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Online Storage - MOZY , IDRIVE , CARBONITE , other
- Thread starter dcl
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Cloud storage is exploding, new players every month. Livedrive reminds me of www.zumodrive.com, which I'm currently using.
Why I do not use iDrive (recommended in this thread): Encryption with your own key is only possible with the windows account. When you use iDrive for storing files from your Mac, only the transfer is encrypted, but not the stored files on the server 
Why I do not use iDrive (recommended in this thread): Encryption with your own key is only possible with the windows account. When you use iDrive for storing files from your Mac, only the transfer is encrypted, but not the stored files on the server
Is this also the case with SafeCopy? The downside to iDrive is that you need separate accounts for Windows and Mac platforms. If you run Windows on a virtual disk, you need two accounts.
Persistence
I just discovered Persistence. It's still beta, but the Pro-Version could be something for me. Encrypted Backup whererver I want (S3, FTP, own webspace).
I think it's worth to keep an eye of it. But it seems, it keeps no older versions from uploaded files, only the newest.
I just discovered Persistence. It's still beta, but the Pro-Version could be something for me. Encrypted Backup whererver I want (S3, FTP, own webspace).
I think it's worth to keep an eye of it. But it seems, it keeps no older versions from uploaded files, only the newest.
The truth behind unlimited backup
Interesting but I'm not sure I understand their model. Pro for $59, does that mean unlimited backup to their servers or are they a front-end only and you still need to subscribe separately to Amazon S3 or another storage site? If so, then that's going to get very expensive as their Basic plan limits you to 25GB storage.
If they're storing the data I'd like to hear if they have upload bandwidth restrictions. Mozy limits to 1.3Mb/s upload speed. This is really useless if you have 100+GB of data to backup, takes weeks or running 24/7.
Interesting but I'm not sure I understand their model. Pro for $59, does that mean unlimited backup to their servers or are they a front-end only and you still need to subscribe separately to Amazon S3 or another storage site? If so, then that's going to get very expensive as their Basic plan limits you to 25GB storage.
If they're storing the data I'd like to hear if they have upload bandwidth restrictions. Mozy limits to 1.3Mb/s upload speed. This is really useless if you have 100+GB of data to backup, takes weeks or running 24/7.
Both...
Seems like you can get it to front end another storage site or the web version which is tied to Amazon S3. Pricing for this (web version) is on their site and it is more expensive than the others.
None of the online backups caught my attention before the mentioning of Backblaze. I really like the ability to buy an external hard drive with my data on it when things failed (hope not), the Mac UI is quite nice as well.
Without any self customization, Backblaze told me that I have 2xxGB of data to backup. Qwest may not be happy about that.
Without any self customization, Backblaze told me that I have 2xxGB of data to backup. Qwest may not be happy about that.
The default is 1GB, but you can choose to download any file size you'd like. And yes, they have unlimited storage.
I've been using Backblaze for about a week and it's been working great. My initial backup of about 35GB took less than 24 hours on a high-speed university connection.
It is interesting but more expensive than SafeCopy. Backblaze is more configurable than I thought, but the one downsize for me is that you need a separate account for each machine you want backed up. I am not clear as to whether running a VM with XP and / or Ubuntu is considered 1 machine or 3 machines. I will ask when I get their next reply to my last question set.
I still like iDrive, but until they encrypt the Mac files, I would not use it. I also like the idea of backing or accessing from a mobile device like the iPhone.
Edit 5/16
I signed up for SafeCopy and probably made a big mistake. I initially wanted to backup a selection of important documents including a backup of my Thunderbird email account. The total size of the files was 167 mb. It took 3.5 hours to backup and seemed to stall on the TBird backup file. It would not continue to backup the smaller files until I clicked on the TBird file. After backing up several other files in addition to the TBird file, it stopped backing up the other files. At this rate, it will take a year to back up the files I want. In addition, I keep getting error messages. I have sent this all to tech support and they are working on it.
I then did what I should have done before. I downloaded them all and tried them out or requested the free accounts.
iDrive was the fastest and easiest to do what I want, but as mentioned they require an account / license for each machine so that adds up for an iMac, Macbook, and PC or Windows under a VM. It took 1 hour and 15 minutes for the identical backup.
Backblaze, while offering unlimited space will not let you select just the files you want backed up. You cannot exclude the C drive in Windows. You can however, go through a process of eliminating what you do not want to backup. I have all the files I want backed up on my second hard drive and do not need anything on the C drive so configuration is a bear... The pricing requires an account for each machine.
SugarSync is another product that can be configured easily for my purposes, however their pricing structure is much more expensive than others and I do not know if one account can be used for multiple machines.
