Mozy is a free service that will automatically backup your data offsite with minimal effort. The Mozy client runs on Windows XP and will take incremental data backups meaning it will copy only stuff that has changed since the previous backup operation. So after your initial backup, your subsequent backups should be relatively quick.
And if disaster strikes your hard-disk, Mozy can easily restore the data by downloading from their online server with the click of a button.
Even if you are regularly taking backup on USB thumb drives or CD's, Mozy could still be a useful alternative to take backup of backups. The set it and forget it approach of Mozy makes the data backup job so simple that even your grandma would love to use Mozy.
A useful feature in Mozy is when you when you delete a file on your local computer and continue to back up using Mozy. Though the file is removed from the current backup set, Mozy will keep a copy of that file in older backup sets just in case the deletion was accidental.
The free version of Mozy will back up 2GB of your documents on two computers. In return, they may send you email newsletters with sponsored links. Alternatively, you can choose the Mozy Plus service that provides 30GB of backup space for $4.95/month. A Mac version of Mozy is also expected soon.
Don't wait for the next internet crisis. Mozy your important files now.
Mozy Beta | Download Mozy Client | Mozy Blog
Find this article at: http://labnol.blogspot.com/2006/10/mozy-online-data-backup-service-that.html
web: http://www.labnol.org/ email: amit@labnol.org
Reader Comments
This is interesting. I prefer the gspace mozilla addon for gmail. 2.7 gb of space, and it's encrypted!
https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/1593/
Written on 13/10/06 9:13 PM
Is it SECURE?
Written on 13/10/06 9:10 PM
If you regularly make backup copies of your files and keep them in a separate place, you can get some, if not all, of your information back in the event something happens to the originals on your computer.
Deciding what to back up is highly personal. Anything you cannot replace easily should be at the top of your list. Before you get started, make a checklist of files to back up. This will help you determine what to back up, and also give you a reference list in the event you need to retrieve a backed-up file.
Here are some file suggestions to get you started:
* Bank records and other financial information
* Digital photographs
* Software you purchased and downloaded from the Internet
* Music you purchased and downloaded from the Internet
If you regularly make backup copies of your files and keep them in a separate place, you can get some, if not all, of your information back in the event something happens to the originals on your computer.
Written on 14/10/06 2:00 AM
Now support transparent, built-in file encryption with pgp or other.
Written on 14/10/06 3:03 AM
How Secure is it to create backup online ?
Written on 14/10/06 11:25 AM
xdrive offers a similar free service, but has 5GB of online space for free. AOL recently bought the company, so all you need is an AOL screenname to login and download the software. It acts as a separate drive letter, similar to Gmail Drive. They don't allow sharing of your files (I'm pretty sure this is correct), so your data is secure. If you were really paranoid about it though, you could always zip it up with a password or something similar.
Written on 15/10/06 11:29 AM
"This is interesting. I prefer the gspace mozilla addon for gmail. 2.7 gb of space, and it's encrypted!"
Gmail's file size limitations make this a not-so-great option - from gspace's site: "This is interesting. I prefer the gspace mozilla addon for gmail. 2.7 gb of space, and it's encrypted!"
no thanks...
Written on 17/10/06 12:46 PM
I don't know if you've seen the news about AOL giving away other people's data in the news recently, but I'll pass on anything free that they have to offer... try weblife.earthlink.net - it's very cheap and awesome software too.
Written on 17/10/06 12:44 PM
Did you try IBackup, recently rated by none other then PC World as the ‘best all-around service’.
The big advantage here is that backups and restores of your favorite files and folders with IBackup for Windowsare really fast. As the application does incremental and compressed backups of critical data, the usage of your network bandwidth is considerably reduced. It is also possible to restore data, which is 10 days old through the Snapshots technology. You can also do backups by choosing the ‘Mirror’ option so that the 'absolute path' of the source file is maintained as such.
With Web-Manager you can create folders, upload, webload files, rename, delete and share files or folders with others for collaborative access. The `Private Share’ feature in Web-Manager allows an IBackup user to instantly share data with another IBackup user. You can also create sharable links and email them to friends and partners. Web-Manager also has the capability to play your favorite audio or video files stored in your IBackup account using the media player of your choice.
You can also use the IDrive application, which when downloaded and installed will map an IBackup account as a network drive on your computer. Users can map, drag and drop files to their IBackup account from the Windows explorer. It also allows users to open and save files stored in their IBackup online backup/storage accounts directly from their associated applications like Microsoft Office.
You can also try IBackup Professional, which provides a secure, efficient, reliable, cost-effective and easy-to-use Internet-based backup solution. The files and folders you backup are encrypted with a user-defined key so that the data stored on IBackup Professional servers cannot be decrypted by anybody other than you. The backed up files are stored by default in the encrypted form using AES 256-bit encryption. You can also restore up to 30 prior versions, including the most recent version of the data files. You can also restore the latest versions of all the files or versions of files with IBackup Professional.
Written on 18/10/06 6:28 PM
If security is an issue, there are a number of local backup providers that you can actually call and talk to in person.
Symagio (http://www.symagio.com) is one.
All of these should offer at least 128 bit encryption, and you should be able to get your data backup anytime you wish. Always read the fine print!
Written on 31/12/06 9:03 AM
Very nice. I currently use something that does the same, except that it also syncs your data across all of your computers. It's called Tilana Reserve and is available at their website (www.tilana.com). I highly recommend it!
Written on 22/2/07 5:31 AM
I have tried many online backup services, incl. Mozy, DriveHQ, iBackup and FilesAnywhere and XDrive. I am not impressed by Mozy at all. Feature-wise, Mozy has very limited feature and the software is still in the first generation, need a lot of improvements. The only selling point is it's offering 2GB free service if you accept spamming from them (funny). Anyway, based on a feature and usability point of view, DriveHQ has much better value. of course, Mozy is a new comer as a company and in this service. I personally won't backup my important data with a company that has no track record.
Written on 24/4/07 12:56 PM
Mozy has been around for a while now and also exists as enterprise-level backup MozyPro. It's certainly never failed me. And the free accounts don't require that you accept "spamming," it's just a free newsletter that they send you once a month. Give them a fake email address and you'll never see it (but you can still register without a hitch.)
Once Mozy has done your original backup, you'll never know it's there (until you need it.) And then it works great -- every file is safe. Better yet, you'll have access to previous versions of your files going back four months. All for free -- it's kind of a no-brainer.
They have a referral program going where they will give new users an extra 256 megs of free, lifetime storage if they enter an existing user's referral code. (The existing user also gets the extra space.) Could someone please use my code? It's LDBPV7, or you can just use this link:
https://mozy.com/?ref=LDBPV7
Thank you!
Written on 28/4/07 12:08 AM