Which Online Backup Should I Use?

[Modular]

I'm getting ready to "bite the bullet" and just sign up for an online backup service. So far it's between the following:

Carbonite
Mozy
AsusWebstorage

My concerns mostly revolve around privacy. I will be backing up typical files; pictures, old school papers, etc. Can I backup TV shows/movies recorded on an HTPC to these types of storage clouds?

Which one should I go for? AsusWebstorage is the best deal (2-5 computers for $90 for 2 years).

 

[Silenus]

How about crashplan? That's what I'm using now. Here is why:
- still unlimited data for low base price. Most others have moved away from unlimited plans.
- you can use the software also for your local backups, so u may not need to run separate software for your local backups.
- crashplan also offers backing up to a friend who also runs crashplan, even over the internet. Like a free buddy version of offsite backup.

Note: You can't backup a network drive or backup TO a network drive with the h ome version of crashplan. Be aware some if the others may also have this restriction so double check that if you need that functionality.

Sent from my Thunderbolt via Tapatalk...

 

[FishAk]

If your concern is privacy, than any of the online solutions are equal. The truth is that none of these products are secure.

To ensure privacy, you must encrypt any data before it is uploaded. Because the encryption method is independent of the online storage, they are all equally private.

I recommend TrueCrypt, but other choices are available- including inferior ones that you can pay for.

Your choice of which online service to use should revolve around price for the capacity you require, and speed. You must handle security on your end, or it is forfeit.

Edit;

One of the ways some of these storage products are cheaper is because they don't need to store all the files you upload. Instead, they hash the files as- or before- you upload them. If they already have a copy of the file from another user, they only store the hash in your account. When a user needs to retrieve "their" file, it is sent to them from the pool. How private is that?

Of course they will tell you that your files can only be accessed my an administrator, or through a court order, but in practice this proves to be untrue. But even if that is true; again, just how private is that?

 

[KeithP]

Carbonite allows you to encrypt your data with your own key so that even they can't unencrypt it.

If you are subject to industry regulations that require no one outside your organization have access to your backed up files (e.g. HIPAA regulations), Carbonite provides you with the option to manage the sole copy of your encryption key. If you choose this option, features such as Anytime Anywhere Access will be unavailable to you. Also, note that if you lose the sole copy of your encryption key, there will be no way for Carbonite to restore your backed up files.

Also, I have never heard about any of the services using hashing as described to reduce storage space or bandwidth used. Do you have a link to information on that? I am skeptical that is actually going on.

-KeithP

 

[FishAk]

Check Google for “Side channels in cloud services, the case of deduplication in cloud storage.”, and also “Proofs of Ownership in Remote Storage Systems.”. You should see a couple PDFs on the subject.

As the volume of data increases, so does the demand for online storage services, from simple backup services to cloud storage infrastructures. Although deduplication is most effective when applied across multiple users, cross-user deduplication has serious privacy implications.

Also;

Cloud storage systems are increasingly popular nowadays, and a promising technology to keep their cost down is deduplication, namely removing unnecessary copies of repeating data. Moreover, client-side deduplication attempts to identify deduplication opportunities already at the client and save the bandwidth in uploading another copy of an existing file to the server. In this work we identify attacks that exploit client-side deduplication, allowing an attacker to gain access to potentially huge files of other users based on a very small amount of side information.

 

[Old Hippie]

Just curious...are you guys actually using the services you recommend or just recommending them?

 

[jjmIII]

I use SkyDrive for just the most important stuff at work. I also back it up locally. Can't beat free!

 

[Modular]

Hmmm, interesting about the encrypting. Thanks for the info and I'm going to enable that on my Carbonite account. I ended up going with them and have been happy so far. 30GB backed up so far.

 

[Brovane]

I started using Carbonite a couple of months ago. So far no issues and I have about 60+ GB uploaded. I used to use rotating external USB drives. I would store one at work and one in my safe at home. However this was to much of a hassle. Now with Carbonite I know that my data is always backed up.

 

[Cr0nJ0b]

I work for the company that sells mozy, so I'm biased.

 

[KeithP]

Hmmm, interesting about the encrypting. Thanks for the info and I'm going to enable that on my Carbonite account. I ended up going with them and have been happy so far. 30GB backed up so far.

FWIW, I just checked and Mozy has a similar option.

I would think encrypting the files with your own key should ensure nobody else can get access to your data. Unless, of course, they get your key.

BTW FishAk, thanks for the info.

-KeithP