![]() ![]() You might be startled by just how many third-party backup products there are to choose from. We were even more surprised by the sheer number and complexity of purchase and subscription options for those products. Those that offer a free version try (sometimes very aggressively) to upsell you to one of their paid plans, which typically come in multiple tiers, in home and commercial versions, and with varying discounts for longer subscription terms and multiple licenses. Getting all the bells and whistles you think you need, especially if you have multiple devices to protect, can run up a pretty hefty bill. Our focus in this guide is on backup software for home and small business environments, where there's no IT staff and no managed network. That means ease of use is paramount.Īll the products we've included here have a good reputation, as evidenced by comments on public forums and reviews from trusted sources. It's worth noting that backups can fail for a variety of reasons, usually at the worst possible time, so we've given extra marks to companies that offer easily accessible support options. The most important feature we looked for is the ability to create a backup image that can be stored on a local drive (typically USB or network storage). Some programs also offer the ability to back up to the cloud. We've highlighted those programs for the benefit of those who have that combination of manageable data sets and high bandwidth that make an all-cloud option feasible. We didn't include products like Carbonite, which are exclusively focused on cloud-based backup. Other important features we looked for included easy options for restoring a single file or folder from a backup set, as well as robust scheduling and reporting options.Īs always, this listing doesn't represent a full, hands-on review. What backup software features should you look for? We didn't stress-test these apps, and we encourage you to do your own testing to ensure that the backup and restore features (especially the latter) meet your standards for ease of use and robustness. The ability to create a disk image that can restore the entire contents of a PC or Mac, so you can recover quickly after a disk crash or other data disaster. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |