also share and save your photos and videos from mobile for offline access.

11. Speed

Mainly the uploading and downloading speed of Dropbox depends upon the quality of your internet connection plus your proximity to the Dropbox servers. Dropbox has its servers in U.S. According to various experiments done by cloudwards.net in Serbia, its uploading and downloading speed was quite great with an average of 6 megabits per second uploading speed and 100Mbps downloading speed. The time taken by uploading was around 28 minutes for a 1GB file and around 3 minutes for downloading.

Thanks to the block-level sync feature, the uploading speed is much less if a part of the file is already uploaded. Only the new and modified parts will be uploaded, not the whole file.

12. Privacy

This platform has no availability of zero-knowledge encryption which means poor privacy. Its servers are based in US so it has to adhere to the state laws. The laws like CLOUD and USA Patriot Act may breach users’ privacy. Moreover, because of its connection with the PRISM project, it has its history with it as well. In its Privacy Policy, Dropbox hasn’t mentioned about the General Data Protection Regulation. It says that it complies with GDPR but it isn’t mentioned in their privacy policy.

13. Excellent Customer Service

Dropbox team offers an excellent customer service to its users. You can directly consult the help center and read the articles to find about the problem you are having or you can ask your own question in the forum if you didn’t find an answer to your question in the help center. If you are using a Basic or Plus account, you can also send an email to contact support. Moreover, you can also contact the technical support on Twitter as well.

Pricing

This service is not very competitive when it comes to pricing. Its plan starts from $8.25 for a 1000GB package of one month for a year. The pricing details of the Dropbox packages are listed below.

In the Plus Plan, you have to pay $9.99 each month or $99 per year in which you will get 1TB of storage space, Microsoft Office 365 integration, standard cloud storage features, version history of a month and email support.

If you plan to go with the Professional package, you have to pay $16.58 per month or $198.96 per year to get 2TB of storage space, extended version history, access to chat support, Dropbox Showcase and smart sync features and shared link controls.

Standard and Advanced plans are made specifically for teams. In the Standard plan, each user is given a shared storage space of 3TB with the features of advanced transfer tool, a team folder, HIPPA compliance and a centralized billing option in $15 per month or $150 per year for each user.

The Advanced plan give each user an unlimited storage space with the advanced team features like administrator roles, phone support, single sign-on and log editing in $25 per month or $240 per year for each user.

Before subscribing to any of the subscription plans, you can use up to 2GB of free storage space on Dropbox to test its service but you won’t be getting the professional features in the trial version.

Review & Rating

The rating of this file storage and sharing service is as under:

• Ease of use (92%)
• Features (92%)
• Pricing (60%)
• Security (68%)
• File syncing and sharing (90%)
• Customer Service (87%)
• Speed (83%)
• Privacy (58%)

Review Video

Here is the review video for the service:

Coupon Codes

1. Get up to 50% on Dropbox subscriptions using the coupon codes from here.

2. Avail this offer to get 20GB free storage on Dropbox.

3. Get 50% Off 3, 5, Or 7 Day Dropbox Cleanse with this code.

4. You can get up to 4 weeks of free Dropbox for business using this promo.

FAQ

People have asked a lot of questions regarding Dropbox and its services. Here are a frequently asked questions that you may find helpful:

What Dropbox do?

Ans. A desktop version of Dropbox is simply like a folder on your computer except that the files you put on that folder is automatically saved on the cloud and synced online to all the devices signed in with the same account. Dropbox keep your files synced at all your devices at all times.

What is Dropbox Paper?

Ans. Dropbox paper is actually a document editing service by the company using which you can collaboratively work with your team mates to create a single document. It gives you a unified platform where you and your team can work together on a same file.

What is Smart Sync feature?

Ans. The smart sync feature of Dropbox makes use of block-level sync to upload only the parts of the files that are modified, not only the whole file which is already uploaded. This speeds up the syncing and uploading process.

Where Dropbox files are stored?

Ans. Dropbox files and folders are stored locally on your hard drive. Only the files that you choose to save online is uploaded and saved on the cloud servers. This is known as Selective Sync.

Where is admin console in Dropbox?

Ans. Admin Console is a feature of Dropbox Business. In order to see your admin console, you need to login to your account at dropbox.com and then click on the admin console in the left sidebar.

Which Dropbox app is free?

Ans. You can get a free trial of 30 days for Dropbox Plus in which you will get a 2TB of storage space and a smart sync feature.

Summary

Dropbox is an amazing service for file storage and sharing with some pretty great features and easy to use interface. Although it doesn’t live up to the price factor as compared to its competitors but due to its features it has maintained its spot in the cloud storage and sharing service. Its amazing features like Paper and Showcase make it unique from the similar services. Although it does lack at some points in security and privacy which can be improved, its speed and good customer service beats the competition. Google Drive still remain to be on top because of its features, pricing, security and privacy. Moreover, Google is already known for its ease of use. The overall rating for Dropbox will be 88% which is considered good enough if you want to invest in it.

