# Online backup service



## MrMatt (Dec 21, 2011)

Can anyone recommend a good online backup service?
I was going to roll my own, but realized many are cheaper than simply zipping up files and using Amazon S3.


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## LBCfan (Jan 13, 2011)

Depends, who do you want to have access to your data?


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## OnlyMyOpinion (Sep 1, 2013)

I don't trust and don't keep anything "in the cloud". Use two external 1tb hard drives for redundant backup of laptop, store in different locations, backup before trips, after significant work, otherwise every 3 mos. Mail saved as an outlook.pst file.


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## MrMatt (Dec 21, 2011)

OnlyMyOpinion said:


> I don't trust and don't keep anything "in the cloud". Use two external 1tb hard drives for redundant backup of laptop, store in different locations, backup before trips, after significant work, otherwise every 3 mos. Mail saved as an outlook.pst file.


The cloud is just a remote server. I tried the USB hard drive, it was awkward, so I didn't backup.

As far as security, not too concerned if CSIS or the NSA wanted my data, they'd just get a warrant and come grab it.


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## cainvest (May 1, 2013)

Google drive gives you 15GB for free.


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## none (Jan 15, 2013)

I use dropbox. everything is backed up in real time. I pay $100 a year for it - and get something like a Terrabyte. It's well worth the piece of mind and ability to access my files fro all over the planet in case I don't have my computer handy.

Good way to share files too.

https://www.dropbox.com/home


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## Malindi (Feb 16, 2015)

I've looked into this extensively. I am a photographer, so have terrabytes of data. The best, most automated, fail-safe and unlimited option is with CrashPlan. It sits on your computer, you select what/how often to back up to the "cloud" (unlimited space, file types and sizes etc.) and it does the job for you. It works like time machine on a Mac, in that it can take 15 minute slices of your work (handy for Excel or photo editing) and you can recover from any of the 15 minute slices. You can set it to never delete anything from the cloud, even if you delete it locally. You can try it out without a credit card 30 days, full-feature and it only costs $5/month or so for a single plan. Family plans are even cheaper in comparison. You can log on anywhere in the world and recover to a new machine if needed, one file or all. You can recover from Mac to PC or whatever and you can transfer the license to a new machine. There really is nothing I can fault it on after years and years of use. I pay 5 years in advance for $149 or so.


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## pwm (Jan 19, 2012)

If you run windows why not just use OneDrive. It's easy to use, you get 15GB free, and it's built right into windows. That's what I do.


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## pwm (Jan 19, 2012)

I just looked at my OneDrive settings and it's actually 30GB.


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## brad (May 22, 2009)

The big advantage of keeping your files in Dropbox is that you have them locally and they're backed up instantly. If your hard disk dies, you can download individual files from another computer or download your entire Dropbox repository. It's fast.

Contrast this with more conventional online backup software where you're generally restoring from a backup. A complete restore can take days, depending on how big your backup is. If you have bandwidth restrictions on your internet service, doing a complete backup or restoring from a complete backup can easily bump you over those limits, resulting in extra fees from your internet service provider.

My approach is to not back up any of my apps, but instead only back up files. If my hard disk dies or my computer bites the dust, I've found it works better to reinstall my apps from scratch on a new computer rather than using a backup image of the old one -- often the new computer has different drivers or may have come with a newer OS, and restoring from the backup often leads to instabilities even if you do a "bare metal" install. Dropbox works well for this, because you can keep all your files in Dropbox where they are instantly backed up but also available locally on your computer.

Another advantage with Dropbox is that you can choose which files are stored locally on your computer and which ones just live on Dropbox's server. That's helpful in these days of laptops with 256 gigabyte SSD drives where storage is limited. 

There are even services now (such as the one called "up there") that keep all your files in the cloud, nothing is stored locally. But I like having files locally since I don't always have internet, especially while traveling.


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## brad (May 22, 2009)

pwm said:


> If you run windows why not just use OneDrive. It's easy to use, you get 15GB free, and it's built right into windows. That what I do.


I know plenty of people are happy with OneDrive but I've had nothing but troubles with it; it's been terribly unreliable for me. In Windows 10 there's a bug in which OneDrive randomly places all your files in the recycle bin; that may have been fixed recently but I don't know because I can't trust OneDrive so I stopped using it. It frequently rejects my credentials or asks me to re-enter them repeatedly, and files I place there disappear randomly. I hope I'm just unlucky, but I've read similar experiences from others.


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## agent99 (Sep 11, 2013)

brad said:


> The big advantage of keeping your files in Dropbox is that you have them locally and they're backed up instantly. If your hard disk dies, you can download individual files from another computer or download your entire Dropbox repository. It's fast.
> 
> Contrast this with more conventional online backup software where you're generally restoring from a backup. A complete restore can take days, depending on how big your backup is. If you have bandwidth restrictions on your internet service, doing a complete backup or restoring from a complete backup can easily bump you over those limits, resulting in extra fees from your internet service provider.
> 
> ...


