Do you know any online backup storage?

Hi, I would like to backup all my files, so far I have ~300GB and I wonder, where to put it? External HDD is good solution, but I would prefer online storage. I have found out, that megaupload offers unlimited file size and storage capacity for 200$ as a lifetime account. Do you think, it is reliable or is there something better?

 

You can buy hosting and use it as simple file storage ...
Mrk

 

For additional ideas title search "online storage" up top.

 

That is not a good idea. I do not recommend you do this. Hosting companies, although they may offer unlimited space, intend for you to use it for hosting reasons. Many sites have it in their agreement that is you are using the service for file storage they will immediately delete your account.

That being said I have recently tried twenty five such services. I have been impressed with two; Sugar Sync and Jungle Disk Plus, which is supported by Amazon. Since you have a lot of data to store I'd recommend Jungle Disk, as with Sugar Sync you are limited to 250gb for $25/month. With Jungle Disk there are no limits, just $0.15 per gb per month.

As I said those were the two I was most impressed with. But I was looking for more than file storage; I needed automatic backup abity and web and phone access. There is a service called Online Storage Solution that might be what you need. They offer unlimted storage space for $19/year.

Hope that helps,

Nate

 

Try out Carbonite
I personally recommend you to go with megaupload. 200$ per lifetime is about as cheap you will ever get.

 

The link below provides a side by side comparison of 10 services as well as reviews of each service. I hope it helps.

http://online-storage-service-review.toptenreviews.com/

Something to keep in mind however ------ note how you get your data onto the companies servers. If you have to upload it via the net it could take a very long time to get the entire data set done,,,,months in fact at normal upload speeds. I use a service called IDrive and you can send them a series of CDs or DVDs and they will load the data into your account, hopefully the others services will do the same. I would recommend IDrive except the max is 150 gigs (for $49/year).

I am also a firm believer in "If it sounds too good to be true it probably is". Unlimited data for $19/year or even unlimited lifetime for $200 sounds too good to be true. When we are talking about OUR data you want to be sure the company will still be in business when you need to get the data back. Caution is recommended. At a min keep a copy on site or better yet an image on a portable hard drive that is kept in a safe deposit box (or some such off site location) in addition to the online location.

 

I do not use online storage. But here are some more reviews of online storage:

http://www.consumersearch.com/online-backup-services

I prefer a Network RAID1 Server for file backup since I have four PC's. If I only had one PC, I would use either two or more internal SATA hard drives and/or get an External Hard Drive Enclosure (dual 1.0 TB SATA300 drives in same housing, USB2.0).

 

Thanks, this one looks really good and it exists since 1996, so it should be reliable.

Yeah, I think about it as well, I could also watch videos there (so far 72 min limit) and download other files without limit.

 

Have upload speeds with Jungle Disk improved? I tried the service about a year ago...it seemed reliable but upload speeds were very slow compared to IDrive or Mozy.

 

Hi Folks,

To offer some counterpoint, I think there is a myopic quality to simply reading some of those review sites, especially if you plan to use the cloud as primary backup, rather than just auxiliary to local backup (e.g. USB disk, or two of them, that you put in a secure place away from the computer). Cloud as primary is simply a bad idea on really large backups. You can run into all sorts of issues, here is an example of one out of dozens.

http://www.backupreview.info/2009/03/20/online-backup-mozy-great-until-you-need-to-restore/
"Online Backup Mozy: Great, Until You Need to Restore"

And that is not 300 Gigabytes. That story above is similar to the experience of a friend (similar difficulties with a small backup). I think you can easily find Carbonite difficulties as well -- when I am looking for auxiliary cloud backup for business data (iSeries and Windows network) there is a whole different tier of companies that I look at.

That article above is from a review site that I consider a bit more level-headed. Anything from "Top Ten Reviews" is suspect. Consumer Search looks a bit pablumish, but at least they utilized Backupreview.info a bit.

Incidentally, the web backup I have found most interesting so far is DriveHQ, simply because I like their dual-pane interface software, the remote site feels much more like a drive on your disk, working with an interface like Total Commander. And you are not beholden to working with windows Explorer (Carbonite) or whatever Mozy is doing today. This type of issue is why you really have to test out the sites yourself in some detail, and decide on what you are trying to accomplish, how often you want to access the data, try sample downloads, stuff like that. Also situations are very different based on the volatility of the data, and how good incremental backups are, and how they are accomplished, how good is the compression to reduce actual transmission time, how smart the backups are in recognizing unchanged objects. (That was more a factor on my iSeries backup, in Windows you largely dealing with file-by-file if you are doing pics and such.)