References

1. https://www.getapp.com/collaboration-software/a/dropbox-online-sync-and-file-sharing/

2. https://www.cloudwards.net/review/dropbox/

3. https://answerthepublic.com/reports/0c5930d9-ca72-40d2-8453-27c3beed0d0c

4. https://couponfollow.com/site/dropbox.com

5. https://givingassistant.org/coupon-codes/dropbox.com

6. https://www.retailmenot.com/view/dropbox.com

7. https://www.dropbox.com/

8. https://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/software/utilities/other-software/dropbox-593584/review

9. https://www.softwaresuggest.com/dropbox

10. https://www.pcmag.com/review/238520/dropbox

Degoo Review

Data is the backbone of any project or business. Thus, loss or manipulation of data means loss of business. Only a single copy of data on your computer makes your business vulnerable. To avoid any instance of data loss, a 3-2-1 data backup theory is well-established and quite popular. According to this theory, one should always have three copies of every data he possesses. One is the original data, second should be a local backup and third should be backed up to an online server which should be quite far from the original data location.

Local backups are prone to the same vulnerabilities as the original computer data is. These are natural calamities like fire, flood and earthquake. Also, we can not deny the presence of thieves who may steal your computer and your local hard disks. Not everyone can afford to pay for the security guards, right? Online backup providers apply precautions while building their server farms to bear natural calamities like flood and earthquakes. They install the requisites to resist any fire-situation, and they have 24/7 security with camera surveillance.

As online businesses have grown around the world, so has the security breaches. Black hat hackers have derailed the worldwide economy several times. Most of the times ransomware were their preferred weapon. It was, because ransomware not only brings a halt to the business but also provide monetary strength to a hacker. A ransomware encrypts all the files and folders of a computer. A ransom is demanded in order to decrypt the computer's files and folders. The worst part, the ransom is demanded in cryptocurrencies, thus, one cannot trace the criminals. If the victim does not have sufficient money to pay the ransom, he is out of business. But, if you have an online backup, you can always restore your original files and folders. You will never have to pay for the ransom.

Thus, there is no excuse for not having an online backup.

While having an online backup is necessary, choosing the one that suits an individual's requirement is quite tough. There are several online backup services available and everyone claims to be the best.

This article helps you to decide whether Degoo, one of the cloud backup services, should be your cup of tea or not.

Degoo Cloud Backup Review

Degoo is a Sweden based company which means it inherently applies a high level of privacy for its users. It was started in 2012 and aims to provide cloud storage service to its users. Degoo also boasts to have the top-secret service provider, explaining that no matter what the situation is, the user data can never be accessed by any third party. It has also revealed its top-secret security notion on its website. This disclosure builds trust and the users get well aware of the efforts Degoo has put to keep their data safe.

Yes, Degoo has applied several layers of security to make sure that no one else can peep into its users' data. To know these security layers, keep reading this article.

Degoo Plans

Degoo is straight forward in its plans. Nothing is hidden or fuzzy. As soon as you sign up, you get 100 GB of space for free. This space can extend maximum to 10 TB even in the paid plans. So if you have more than 10 TB of data, Degoo won't be able to fit that in.

Degoo provides three plans viz.

1) Free Plan

i) Free 100 GB

As soon as you sign up a free plan, your account gets 100 GB of space on Degoo.

ii) One Desktop device

Degoo offers one desktop with the free account. But the desktop version is not available instantly in the free account. A user needs to refer at least 10 users to sign up for Degoo account to avail one desktop version.

iii) Unlimited Mobile

Mobile devices are not restricted with Degoo. You can add as many mobile devices you want.

iv) Extra space on referral

Along with the 100 GB that you get with a free account, additional 5 GB space can be increased with every referral. This additional space can be maximized up to 500 GB. Which means to get this 500 GB additional storage all you have to do is refer 100 friends to sign up for Degoo account.

v) Inactive account deletion

Yes, as a free plan holder a user's data is prone to deletion. As per the Degoo terms, a free plan user has to login within 90 days. A Degoo free plan account is deleted if it is found inactive for 90 days.

vi) Basic storage replication

Degoo provides good privacy and security to its paid users. But a free plan account does not get those perks.

To understand the Degoo privacy and security mechanisms, continue reading this article.

vii) No zero-knowledge encryption

Degoo resists providing some perks to its free account holders and zero-knowledge encryption is one of them. This means that the user does not hold the exclusive knowledge of his account. His login details are available with Degoo.

2) Pro Plan

i) $3/month

A pro plan costs $3 per month. If your requirements are more than what a pro plan offers, you can opt for the ultimate plan.

ii) 500 GB

As a pro plan user, you instantly get 500 GB as a storage space. Continue reading to know how to get additional space.

iii) 3 Desktop

With the pro plan, a user can map up to 3 desktops. He can upload data with all those desktops to the same Degoo cloud account.

iv) Unlimited Mobiles

Uploading from unlimited mobiles is the feature of every Degoo plan.

v) Extra space on referral

With a pro plan, besides the provided 500 GB, you can avail 10 GB per referred friend. With a pro plan, the maximum you get is 1000 GB i.e. 1 TB. Thus, if you can refer 100 friends to Degoo, this additional 1 TB can be yours.

vi) Storage forever

Being a paid plan of Degoo, a Pro account neither considers the user account activity for account survival nor it has any expiry date.

vii) Enhanced storage replication

Degoo offers a very secure platform to store its user's data. It even boasts that no one can peep into its paid user's data even if the storage disk is compromised. The Degoo security mechanism is revealed further in this article.

viii) Zero-Knowledge encryption

A Degoo pro user gets the perk of having a zero-knowledge account. This means that the pro user of Degoo holds the exclusive login knowledge of his account.

