I’ve been using ZenOK, and its free antivirus too (http://onlinebackup.zenok.com/) normally I just turn my pc on and the programs runs right away.

My primary system is a Vista/Linux dual boot, and I use MondoArchive to backup and restore. The nice thing about Mondo is that it backs up the whole disk… the only thing it does not back up as of this moment is encrypted partitions. Since we use TrueCrypt, the simple solution is to move my data from an encrypted partition to an encrypted file container. as a file on a recognized file system (in this case, EXT3), the encrypted container will be backed up too.

Mondo can do bare metal recovery and do it fully automatically or allow any degree of user control. It can back up to hard disk, external drive, network, USB key, CD, DVD, and tape. It produces self bootable media, and allows restoration of some, all or none of the data. (Yes, you can choose to restore none of the data.) It also allows for verification of data backed up, and comparison to double verify or detect changes. It backs up and restores NTFS and FAT partitions, too, meaning that when (not if) my build system fails, I can just replace the drive and nuke it (nuke is the automatic restore feature). Mondo has saved my entire business more than once.

It would be nice to find something like this for Windows… especially an off site solution. The closest I have found is still not great… I have had only a 50% success rate with it when restore time came.

Mondo’s not perfect either, but it’s the best I have found so far.

The main conclusion I came to was that the best backup solution is to have an external hard drive because you get large storage, decent transfer rates, low cost per gigabyte and they are portable.

Whatever backup device you choose you will have to marry it to an automated backup system. I like SyncToy and Robocopy for this.

Lastly, I love both, I think it is great competition that we, the computer users will benefit from.
Thanks,
Daniel – http://www.backup-answer.com
http://www.backup-answer.com/best-backup-services/carbonite-complete-review/
http://www.backup-answer.com/backup-review/mozy-home-complete-review/

Coming from this field of data recovery (IT disaster recovery) I can nothing but say that automatic backup is great, remote backup is even better, online backup is theoretically a magical solution against users’ and IT managers’ worst fears, and still… all this would be true, wouldn’t they all require a recovery process to enable the access to and use of the backed up data.

Paul Mah mentioned this week the BOS -Backup prOxy Server software in the TechRepublic blog – http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/wireless/?p=159 -
This is one small system (free for home users, licensed for enterprises) that skips the need for any recovery process. Although it has it all (Automatic incremental backup, pre-restored files, folders, mailboxes, brick level Exchange & Outlook, historical versions, deleted files management, pure forensic disk images, and many more goodies) the main issue here is the speed and independency of recovery. Even if the OS and the BOS application are down, you will still be able to restore the data.

Worth to give it a try. As promised, It’s not about backup – ONLY RESTORE (..and in a blink).
Request free download at http://www.bos.co.il/150163

All the best,
Feli Galker

With Zoogmo you control where your files are backed up by building a backup network of your own or your friends’ computers. You can even backup to an external hard drive of your choice.

Zoogmo runs silently in the background and automatically backs up ALL of your data over the internet, using a combination of Triple-DES and AES 256 encryption to make sure that only you have access to your files.

Check out Zoogmo at http://www.zoogmo.com to download Zoogmo for free and begin turning your social network into your backup network.

Remember, with Zoogmo you have no annoying monthly fees – totally free unlimited backup you can trust!

Dov Sugarman
Zoogmo – Your Online Backup Community

The first result, which should not come as a surprise, is that labor intensive methods of backing up, such as burning a stack of DVDs, manually copying files to an external drive or a “drive in the cloud” fall into disuse very quickly. Most people just don’t have the discipline or motivation to get involved with daily backups. Consumers also seem to resist scheduled backups that require leaving their computers turned on — 72% said they want to be able to turn their PCs off when they are finished. Most consumers, 91% to be precise, are not aware that automated online backup services like Carbonite or Mozy even exist. Such services appeal to small business and consumers because they work in the background throughout the day and, once installed, require no further thought on the part of the user. Consumers like these services because they get a lot of benefit with very little effort — 98% of Carbonite users report that they would recommend the service to a friend or relative.

Regarding products that combine backup with collaboration, such as photo sharing or file sharing, while it’s not a difficult technical challenge to combine these functions, it does create a marketing challenge. Photo sharing and similar applications are sold with happy smiling people enjoying their application, whereas backup is sold on the basis of fear — that’s the only thing that motivates people to buy backup solutions.

David Friend, CEO

Carbonite, Inc.
Carbonite Online Backup