Recreation At Hawkscay

Archive for the ‘Online Backup’ Category

Dropbox is a free online storage service and much more. It a allows you to share files with others easily. It also, allows you to sync files on all the computers you use (home, work, laptop, etc). In reviewing this product I used its free service which allows you 2GB of free online storage space.

First, let me give you some details of how dropbox works. You download the dropbox software on all of the computers that you want to share information on. This adds a dropbox folder to your computer and anytime you save anything to the dropbox folder it automatically updates that files and folders across all of the computers you have downloaded the dropbox software on.

Dropbox also allows you to share files with others. The way this works is you right click on the file you want to share and then it ask you to put in an email address for the person you want to share the file with. Once you put in their email it sends them an invitation telling them that you want to share a file and tells them to view it they can download the dropbox software. So once you share the file with another person anytime you update that file it is automatically updated on the other persons computer. I have used this extensively when outsourcing work to others. It makes it very easy for everyone collaborate and be on the same page and up to date. I find using dropbox is much easier than using Google Docs and many of the other services out there for this type of business collaboration. Many others use this more for personal use and share pictures, movies, etc. with their friends and family.

Getting online backup is now a must for most individuals and businesses. With that said, the upfront cost of paying for the service or monthly membership fee is more than what most people are willing to pay. This kind of perspective is understandable especially if they have yet to experience the benefits of backup services.

So if you’re not ready to pay, then getting a free service gives you a foretaste of what the backup solution has to offer. It gives an overview of the features, functions, and the amount of data you can safety store in an offsite location. Contrary to some perspectives, there are actually a lot of fully-featured online backup services that are available for free.

Online backup services let you store everything from cherished digital photos, large enterprise spreadsheets, and important business documents. It eliminates the need to buy multiple hard drives for storage. With that said, here are the different types of online backup you can take advantage of depending on your needs:

Email Backup

Have you ever considered using free email services for online backup? Believe it or not, tech companies offer great storage capacity on this service. Just upload your files to Gmail, Yahoo, or Hotmail and name them accordingly. You can easily access, view, and download the documents when you need them.

Dropbox

Another notable name in the online backup services industry is Dropbox. The company offers 2GB of free storage space. If you need a larger option, upgrades are available for a fee. Dropbox offers file synching to make the process of storing files easier for you. This service is available in computers, mobile devices, and tablets. The service has become a favorite collaboration tool among individuals who work virtually.

Carbonite is compatible with both PC and Mac and, like most online backup services, requires the installation of a small program to operate. This program automatically selects the most common files and folders on your system and adds them to the backup set for uploading to Carbonite’s data center. You can add other files manually by right-clicking on a folder or file and selecting “Back This Up” on the menu.

Carbonite does not automatically select for backup any file that is larger than 4GB (Gigabytes), even if you manually select a folder containing files larger than this size limit. You will have to manually add these to what Carbonite will backup, one at a time. While not a problem for most users, this is important to note for those who work with and store video, or other large files on their systems.

While Carbonite backs up your data automatically, it runs only when you are not actively using your computer. When you begin to use your computer again the Carbonite software stops running. This helps to prevent your system or your internet connection from slowing down while you are trying to use them.

So, what is equal in importance to actually backing up your data?

Being able to restore your data when you lose it. With Carbonite, restoring your data is quite simple. It allows users to recover specific files or all the files they have backed up with just a few clicks.

Carbonite gives you full access to your files from any computer with an internet connection. All you will need is your email address and password. Whether you are traveling, at school, or at work, you always have your files when you need them.