3) Ultimate plan

i) $9.99/month

The Ultimate account of Degoo costs $9.99 per month. If the features of the Ultimate plan does not appeal to you, then you should consider some other cloud storage service. This is the maximum Degoo can offer.

ii) 10 TB cloud space

10 TB is the maximum Degoo can offer to its user as instantly available cloud storage. If you have more data and you require it immediately, Degoo does not offer it.

iii) Unlimited desktop

Degoo does not apply limitations to its ultimate users in terms of the number of mapped desktops. Yes, you can add an unlimited number of desktops to your Ultimate account. Just keep a tab on the storage space of your account, which is limited to 10 TB.

iv) Unlimited mobiles

Adding unlimited mobiles is a feature of every Degoo plan.

v) Extra space on referral

If 10 TB is not enough for you, Degoo promises to provide you additional 10 GB for every referred user to Degoo. With this option, you can extend your storage to 1000 GB i.e. 1 TB. Which means if you can refer 100 friends to Degoo, you can avail this 1 TB of additional space.

vi) Storage forever

As a paid member, the Ultimate user's data is not vulnerable to deletion due to inactivity. You don't have to login just to makes sure that your Degoo account survives.

vii) Enhanced storage replication

Degoo provides the maximum security to the data of its paid users. Keep on reading this article to understand how Degoo protects its user's data from evil eyes.

viii) Zero knowledge encryption

As a paid member, the Ultimate account user holds the exclusive access to his login details. This article further details how Degoo applies the zero knowledge mechanism.

ix) Photo storage maximizer

An Ultimate account user has exclusive access to this specific feature of Degoo. No other account user avails this feature. This feature is available on the android app. As per this feature, the user can upload his photos from mobile to the Degoo cloud, as a backup. After the backup of the photo is complete, the local copy of the photo (on mobile) is compressed to maximize the mobile storage.

It's worth to mention that a user can install Degoo on unlimited devices then download and view the files stored on the respective cloud account but only the specified number of desktops per account, can upload the data to the cloud. However, you can upload from unlimited mobiles on any account.

Degoo Features

Now that the Degoo plans have been quite detailed, it's the time to have a look at various features it offers.

1) Free Huge space

Everyone likes freebies, isn't it? Degoo marks its strong presence among the cloud storage services by offering 100 GB free storage to its every user as a freebie. As a free user, this storage is instantly available for mobiles only. However, if a user refers 10 friends to sign up for Degoo account, he also becomes eligible for a Degoo desktop version. Which means he can not only upload from the mobile but from one desktop as well to the 100 GB Degoo cloud storage account.

2) Zero-Knowledge

A cloud backup storage is used as a precaution for data damage. This backup turns out to be a saviour when a ransomware is installed or in cases where data is lost due to mishandling or hardware failures. The user can restore the damaged data from the cloud and continue as if nothing had happened to his data.

However, what if an authorized agency forces the cloud storage company to disclose the account details and data of a user. Abiding by the laws of the country, the server authorities may have to disclose the account data.

Being a Swedish company, Degoo applies very high standards of security for its user's data. Degoo also boasts its security as a top secret service, which makes it technically impossible for anyone to peep into the user's data except the user himself. The mechanism of Degoo security also makes it stand out of the crowd.

Degoo considers its user's data privacy as a topmost priority. Degoo applies the zero knowledge functionality to its paid accounts, thus, the user holds the exclusive knowledge of his account. All the files are encrypted with a randomly generated military standard AES 256-bit encryption. This encryption along with the encrypted file is stored and encrypted with a passphrase known only by the user. This zero knowledge is applied at various layers viz.

i) Key Derivation Function

A paid user also sets up a passphrase with Degoo account. This passphrase is used to generate a key using an algorithm PKCS 5 V2.0 Scheme 2. This derived key is used to encrypt both the AES 256-bit encryption used to encrypt the files and the AES 256-bit encryption to encrypt the metadata about the stored files.

It's worth to mention that Degoo does not store the passphrase. It stores only the key generated using the passphrase. To decrypt the data, again the passphrase is needed. Thus, in a situation where the server location needs to abide by a law, even then Degoo is not able to get into the user account.

However, this does not apply to the free users of Degoo. Free account holders don't get the option of a passphrase.

ii) Military Standard AES 256-bit Encryption

Degoo uploads the data to the servers in blocks. Every block consists of 8 MB of data. Before the data leaves a user's device, it is encrypted using a randomly generated military standard 256-bit encryption key.