In general, good info is a bit sparse and the safest data is that you can see on a local USB external disk where you can see the data simply as a local drive number in any file manager, and transfer times are fast. When you go to restore, you have real versatility -- I would even caution you on disk image software to make sure that it is also able to deal comfortably with file-by-file restore rather than the full image, if a push becomes a shove.

Shalom,
Steven Avery

 

Backblaze!
https://www.backblaze.com

By the way, those "review" sites are mostly bogus. They only reviewed sites that had affiliate programs with them and left off reviewing some major services.

 

I tried doing a review search of this service and did not find much (but thats how I found the service comparison I linked to above).

And of course if they say they have been in business since 1996 it must be true,,,,,RIGHT?

By all means give them a go, at that price all you have to lose is $19,,,,,and possibly your data. Thats why I suggested making sure you have copies available via imaging (or whatever), just in case.

As I mentioned I use IDrive and I am using it to backup my critical files (not all my data). What I like about it is that any file under 50 mg that I designate for "continuous monitoring" is checked every 10 min and if it has changed the new version is automatically uploaded to the server. Up to 30 versions will be kept so if I need to recover a previous version I can easily do so,,,,,,,,,but this is not my only line of defence. I image my drive regularly, rotate portable drives (with images on them) between my safe deposit box and home, and keep extra copies on a Terabyte Drive (I also am using RollBack Rx).

One backup is better than none but if you find out that that backup has a problem when you need it most,,,,,well, that would be a real drag.

Bottom line,,,,better safe than sorry.

PS: I have uploaded and restored files many times with IDrive and have never had a problem,,,,,,but I do not take that to mean I never will have a problem. Worst case scenario for me is that I could possibly lose a few days worth of backups since I make regular images etc. No way would I feel comfortable relying on just IDrive (or any single back-up program or service). Currently I am using Acronis True Image, RollBack Rx and its associated imager, and IDrive. I plan on adding Shadow Protect to the mix when I get a new PC I am having built and may use it in place of RollBack on that PC (or I may decide to use them all, drives are cheap so storage space is not an issue). ------ Ya, I am more than a bit paranoid about my data, between business and personal files losing it would be a catastrophe.

 

I will probably go with megaupload, it is japan, based in 2003 and after all, it is cheaper than to pay a year fee, but I am still opened to sugestions.
I want to backup only common data, that I already have on 2 HDDs and on DVDs, as for critical files, I have USB and live account with 50 GB free.

 

I used SOS Online very briefly a few years ago. I opened a trial account and then closed it because the software was sluggish. They started charging me anyway, and it was a hassle to get them to stop.

Need I say more?

 

Sounds like you will be covered with this but I would also backup (on-line) the critical data so its off site on a timely basis. Does megaupload provide for automatic and or continuous backup. I really like the idea that uploads happen without any input from me so I know the backups are done. Also you mention the 50gig free service, could I trouble you for which service this is? More backup opportunities are a good thing and I would likely avail myself of this extra layer.

 

Ah sorry my bad, It is only 25GB not 50GB, I use only a few MB backup there, so I did not really know. It is accessed with normal Windows Live Account.

www.windowslive.com/Online/SkyDrive - and there is something about Windows Live Sync feature, I guess that is automatic backup, I prefer manual.

EDIT: as for that 50GB, I meant - www.adrive.com - I found it, when I was looking for storage, but 50GB is too small, even when it is for free.

 

Thank you for the links, looks interesting, I may use them both. Currently my data set is only 7.5 gigs so lots of room on both services. Still, I would not be surprised to find the free services reduced or dropped without warning so I would not rely on them without reservation but as an extra layer of protection "in the mean time" they look, for the moment, OK.

 

I guess, that the trial is for the backup utility only, so in 14 days, you would have to backup manually - www.adrive.com/plans
Hmm, I wonder, what if I would use multiple accounts? Nope, I am sure, that it would be against some of their company policies.

 

I thought of that and I expect you are correct. No doubt when you set up an account they record the IP address so they would know if you were trying to do that.