I have been in search of an off site online computer backup solution for a long time. I wanted to get one that is Internet-based computer backup solution. I came across Mozy Online Backup a few years ago. What interested me was the free trial. The free trial was not limited by days or number of files, but total storage amount. Initially, the original Mozy service only provided 1 Gig of online storage for free. But soon enough, Mozy doubled their free trial to 2 Gigs of online backup capacity.
Mozy has been adding features that have impressed me. The first few versions of Mozy were very buggy and needed constant updating and system restarts. This got annoying, but I stuck through it. The restore process was also fairly chunky. But the service has made a consistent push to make the best possible backup service available on the Internet.I have been a free home user for a few years. I back up most of my ’stuff’ to external media, e.g. CDs, DVDs or hard drives. Since reading about the possible issue with CD/DVD rot, and having an external hard drive fail, I decided that I invest some time in researching online off site storage a bit deeper. Unlike the external media that I have been relying on to save all my files, off site storage has an additional perk that in case of total local devastation, be it fire, flood, tornado or hurricane, I have a complete back up of my entire computer file history several hundred miles away. This is great as if people take the time to actually backup their files, they never stopped to think about what if something happened to their house where both the computer and the backups are housed. The amount of people that backup their computer is in the minority, the folks that actually have a disaster recovery plan is even smaller. I know, most home users never think that far. So my hope is that some read this blog post and do something about it.With Mozy Home Edition, I get unlimited backup capacity. Sure, it is $4.95 a month, but it will save my marriage if anything ever happens to my wife’s digital pictures. The best / worst thing I ever did was buy her a professional grade digital SLR camera last year. The pictures she has taken in the last year alone total about a 500 gig. Yes, 500 gig. Since my wife would have me sign divorce papers if her digital pictures were to ever find themselves erased, I thought it best I make certain that no harm will come to her work of preserving our family history in pictures.So, I have a few areas I need in my online, off site, computer backup solution:
- Automated Backups – Mozy has this.
- Off Site storage – Mozy is located in Utah. Since I’m inKansas, that will do. If there is a disaster big enough to affect both at the same time and all points in-between, computer files are probably the least of my worries.
- Ease of use. – The hardest part is making sure you have all your important files set for back-up. Mozy does a great job of pre-selecting files. So it is not that difficult.
- Easy restores – Restore process uses standard folder structure for you to easily find the file(s) needing restored.
- Price – Up to 2 Gig of storage is 100% free for home users. Need more? Just $4.95 per month for unlimited storage.
- Cheap storage capacity – Again, $4.95 for unlimited capacity.
I am putting the unlimited storage to the test. As I mentioned, I am moving to the Unlimited Home Plan as I have severally out grown my 2 gig free capacity. I have 776.5 gig to back up that totals 270825 files.
I will post my progress on the blog in upcoming posts. More to come!
To get you own safety net of 2 gig of free storage, click the link below. If 2 gig is not enough, they look at the full blown unlimited capacity of Mozy. At $4.95 a month, it is a inexpensive insurance plan.
Business users can also get an easily configurable multi-desktop solution. Just click the link below to get more information.