A user constant AES 256-bit key is also generated to encrypt the metadata about each file. All the symmetric encryptions performed by Degoo use the AES/CBC/PKCS5 padding.

iii) RSA-4094 Key Pair

All the randomly generated AES 256 bit encryption keys are again encrypted by the public RSA-4096 key. A corresponding private RSA-4096 key is required to decrypt the AES encryption upon the file download.

All user's encryptions and signing keys are only uploaded to the Degoo servers after they are encrypted by the user's passphrase.

iv) Reed Solomon Codes

Degoo backups are encoded into blocks. Each block consists of 8 MB of data. Every block of data is coded with the Reed-Solomon error-correcting code. With this encoding 4 chunks/shards are produced from every block of data. The original data is scrambled into these shards. This scrambling further enhances data security. This Reed-Solomon encoding uses 4/3 data redundancy, which means any 3 shards are needed to derive the original block of data.

v) HMAC SHA1

Each uploaded files produces an HMAC signature which is used to verify the data integrity when downloaded. Apart from the block level signature every shard also produces a HMAC signature. This is used to verify the integrity of data at shard level.

vi) Cross-Continent storage replication

This feature pushes the Degoo account's security to another level. Degoo uploads the user data to multiple data centres and storage providers.

Remember, how Degoo uses the Reed-Solomon code to scramble data into shards. Any three shards are needed to reconstruct the original block of data. To maximize the data security, Degoo uploads only one shard of a block to a data centre. Thus, all the shards of a block are stored on different data centres or storage providers.

This provides maximum security to the data in a situation where the storage provider has to abide by the country's law or himself wants to peep into the user's data. But the storage provider has only one shard and three shards are needed to reconstruct the original block of data. Thus, even after someone gets access to the hard drive of one storage provider and breaks the military standard AES 256 bit encryption still he cannot get the data.

3) Access files from unlimited devices

Every Degoo plan provides uploading from unlimited mobile devices but it restricts the free and pro user's number of desktops. While a free user can upload from only one desktop after referring 10 friends, the pro users are limited to three desktops. However, Degoo provides a great facility to its every user to view and download any file stored on his Degoo cloud account from unlimited devices. Yes, you can install Degoo on an unlimited number of desktops as well and view and download the backed up file from the mapped desktop or mobiles.

4) Mobile-Savvy

Degoo's mobile app is fantastic. Yes, they are.

You can instruct Degoo to upload the mobile data only when the mobile is being charged. This option drastically saves the mobile battery.

Also, you can instruct Degoo to upload your data only when you are connected to a Wi-Fi. This option saves your mobile data.

5) Auto upload

Degoo mobile app can automatically upload the photos in the photo folder of your mobile. All you have to do is instruct Degoo to do so.

Always have a backup of even your latest photos with Degoo.

Degoo Pros

1) Unlimited mobiles

No matter which plan you choose, Degoo is generous enough to let its users map unlimited mobiles to their account. Yes, no restrictions on the number of mobiles you can upload your data from. This comes handy for the people who switch their mobiles regularly but want to stay connected to their database.

2) Generous Free Storage Space

Degoo offers 100 GB of free storage space to its every user. Yes, that's more than sufficient to store a mobile's data.

3) Mobile apps

A mobile app is an add-on for any cloud storage service. And Degoo has that add-on for both the Android and iOS. Degoo's mobile apps are actually fantastic and full of features.

4) Referral Programs

Started in 2012, Degoo is a new entrant in the cloud storage industry. Thus, to expand its user base Degoo offers a referral program to its users. Referrals can provide desktop versions and storage space to the user. Degoo provides per referral 5 GB for free user and 10 GB for Pro user. The maximum a user can refer to is 100 referrals. Thus, an extra 500 GB for a free user and 1000 GB for Pro user.

5) File Compression

This feature is for the Ultimate users only. After Degoo uploads a photo of an Ultimate user, it compresses the local copy of that file which results in saved storage. This process is done automatically.

6) Encryption

Although detailed in the features section, its worth to mention that Degoo provides a very high level of security for its user's data.

Degoo Cons

1) No Linux Support

Linux machines are considered to have the best flexibility to deal with cyber attacks and malware. Thus, they are the preferred choice for savvy's not because Linux is free but because what they can do with Linux. Today, when there are hundreds of Linux distros available only an incompetent cloud storage service will not provide support for Linux.

Degoo falls under the category which does not provide support for Linux. This signature marks the incompetency of Degoo. Also, Degoo loses several Linux lovers each year.

2) Limited Storage

Degoo offers three plans to its users and the maximum storage it can provide is 10 TB. Although it provides unlimited desktops with the Ultimate account, but 10 TB may not be sufficient for enterprises who require the option of unlimited desktops.

3) No web interface

A desktop client and a mobile app is a good place to interact with the cloud data but a user feels limited with those. Absence of a web interface restricts the user to go to his desktop to interact with his own data. If in a situation where a user's mobile is unavailable, and he is away from his computer, he can't download his data instantly. He has to first download the desktop client then only he will be able to get his own data. It's good that at least Degoo offers to download data from any desktop using the client. But this can be a big issue for a user who does not have a permission to install the client.