We do more or less the same thing. The free allocation from Dropbox doesn't seem like much, but more than enough for personal use. We have all our documents and photos on Dropbox. They are accessible from any of our computers or devices. I am not concerned about security. If someone gained access, what would they get? Certainly no passwords or sensitive data. Our tax returns are kept on hard drive, but we also keep paper copies. I do occasionally make a disk image backup. But how many of would be able to recover even with a back up if we had a major hard drive failure?


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## marina628 (Dec 14, 2010)

I use external drive and back up every 3-4 months ,biz stuff I backup when i do the work.


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## Bowzer (Feb 25, 2015)

It pays to have both on-site and off-site backups. Local for speed, and off-site just in case your house burns down, you get burgled, etc.

The key is to make them automated, whatever you choose. Set it and forget it.


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## MrMatt (Dec 21, 2011)

I went with crashplan, happy so far.

I do have 17gb with Google drive, I also use a bit of onedrive.


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## wendi1 (Oct 2, 2013)

I use Reddit, both local and online, but will be looking into some of these others.


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## Spudd (Oct 11, 2011)

wendi1 said:


> I use Reddit, both local and online, but will be looking into some of these others.


Reddit? Is that a typo?


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## wendi1 (Oct 2, 2013)

Yes, sorry, Spud. Rebit.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

MrMatt said:


> As far as security, not too concerned if CSIS or the NSA wanted my data, they'd just get a warrant and come grab it.


At least you would *know* they have obtained it, when you're using physical drives on-site.

When your data is stored at a company like a cloud provider or backup hosting company, governments can access the data, and the company is required by law to NOT tip you off that your data has been acquired.

There is a practical difference. If someone comes busting down your door to get your data, you know that you should contact a lawyer ASAP. On the other hand if your data is silently being sucked away by someone _who is building a case against you_, and you have no idea, then it seems to me that you'd have a major disadvantage in defending your rights & freedoms.


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## Eclectic12 (Oct 20, 2010)

brad said:


> The big advantage of keeping your files in Dropbox is that you have them locally and they're backed up instantly. If your hard disk dies, you can download individual files from another computer or download your entire Dropbox repository. It's fast.
> 
> Contrast this with more conventional online backup software where you're generally restoring from a backup ...


Perhaps you mean "Dropbox and similar cloud based services"?
Or is there some type of file that OneDrive or Google's system won't handle?

I had to figure out why the smartphone, even with "only use WiFi" was reporting gigs of data being shuffled around. It turned out that the camera was set to automatically backup all the pictures to Google. As I was traveling and had forgotten to charge the regular camera, the cell phone camera was standing in (and generating the data transfers).


Cheers


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## brad (May 22, 2009)

Eclectic12 said:


> Perhaps you mean "Dropbox and similar cloud based services"?
> Or is there some type of file that OneDrive or Google's system won't handle?


Right, I meant Dropbox and other similar cloud-based file storage services, compared with a cloud-based backup program like Crash Plan. 

As noted above, I've found OneDrive to be unreliable and buggy; I do use Google as an automatic backup for my photos and music, but everything else is in Dropbox.


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## AltaRed (Jun 8, 2009)

I rely on the free space I have at Dropbox as my primary storage. It is highly convenient and easy to use, including shared folders et al. I use it for my Documents folder. I use the free space I have on OneDrive for all my photos and spare copies of software such as Quicken and UFile, and have only started to use Google Drive to keep some spare capacity at Dropbox and OneDrive. I really see no need to have to purchase additional file space at any of those services.

P.S. All of my music and videos are backed up on an external HDD because these are theoretically expendable if the house burned down.


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## MrMatt (Dec 21, 2011)

Well Backblaze just increased their prices (again) so I'm revisiting.

Backblaze is nice, continuous backup, unlimited (includign my 8tb external) for a simple annual price.

But with 4 computers... it's getting expensive. 
any ideas?


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## Ricehammer4416 (Jan 6, 2021)

I use Google. 2TB for around 150/year. However I'm also looking for something else because my wife takes too many videos and we are almost full. The next step up is quite expensive The option maybe to get another account under her name. I'm also debating a home NAS.


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## MrBlackhill (Jun 10, 2020)

I have Microsoft 365. For $109/year, up to 6 people get access to Microsoft 365 and 1 TB of storage for each person.


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## MrMatt (Dec 21, 2011)

Ricehammer4416 said:


> I use Google. 2TB for around 150/year. However I'm also looking for something else because my wife takes too many videos and we are almost full. The next step up is quite expensive The option maybe to get another account under her name. I'm also debating a home NAS.


Backblaze is unlimited, including external USB drives


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