Mozy allowed me to configure the way I wanted and completed the upload in 1:48, still much better than SafeCopy. However, they charge per machine so the cost of backing up several machines is expensive.
JungleDisk is just a front end ($2 per month plus the storage fees) so I eliminated this for now.
Carbonite is being tested now but is also a per computer price.
Carbonite would not back up my external HD.
Backblaze was way too slow. If I let it have more bandwith, my user connection was terrible. Told me it would take 45 days to back up at default settings.
Still looking.
Backblaze was way too slow. If I let it have more bandwith, my user connection was terrible. Told me it would take 45 days to back up at default settings.
Still looking.
I finally gave up on SafeCopy and asked for and received my money back. I had some problems and errors at first and they were working on them but the backup process was just too slow on my end. It took days to upload some files I was using for test purposes. It would take months to backup what I wanted. The people there were great and were very helpful. I suppose once you get everything backed up it is okay.
What I am doing now is backing up the really important files to iDrive as I got some extra space for referring some people. I am also using Crashplan and am trying to convince my friend to let me back up to an external hard drive I attach to his MAC. Otherwise, I went out and purchased a small portable external drive and did a backup with SuperDuper. I will place that in my safe deposit box and every so often run another backup which only backs up the changes and syncs the drive with my current system state.
Restoring from this setup will be much quicker than having to do it from an online service.
What I am doing now is backing up the really important files to iDrive as I got some extra space for referring some people. I am also using Crashplan and am trying to convince my friend to let me back up to an external hard drive I attach to his MAC. Otherwise, I went out and purchased a small portable external drive and did a backup with SuperDuper. I will place that in my safe deposit box and every so often run another backup which only backs up the changes and syncs the drive with my current system state.
Restoring from this setup will be much quicker than having to do it from an online service.
I had a similar experience with Safecopy. Great concept, prompt and professional tech support, but it didn't work for me on my G4 iBook. Safecopy kept hanging up and getting "stuck," requiring a refresh/restart of the client.
Their service is promising...I liked the feature set and the price/value proposition....once they get the client (at least the Mac client) on track, it will be a great service.
Their service is promising...I liked the feature set and the price/value proposition....once they get the client (at least the Mac client) on track, it will be a great service.
I tried a number of the online services and settled on Mozy for their "unlimited" promise and they didn't limit file types. So far so good for the past 6 months. I was disappointed in the slow upload speeds, too, as some folks here are pointing out (1.3 Mb), but then realized that the real bandwidth cap is imposed by my ISP, not Mozy. I have TW RoadRunner's premium package, which caps upload speeds to 1 Mbps, so Mozy's cap does not even come in to play for me... and I suspect that is the case for most other users, too.
oddly I have not had good luck with companies that promote that they are BBB accredited. Go figure. Although this does look like a better deal then Mozy.
I'm reviving this thread only because I'm still torn. I want to back up mainly my music and pictures, perhaps a few documents. Overall, it should be roughly 80 GB.
I'm leaning Mozy or Backblaze, but I'm certainly willing to listen to other opinions/options (Carbonite). Since it's been a few months since the last entry here, does anyone have any revised opinions of the service they are using?
Thanks for any guidance you can give.
-anthony
p.s. Yes, I have regular backups via Time Capsule, but definitely want off-site storage in case of theft or fire.
I'm leaning Mozy or Backblaze, but I'm certainly willing to listen to other opinions/options (Carbonite). Since it's been a few months since the last entry here, does anyone have any revised opinions of the service they are using?
Thanks for any guidance you can give.
-anthony
p.s. Yes, I have regular backups via Time Capsule, but definitely want off-site storage in case of theft or fire.
I have been using Mozy for a couple of years on a PC. I am planning to move the "originals" of all my data to a Mac after Christmas (new i7 iMac) and I will be moving my Mozy subscription from my PC to my Mac. I will probably keep both for a few months just to be sure everything is working well on the Mac.
When I originally uploaded to Mozy, I had just over 100GB. The indicator said it would take about 3 weeks to upload... but it completed in a bit over 7 days. We just kept using the computer during the upload... and we never noticed any performance problems. After the initial upload... Mozy just runs for a few minutes each day. I have been totally pleased with Mozy on PCs.
My plan is to use TimeMachine/TimeCapsule in the house for a local backup... combined with Mozy for off-site backup. Both are fully automatic... which is the only type of system that really works. I can sleep at night knowing that my data is safely stored both places... but the real comfort is with Mozy.
I fundamentally do not care about disk images. They are great during a data migration, but I do not think they form a good basis for a backup strategy. In case of a disaster... it is not a problem to buy a new computer and re-install applications. The only thing that cannot be replaced is your data.