4) No scheduling

Degoo offers a default automatic backup every 24 hours. Yes, you can not schedule your data as per your own timings and that is a huge limitation. All a user is offered is either to take backup immediately, or wait for that 24 hours threshold to be reached. It does not matter how good a backup service is, backups fail at times for some technical reasons. Thus, a user-defined scheduling is required to take backups.

5) No continuous backup

A continuous backup saves a user from any unannounced power failure or any mishaps like a hardware failure. If a cloud backup service provider provides a continuous backup, the current editing file is continuously backed up to the server. Thus, a file lost due to a power failure or a hardware failure can be restored up to the recent edit from the cloud.

Degoo, however, does not provide the continuous backup. Thus, an unannounced mishap can make even the Degoo Ultimate user lose his current editing file.

All the major cloud storage providers guard the current file. But Degoo leaves the current file unguarded, which is a huge setback.

6) No versioning

It happens to everyone that a major edit is done on a file and then weeks later it is realized that the edit was just a big mistake. A good cloud service is supposed to take care of such instances by providing a feature called versioning. A user can go to the cloud storage and find the version of the file before the mistake was made. Versioning lets a user roll over the big editing mistakes.

Every big player in the cloud storage industry offers versioning. But Degoo lacks this feature which makes it lag behind several service providers, at least in features.

Our Rating: 2.5/5

Visit Degoo website

Degoo Frequently Asked Quesitons

1) What is Degoo lock screen rewards?

Lock Screen Rewards by Degoo is a mobile app to earn some extra space for your Degoo account. By installing this app, Degoo lock screen will become the default screen lock for your mobile. For every 10 hours a user keeps this lock activated, he earns 500 MB of additional space on his Degoo cloud account. There is no limitation on how much space you can earn with this app. This app is available on Google Play Store.

2) Degoo upload speed is too slow?

By default, Degoo upload speed is slow. This is just to let your bandwidth and computer resources remain available for you. In case you are not working on the computer and want Degoo to upload with the maximum speed you can choose the Turbo mode.

To do so, while the files are being uploaded on the client interface, there is a Help option on the bottom of the interface. Clicking this Help option show the option to Enable Turbo Mode. Go ahead and click the turbo mode and your upload speed will increase drastically. As a word of caution, this option also utilizes the CPU to the maximum so use this option only when you are not planning to do any work on the computer.

3) Can I use Degoo on my Blackberry?

Yes, you can use Degoo on your blackberry as well. You can download the Degoo app for blackberry on the Amazon app store.

4) How can I upload files from Windows or Mac to Degoo?

First, install the Degoo client on the Windows or Mac computer, then follow the below procedure

i) Login to your Degoo account

ii) Go to My Files tab

iii) Click the Upload Button available on the bottom right

iv) Browse to the desired folder location

v) Select the folder and click Add folder to Backup

vi) Go to the Upload and Downloads tab to manage and monitor the progress

vii) Done

5) How can I upload files from Android to Degoo?

The Android app of Degoo allows a user to either upload by a category or by selecting specific files. These both procedures are described below

a) Upload by category

i) Open the Degoo app on your Android mobile

ii) Select the Menu button

iii) Select the Uploads option

iv) Enable the Categories that you want to upload

v) Upload progress is shown at the bottom of the screen

vi) Tap the status bar to bring the pause icon

vii) Done

b) Upload custom files and folders

i) Open the Degoo app on your Android mobile

ii) Select the Menu button

iii) Select uploads

iv) Select Upload files

v) Select files or tap-hold on desired folders

vi) Select Add after selecting the files and folders

vii) Upload progress is shown on the screen

viii) Done

6) How can I restore my files from Degoo on Windows and Mac?

You can view and download your data stored on Degoo account from any computer. First, install the Degoo client and login to your Degoo account. Then follow the below process to restore the data

i) Select My Files tab

ii) Select the files and folders you want to download. You can press Ctrl or Shift button for multiple file or folder selection.

iii) Click Download after making the file and folder selection

iv) Browse to the destination folder and click Select as Download location.

v) Go to the Uploads and Downloads tab to manage and monitor the progress

vi) Done

7) How can I restore my files from Degoo on Android mobile?

You can restore the files on the Android device by following the below procedure.

i) Select the Menu button

ii) Select Files from the list

iii) Select Devices

iv) Select the device whose data you want to download

v) Navigate to the files you want to download

vi) Long-tap the first file you want to download

vii) Select other files for download

viii) Press the download icon

ix) On the next screen change the download location if you wish to

x) Select the Download button

xi) Monitor the download progress through the status bar

xii) Done

8) How can I rename a file on Degoo cloud using Android app?

Degoo cloud file management functions only for the data uploaded from the current device. If you want to rename a file or folder which was uploaded from another Android device you need to use that mobile for this function.

To rename a file using Android app, follow the below procedure

i) Click the Menu icon

ii) Select files from the list

iii) Select Devices

iv) Select the first device, the bold-faced one. This is your current device.

v) Navigate to the file you want to rename.

vi) Long-tap the file.

vii) Select the options icon on the top right

viii) This will list the file management options

ix) Select Rename

x) Done

9) How can I create a folder on Degoo cloud using an Android device?

