Impressions on WSA In-House Backup & Sync

First and foremost, I do not personally use the backup feature, but it works in a very similar mechanism as the synchronization does with the cloud, so I imagine we can assume likewise results.

To get the gist for those that don't want to read the details...WSA's in-house Backup & Sync functionality is very strong (and of course ultra light) and aside from just one occasional, moderate glitch (a few renamed folders respawned empty folders with original names, only deletable from Web Console or they would repop) has been working fine since I started using it a month or so ago. I am very pleased.

Why now?

Windows Live Mesh, evolved ancestor of Windows Live Sync and part of Essentials 2011, is now dead. Microsoft is replacing it with an entirely effluvial, over-simplified (what else is new with GUIs these days) Skydrive sync application. I do not want to use this as they removed the ability to synchronize what you want. In order for folders/files to sync, you have to drop them in the Skydrive master folder. This can prove to be problematic for those who keep their files neatly organized/have OCD like myself, because why should I drop stuff in one folder to sync it? What if I want to sync a sub-folder in My Music, and a sub-folder in My Documents? By dropping those both into the Skydrive folder, I've now completely broken my own personal convention/organization system in order to make their program work. Not acceptable.

So I didn't do it. I moved on to Webroot SecureAnywhere's utility. And I'm glad I did. A full internet security suite still takes up like a small chunk of the memory that Live Mesh did and all that did was sync. Come on!

Any glitches?

Yes.

1. On my netbook, the sync icons for folders, which I am VERY fond of, show up properly. It uses a blue sync logo on any master folders like Webroot Anywhere, and a green one for sub-folders. On my desktop, only the sub-folder ones show. I consider this a minor bug.

2. Occasionally when renaming only a few folders (and I've done many), it will respawn an empty folder of the old name. If you delete this, it will toss it but repop instantly, so you must log into your Web Console and delete it there to solve the issue. I considerate this a moderate bug.

Overall, pretty stable. Pretty solid.

Why should I use this?

Well, for one, if you had Essentials/Complete 2012, or Complete 2013, you've already paid for it, so start getting your money's worth!

Two, I must (we all should) applaud Webroot and Joe for NOT jumping on the "dumb down the UI bandwagon" that so many developers seem to be jumping on. I am so sick of the "let's make everything touch friendly even if it has a mouse and keyboard, and make it big and shiny and simple" attitude Microsoft is now spearheading. Webroot refuses to remove functionality that Microsoft has in their competitive products. Microsoft wanted to remove the ability to change what it automatically does to detections in Security Essentials, and Joe has stated that functionality will always be present in WSA. Additionally, Microsoft, as I said above, has removed the ability to customize what and how you sync in Skydrive, and WSA lets you pick exactly what folders or sub-folders you want to sync!

Any other users out there?

Please feel free to post your own current/recent experiences with WSA's Backup & Sync.




Hope this helps!

 

Thanks for the feedback! We have some exciting improvements coming in the next few months with the Backup & Sync product and are definitely focused on making it as user-friendly and functional as possible.

I'll take a look at what's happening with your overlay icons and renamed folders.

Thanks again, and I look forward to hearing other feedback!

 

Sounds from your post, STV, that the bugs I was encountering with the early version of WSA in-house Backup & Sync, and which were driving me up the wall, have been largely or maybe even completely resolved. So perhaps it'll be worth my giving it a second try. When I get the time whenever that'll be

 

I also miss Live Mesh's ability to designate Sync folders without moving them into a "master" folder. It would be convenient if the option to designate a folder for syncing could be added to the right-click menu instead of having to drill down in the WSA UI. I'm going to setup Sync on a couple of boxes today and see how it goes.

Edit: I see how to add custom folders to sync with the cloud, but is it possible to sync peer to peer? For instance I'd like to be able to sync the Music folder on my desktop PC with the Music folder on my laptop as I did with Live Mesh. I don't want to sync these folders individually since the contents are essentially the same.