I originally chose Mozy over the competition because they are a wholly owned subsidiary of EMC, which is the industry leader of enterprise storage. I had more confidence in them staying in business than any of their competitors at the time.
/Jim
SafeCopy
I also, as several others on this board, have given up on SafeCopy. It seemed like an ideal plan, but did not work with my PPC Mac G5. Not only was it extremely slow in backing up, it was freezing and a reinstallation/relaunch did not help. Their support was friendly but they had no answers.
I also, as several others on this board, have given up on SafeCopy. It seemed like an ideal plan, but did not work with my PPC Mac G5. Not only was it extremely slow in backing up, it was freezing and a reinstallation/relaunch did not help. Their support was friendly but they had no answers.
Safecopy works like a champ for me
Not sure what issues you all are having with Safecopy, but I got zero issues with it. Im using it on my macbook pro with snow leopard, backed up slew of stuff, no issues whatsoever with the client.
I also got 3 other machines backing up using the same account, 3 windows machines. All work like a champ.
And as far as the speed not sure who brought up its slow. I have a 4Mbps upload connection and it uses all of it while uploading. Their website to download files is great, you can pick files to share them with others (kind of like send big files.com).
Ive uploaded over 30,000 files, it will backup any file, no exceptions. Ive uploaded files from 1k to 8gig in size, it uploads just fine.
Not sure what issues you all are having with Safecopy, but I got zero issues with it. Im using it on my macbook pro with snow leopard, backed up slew of stuff, no issues whatsoever with the client.
I also got 3 other machines backing up using the same account, 3 windows machines. All work like a champ.
And as far as the speed not sure who brought up its slow. I have a 4Mbps upload connection and it uses all of it while uploading. Their website to download files is great, you can pick files to share them with others (kind of like send big files.com).
Ive uploaded over 30,000 files, it will backup any file, no exceptions. Ive uploaded files from 1k to 8gig in size, it uploads just fine.
Stay Away! Mozy will drain your bank account
After signing up for the MozyPro and paying for same, the installation completely failed.
Tried to contact Mozy support; impossible.
But Mozy charged my card.
Continued trying to install, continued failures.
Mozy charged my card anyway.
Mozy support finally responded, their only suggestion was to re-install.
Finally got Mozy installed.
Began to backup files.
Mozy said it would approximately 3 weeks...that is correct....weeks to make a simple backup. (I can back up my entire harddrive in less than 60 minutes to an external HD)
After two days of....waiting....and waiting.....and waiting......Mozy simply stalled.
Tried to contact Mozy support.
Impossible.
Then notified Mozy I was cancelling service as was never able to use after multiple attempts.
Mozy said ok, and.... charged my card.
Complained again, and Mozy finally agreed to close the account and refund the payment.
Jump forward several months later....
Received email notice that Mozy has again charged my card for "full service" for a year for my "account" that I do not even have with Mozy.
Apparently Mozy keeps all card information on all accounts, whether open or closed, and simply continues to charge until caught.
Contact with Mozy to prevent this is all but impossible.
The only way prohibit Mozy from continual charges against your bank account to completely close out your bank account and re-open a new account under different numbers unavailable to Mozy; all at your own cost.
Do NOT buy Mozy, Do NOT subscribe to Mozy and above all NEVER provide any payment card or bank account to Mozy as Mozy will drain you dry long after you no longer have an account with them.
After signing up for the MozyPro and paying for same, the installation completely failed.
Tried to contact Mozy support; impossible.
But Mozy charged my card.
Continued trying to install, continued failures.
Mozy charged my card anyway.
Mozy support finally responded, their only suggestion was to re-install.
Finally got Mozy installed.
Began to backup files.
Mozy said it would approximately 3 weeks...that is correct....weeks to make a simple backup. (I can back up my entire harddrive in less than 60 minutes to an external HD)
After two days of....waiting....and waiting.....and waiting......Mozy simply stalled.
Tried to contact Mozy support.
Impossible.
Then notified Mozy I was cancelling service as was never able to use after multiple attempts.
Mozy said ok, and.... charged my card.
Complained again, and Mozy finally agreed to close the account and refund the payment.
Jump forward several months later....
Received email notice that Mozy has again charged my card for "full service" for a year for my "account" that I do not even have with Mozy.
Apparently Mozy keeps all card information on all accounts, whether open or closed, and simply continues to charge until caught.
Contact with Mozy to prevent this is all but impossible.
The only way prohibit Mozy from continual charges against your bank account to completely close out your bank account and re-open a new account under different numbers unavailable to Mozy; all at your own cost.
Do NOT buy Mozy, Do NOT subscribe to Mozy and above all NEVER provide any payment card or bank account to Mozy as Mozy will drain you dry long after you no longer have an account with them.