Degoo Android app only allows you to create folders to the cloud database of the current mobile only. If you wish to create a folder for any other mobile's database you need to perform the process from that phone only.

To add a folder on your current mobile's database on the cloud, follow the below procedure

i) Open the Degoo Android app

ii) Click Options icon

iii) From the drop-down select Files

iv) Select Devices

v) Select the first bold-faced device. This is your current device

vi) Navigate to the directory where you want to create a folder

vii) Click the arrow icon on the bottom right of the screen

viii) From the popped-up options select Create folder

ix) Enter the New folder's name

x) Click Create

xi) Done

10) How can I unlink an Android device?

If you want to free up space on your Degoo account or an Android device is simply not being used, you can unlink that mobile. Unlinking a mobile deletes all the data uploaded from that mobile. So, unlink only a device if its data is not to be used in the future. This action can not be undone, so make sure that you want to unlink that device.

To unlink an Android device, follow the below procedure

i) Open the Degoo app on your Android device

ii) Select the Menu option

iii) Select Files from the drop-down list

iv) Select devices

v) Your all the mapped devices will be shown

vi) Click the options icons on your desired device

vii) Click Unlink

viii) Select Yes to verify that you want to unlink and delete all the data of that device

ix) Done

11) How can I log into Degoo client as a different user?

As a default feature of Degoo client, once you log in, you can not logout. There is no feature to logout. The Logout feature has been intentionally kept absent to let the backup process run in the background without logging in every time. However, if a user needs to sign in as a different user, there is a workaround. The whole process is divided into three parts i.e. closing the Degoo, renaming the Degoo folder and reinstalling Degoo. These are detailed in the below procedure

i) Right-click the Degoo icon on the system tray

ii) Click Close

iii) Open windows explorer

iv) Go to C:Users%username%AppDataLocal

v) Rename Degoo folder to something else

vi) Now reinstall Degoo

vii) Once the installation finishes Degoo shows a login screen with an option to login as a different user

viii) You have only 5 seconds to click on Login as a different user

ix) If the 5 seconds are over and you have missed the train then delete C:Users%username%AppDataLocalDegoo

x) Reinstall Degoo

xi) After installation, you will get the interface to enter the login credentials

xii) Now you have logged in as a different user

xiii) To revert to the original user, close the Degoo client

xiv) Rename or delete the current Degoo folder

xv) Rename the original folder to Degoo

xvi) Launch Degoo

xvii) Done

12) Degoo client can't connect to the server?

Although Degoo has officially announced that they have fixed a bug which usually resulted in connectivity issues for the client. Thus, installing the latest version of Degoo will mostly solve the problem. You can also choose to update the client from the interface.

If you are still getting the connectivity error, then it must be your antivirus or the firewall. Degoo establishes an encrypted connection to its server. A firewall or the antivirus tries to decrypt the connection to understand the behind processes. If they fail, they drop the connection which results in a connectivity error. Whitelisting Degoo in your firewall and antivirus makes sure that the connection doesn't get dropped.

13) How can I uninstall Degoo on Windows?

If you no longer wish to use the Degoo cloud storage service, you can uninstall it by following the below procedure

i) Open the Control Panel

ii) Click Uninstall program

iii) Select Degoo

iv) Select Yes to make sure that you want to uninstall

v) On new window select Yes to make sure that you don't want to backup with Degoo

vi) On the new window, Degoo asks the reason and a chance to improvise, select Skip and continue with uninstall

vii) On the next screen, Degoo asks if you want to remove the Degoo settings too. Thus, if you do not want to reinstall Degoo, select Yes and let the uninstallation run.

viii) Done. Degoo is uninstalled.

14) How can I delete my Degoo account?

Before proceeding, you must understand that deleting the Degoo account also deletes all your backed up data from the Degoo cloud. This action can not be undone.

To delete your Degoo account login to delete Degoo account page and follow the instructions. This will delete your account and your data from Degoo.

Livedrive Review

Finding a decent online backup is hard enough on its own these days and when you need backup along with online storage space, the task becomes even more difficult. Although there is a plethora of online backup and storage services available, but finding a reasonable one that is offering incredible features in good price is not that easy. Livedrive is among the backup and storage services which is known for its amazing features, great speed and even greater backup and recovery services. This article is directed towards the detailed review of Livedrive.

Introduction

Livedrive came into being in December 2008 since then it has been providing an amazing online backup and storage services to its users and has gained immense popularity in this field. It was founded by j2 Global with the aim of providing online backup and sync storage services. It offers unlimited backup space to its users and more than 2000 GB of online storage space. It also offers freedom of access and you can access the drive via mobile phones and tablets. The main target of this service is small businesses and home users.

Although it offers some amazing features but its pricey plans prevent it from making it to the best storage services. Livedrive is not even in the top best backup services and that too because of some of its odd functionality and expensive plans.

However, it do offer great speed and recovery options especially for Europian users because its servers are located in UK. Although it does offer amazing speed to the users of other countries and state but the people of UK are in luck here.

