Free online backup?

[birthdaymonkey]

Is there such a thing as a decent free online backup? I wouldn't need more than a gig; it would be mostly for storing office documents.

 

[jmet]

www.Mozy.com - Used to have a free 1-2 gig limit, not sure about now.. I think the software is horrible.
www.Dropbox.com - Basic folder sync, 2 gig free
www.idrive.com - 5 GB free, never used them


I far prefer Crashplan to the competition.. the pricing is very competitive.

http://www.crashplan.com/consumer/compare.html

 

[ViviTheMage]

dropbox is definitely your best play for FREE, if you're paying .. backblaze is very affordable.

 

[Hogan773]

I believe my MSN account (which is free) includes a 25GB "sky drive" which could be used for backup. I haven't used it yet - has anyone else?

 

[birthdaymonkey]

The annual rate of $24.99 is pretty attractive. I'm a bit wary of only being able to backup from one machine for that price... Does this mean only one machine will automatically backup? Can I still copy individual files or folders should the need arise?

 

[nardz84]

I believe my MSN account (which is free) includes a 25GB "sky drive" which could be used for backup. I haven't used it yet - has anyone else?

I use the Live (MSN/Hotmail) Skydrive a bit and I like it, only issue sometimes is the 50mb single file limit but its rare that I want to throw up something that large. I think it may let you view Office docs online, unfortunately they block all file storage sites at my work or I'd comment more on it.

 

[Hogan773]

I use the Live (MSN/Hotmail) Skydrive a bit and I like it, only issue sometimes is the 50mb single file limit but its rare that I want to throw up something that large. I think it may let you view Office docs online, unfortunately they block all file storage sites at my work or I'd comment more on it.

I'm just thinking of something where I could backup my various digital picture files to the "cloud" as a secondary safeguard. I's still use an external HDD to do so too. Unfortunately I have 300 gigs of home video so that wouldn't fit on Skydrive.

 

[jimhsu]

www.Mozy.com - Used to have a free 1-2 gig limit, not sure about now.. I think the software is horrible.
www.Dropbox.com - Basic folder sync, 2 gig free
www.idrive.com - 5 GB free, never used them


I far prefer Crashplan to the competition.. the pricing is very competitive.

http://www.crashplan.com/consumer/compare.html

Seconded crashplan. They have the best backup speeds of all the solutions I've tested, and with their new client update, they win in flexibility also. Their default settings for deleted file retention *forever* saved me multiple times.

 

[gorcorps]

If all you're doing is document files and such, I'd go with dropbox. They have an program that adds a dropbox folder next to My Documents so it's like the folder is on your HDD. Then you can set up any program you want to sync to it like any other folder.

It also has apps for iphone (and maybe android?) so you can read documents/pictures and such from your phone if necessary.

You can also set up shared folders in dropbox, so you can link one folder with another dropbox user and you can both make changes to that folder and the documents inside it. Useful if you have partners on a project or something. I used it in school and it worked well for things we couldn't email.