Livedrive has an edge in offering not only the traditional online backup features but the space offered is also unlimited. Along with that, it offers great ease of use and extreme privacy due to its compliance with the European privacy laws. But it lacks zero-knowledge encryption which is quite important in backup and storage services. Moreover, it also lacks the two-factor authentication. Users and regular customers also have some serious issues with the payment and support service of Livedrive and due to that it is often rated as a poor service to invest in.

We are going to look at the detailed and comprehensive review of Livedrive. We will go through its pros and cons, the features of Livedrive, review and rating for the features rated separately. A review video is also given in case you are not interested in reading the whole review. A pricing section is also available so you can have a look at its packages. Moreover, important frequently asked questions are also discussed later in the article. Finally the review is summarized giving a final verdict whether you should invest in it or not.

Pros & Cons of Live Drive

Pros and cons give you a helpful insight in deciding whether to spend money on a service or not. You can just look at the pros and cons and weigh a software or service. Below are listed the pros and cons of Livedrive:

Pros

1. Unlimited backup space

2. Incredible versioning feature

3. Sync storage space

4. Good dashboard feature

5. Easy to use and user-friendly

6. Mobile and desktop versions

Cons

1. No zero-knowledge encryption

2. Only effectively protects a single computer

3. Expensive

4. Non-availability of live backup

5. Slow performance in data uploading

6. Non-availability of two-factor authentication

7. Not secure enough

8. No option for full disk backup

9. Non-availability of block-level backup

10. Card details are needed for free trial

11. Cannot perform backup based on file type

Features of Live Drive

Below are listed some of the incredible features of Livedrive:

1. Online Backup

Livedrive promises its users to keep their data safe and secure on their cloud storage. If you sign up for Livedrive, it automatically start keeping a copy of your important data on their servers so that in case of any mishap you can recover all your data without any trouble. Even if your PC is broken you can easily restore the files. This is especially useful for businesses where keeping their data safe and secure is the ultimate goal and Livedrive makes sure of that.

2. Instant Access to Files

You can view your backed up files anytime anywhere. Livedrive gives you access to all your photos, videos, files and media an instant access so that you can view them or download them at any time. You can get access to your files either through logging in to your account on their website or using their iOS, Android or Windows apps.

3. Simple Restoration of Files

With the Livedrive account, you have the ability to easily download the backed up files and media. If there is any hardware damage or a natural disaster like flood or fire in your area or even in the case of accidental deletion or theft, the files are safely present at the servers and you can easily download them. It keeps as many as 30 previous versions of files so that even if you have made any accidental changes you can revert it back.

4. Backup a NAS drive or a Second Computer

Livedrive offers an amazing add-on using which you even backup your NAS drive or other computers. With its Pro Suite product, you can backup up to 5 Mac or PC users. You can also backup your mobiles and tablets with this add-on.

5. Livedrive Briefcase

Livedrive briefcase is a special folder where you can put your files so that you can edit or view them later from any device, smartphone, PC or tablet. It offers more than 2000 GB of storage space where you can keep your files for a later editing or viewing. It also offers security to your briefcase files.

6. Easy file sharing

No need for emails now as you can share your files easily through briefcase either privately or publicly. If you want to share your briefcase files privately, a unique username and password is generated for you to share with your recipient so that they can access the files securely. For public sharing, a link is generated which you can post on social media or send via email.

7. Ease of Use

The user interface of this service is simple and straightforward. You can access the control center of this service using the system tray icon. The control center interface is also elegantly designed having its main menu on the top and the content is shown on the remaining window.

The web application of Livedrive show you a list of all the devices that you have connected and the files that you have backed up. It also provides access to the Briefcase as well where you can edit and view files easily. You can also view the important support information using the web app. You can navigate between the different features using a menu located on the left side. It don’t have many features so you won’t get confused.

A mobile app is also available for Livedrive that lets you access your backed up files and media in a fast and easy manner. It is available for both iOS and Android. The shared files can also be viewed from the mobile application and you can even open your music files as well.

The desktop app of Livedrive is somewhat lacking behind from the rest of its two counterparts because it kind of get stuck in the middle irritating the users. The app get stuck while uploading or downloading files or folders from the drive but it is also necessary as Livedrive make you choose files or folders that you want to backup.

8. File Backup & Restoration

Livedrive automatically selects a few of your folders for backup which usually includes desktop, documents, and pictures, music, and videos folders. However, it does exclude some of the files so you need to manually select the files that you especially need to backup. One thing that hurts the reputation of Livedrive is that it does not support backup by file type which is available in most of the competing backup services. Backblaze is one competitor that offers this facility including a much simpler user interface.

You can schedule the time for backup according to your needs. You can set them for daily backups or you can schedule it to scan the drive for changes made after a few hours so that the modified files can be backed up. That totally depends upon the needs of the user or the business.

You can also restore the files that you have backed up using a desktop app on a computer or a web app. You can either select individual files or folders to restore or you can restore all the files available at once.

9. Speed

Backup speed usually depends upon the amount of data you have to upload for backup. Initial backups are usually slow whereas its downloading speed or the restore speed is usually higher. Moreover, the uploading and downloading speeds also depends upon your proximity to the UK servers and the speed of your internet connection. According to the speed test done by cloudwards.net, Livedrive took an hour or so to upload a folder of size 1GB which it should take more or less 24 minutes in theory. The location was Belgrade, Serbia. The downloading time, however, was quite close to the theoretical time of 2 minutes. The uploading speed was 6 Mbps whereas the downloading speed is much higher i.e. 83 Mbps. If you are struggling with the bandwidth consumption, you can alter the settings by selecting “settings” and then choosing “advanced” and then choosing “Bandwidth”.

10. Military Grade Security

Livedrive make sure that your data is highly secure and fully protected that is why it uses military grade security. It encrypts the data during transmission and also provides on-rest encryption to make sure that your data is safely backed up at their UK servers.

You can set a password for your Livedrive account so each time it starts you have to enter the password to access the files on it. This is especially important if someone steal your laptop and tries to restore the information backed up on your Livedrive account.

The information listed on the security page of Livedrive mentions that it possesses three layers of physical data security. In order to detect and prevent intrusion attacks, the data centers are being monitored 24/7. All data centers are also ISO 27001 certified as well.

11. Privacy

It doesn’t provide zero-knowledge encryption which is considered as its low point but it uses AES 256-bit encryption to encrypt the files before uploading them. Due to the absence of zero-knowledge encryption, it is not considered completely safe. It is mentioned in its privacy policy that your personal information can be share with the external advisors, legal and regulatory authorities and any other legal persons. It is also mentioned that it is compliant with the General Data Protection Regulation which is consiederd an adequate protection for the European users.

Livedrive also does not use a two-factor authentication system. So that if someone steal your password, he can access your account and all your files. Therefore make sure to create a strong password.

12. Support

Livedrive offers a good support to its users in the form of a forum where people can ask their questions and get replies. Moreover, there is a feature that shows service status which is also of great help to the users. If you could not find an answer to your question of the FAQ forum, you can always submit your ticket to the support team. The timing for the support team is Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. They usually give a response to a query in about an hour which is good enough though the support can be improved by making telephone support and online chat available to the users.

Pricing of Livedrive

The pricing details of this service is as follows:

Traditional backup plan from Livedrive will cost you £5.00 per month and provide you with an unlimited backup for a single computer along with the access to the files using the mobile application. In order to get NAS feature you have to pay an additional amount of $6.33 per month but you will have additional facilities like versioning, restoration and encryption of files. You can have at least 30 versions of a single file available.

If you want the Briefcase, you will have to pay £10.00 per month to get 2000 GB of sync storage space. You can also directly share your files using Briefcase which is available for both mobile and desktop applications. You can also backup your phone data as well including photos and videos. Briefcase also keeps up to 30 versions of your files in case you want to restore a previous version.

The Pro Suite package combines the above described two packages allowing you to use the sync storage space along with the backup facility. The sync storage space will be 5000 GB with unlimited backup space and you can get all this in £15.00 per month. Pro Suite subscribers also get an additional feature of NAS backup support and they can access it by adding the network folders on to the drive in their backup selection using the “account settings” option.

Livedrive is not cheap when it comes to pricing and even with the Pro Suite package that combines the amazing features of its other two plans, you can get an enterprise backup, sharing and syncing solution in almost competing price.

Review & Rating

Overall, Livedrive is a mixture of some good features but lacks some necessary features.

The rating of the software is as follows:

• Ease of use (79%)
• Features (80%)
• Pricing (70%)
• Security (80%)
• File backup and restoration (77%)
• Support (80%)
• Speed (76%)
• Privacy (80%)

Review Video

Here is the review video for Livedrive:

Livedrive Coupon Codes

Below are listed some of the coupon codes that you can use to get some discounts on Livedrive packages:

1. You can get the Briefcase plan in just $13 using this offer.

2. You can get a Livedrive reseller with a 30 days money back guarantee in just $59.95 with this offer.

3. Livedrive Professional Briefcase plans can be availed using this code in just $12.66.

FAQ for Livedrive

Below are listed few of the questions asked frequently by the users:

Where are Livedrive servers located?

Livedrive servers are based in UK.

How to cancel Livedrive account?

In order to cancel your Livedrive account, you simply need to visit this link and fill out a cancellation form.

Summary

Livedrive is a great online backup and sync storage service by j2 Global. It offers some pretty great features like military grade security, high privacy, Briefcase, direct sharing, etc. making it a worthwhile investment but it lacks in some features. It does not offer two-factor authentication and zero-knowledge encryption compromising security and privacy. Moreover, its prices are also comparatively higher. But still I would rate this service a 4 out of 5 stars or 80%.

References

1. https://www.cloudwards.net/review/livedrive/

2. https://www.techradar.com/reviews/livedrive

3. https://www.pcmag.com/review/332017/livedrive

4. https://www2.livedrive.com/ForHome

5. https://www2.livedrive.com/

6. https://www.promocodewatch.com/livedrive-promo-code

7. https://www.coupons.com/coupon-codes/livedrive/

8. https://www.offers.com/livedrive/

9. https://answerthepublic.com/reports/2c561ebf-8115-4913-9f23-00672039e7da