gHacks technology news » backup software

Web Browser Backup Software FavBackup Updated

Martin — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 19:32:10 +0000

FavBackup allowed Windows users to backup web browser specific settings. The program was easy to use and supported most major web browsers. Some things were not perfect like missing support for custom or multiple user profiles, portable browser support or the disk and computer memory usage during backup jobs. The developer of FavBackup has recently upgraded the backup software to version 2 which addresses most of the issues that users had with the software.

The jump to version 2 of the web browser backup software brings support for Opera 10 and Flock 2.5 (next to the already existing support for Internet Explorer 6 to Internet Explorer 8, Firefox 2.9 to Firefox 3.6, Google Chrome 1 to Google Chrome 4, Safari 3 and 4, Opera 9 and Flock 3). This should cover the most used web browsers in the Windows operating system.

One of the great additions in FavBackup 2 is support for portable web browsers. It is now possible to select a custom location for the user profile for Firefox, Opera, Google Chrome, Safari and Flock. It is furthermore possible to select any of the identified profiles of the supported web browsers directly.

Other changes in this release are the new ribbon interface, a progress bar, different themes for the backup program, 40% less computer memory usage and minor bug fixes. The new additions make FavBackup 2 a recommended program for web browser backups, especially if multiple different web browsers are installed and used in a computing environment.

Tags: backup software, explorer++, favbackup, firefox backup, google chrome backup, internet, Internet Explorer Backup, opera backup, portable software, web browser, web browser backup, windows software

Yadis! Backup Software

Martin — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 12:44:07 +0000

If you are looking for an easy to use reliable backup solution for Windows you might want to take a closer look at Yadis! Backup. The Windows backup software divides backup jobs into tasks which can be easily configured in the program’s interface. Each task can be configured to perform local or ftp backups and consists of only a few information and parameters that need to be added by the user of the computer system.

The most important parameters are the source and destination directory for the backup. Filters are available to include or exclude specific file types and even complete subdirectories from the backup. These filters can be set for each folder individually which gives the user a lot of control over the files and folders that will be backed up.

File versioning and monitoring are two options that are available in advanced tasks only. File versioning can be configured to keep x versions of a backed up file before it gets deleted while file monitoring will monitor create, delete and change events and initiate backups whenever an event occurs. The default mode is set to realtime backups which can be changed in the program’s options. Another interesting feature of Yadis! Backup is the ability to memorize backup jobs if the destination folder is not available at that point in time. The backup will then be performed once the destination folder for that backup becomes available again.

Yadis! Backup is a free backup software for the Windows operating system. It can be downloaded from the developer’s website. No compatibility information are provided. It was tested successfully on a Windows XP SP3 computer system.

Tags: backup, backup software, windows backup software, windows software, yadis backup

Comodo Backup

Martin — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 10:23:36 +0000

We have mentioned Comodo Backup before in our backup software overview for the Windows operating system. The backup software has taken a step forward since then with version 2 available for public download. The interface, functionality and compatibility of Comodo Backup has changed in this version. It is now for instance compatible with 32-bit and 64-bit editions of the Windows 7 operating system.

The interface looks well designed and it is obvious that the program has been designed with usability in mind. Users can select one of the quick backup options in the left sidebar (backup entire Registry, backup system partition or backup user settings) or select a backup source from the main pane instead. These include options to backup mail accounts, the system state, disk, partitions and the MBR, full or custom Registry keys or files and directories.

A selection screen will be displayed depending on the choice that the user made. The user can for example select specific Registry keys or desktop email clients when selecting the custom Registry or Mail accounts backup option from the interface.

It is possible to select multiple options of a specific backup source but not multiple backup sources. That’s a bit unfortunate as it potentially means that several backup jobs need to be configured to create all desired backups.

Backups are divided into six steps that can be easily followed.

Backup Source: Selection of backup type
Backup Settings: Include and exclude filters, password protection, compressions and file sizes can be configured in here.
Backup Destination: Options to store the backup locally, on network drives, ftp servers or Comodo online storage.
Other Settings: Configure email notifications, macros and tasks that should be run before or after the backup.
Scheduled Backup: Schedule the backup instead of running it immediately.
Backup Progress: Log that details the progress.

The history pane will detail all backups that have been created with Comodo Backup with options to restore or delete these backups right from within that pane. It is furthermore possible to restore backups using the restore pane. This might be handy if backups need to be restored that have not been created on that computer system.

Comodo Backup is an easy to use backup software for the Windows operating system. It offers a clean interface and most functionality that users would expect from a backup software. It would have been nice if users could define a backup that would include several backup sources at once. Another interesting option would be to be able to add backup shortcuts to the sidebar so that the first few steps of the process can be skipped.

Comodo Backup is available for most 32-bit and 64-bit editions of Microsoft Windows including Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 and Windows 7.

Tags: backup, backup software, comodo backup, windows backup, windows software

Document Management Software DocShield

Martin — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 07:59:02 +0000

A friend of mine had a very recent and unpleasant experience. He wanted to format an USB stick, picked the wrong drive letter and formatted his encrypted USB flash drive instead. All data gone without a chance to restore them as he did not have a recovery option. This is probably an extreme scenario but there are many cases where documents and files can become unavailable including hard drive failures, computer virus attacks or human error.

The document management software DocShield has been designed to protect the most important documents from these kind of errors. It looks like a backup software on first glance but it is actually more than that. DocShield can monitor document file types like doc, xls or txt in multiple directories that are available on a specific computer system. It is highly flexible and offers the possibility to add file extensions that should be monitored to the interface. The main window offers the additional option to add single documents or groups of documents from a folder to the document management program.

These directories are monitored in intervals and document snapshots are created whenever the document change. These snapshots can be stored in multiple locations and packed to save storage space. A password can be assigned to secure the document archives.

The number of snapshots and a maximum file size per document archive with options to prompt for action if the limits are reached can be defined in the settings of Doc Shield as well. Event notifications either come in the form of a message box or email if a SMTP server is configured by the user. One interesting option is to automatically copy these document backups to a ftp server. Data can be moved manually to an USB device which will not only copy the documents but also a portable viewer that can be used to view archive contents and open documents.

The document management system offers an extensive log and overview of all the documents that have been backed up in the past. These documents can be opened or extracted to the local computer system.

DocShield can protect documents. The option to automatically move the backups to a server and the USB viewer make it an excellent tool for many occasions. The document management software is compatible with most Microsoft operating systems including Windows XP and Windows Vista. It requires the Microsoft .net Framework 2.0 and is free for personal use.

Tags: backup software, docshield, document backups, document management, document management software, document management system, document snapshots, documents

Portable Backup Software ZBack

Martin — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 18:23:41 +0000

Most backup software programs are either installed on the local system or run from an external source that can be a removable drive, CD or network location. Portable backup software programs on the other hand are not that common. Zback is a portable software backup tool for the Windows operating system that can be run from any location.

Tabs provide access to the backup software’s functionality. The configuration of the backup is handled in the manual backup tab. It might look like backup overload at first glance because of the options the developer has stuffed in the interface. There are basically four sections of importance here. Section one defines the first directory on the local computer system while section three defines the second directory. Section 2 defines the direction of the backup which can either be from directory one to directory two, directory two to directory one or in both directions. It also handles the backup modes which include copying all files, erasing the source, mirroring the directories or updating data.

The last section can be used to create filters. It is possible to define filters by time and date or file size and names. A new batch job can then be created after the configuration has been finished.

Backups can then be created by switching to the batch backup tab and clicking on the Make Backup List button. This will create the file list for the backup. A click on the Execute Backup List will start the backup process. Another option is to click directly on the Batch Run button to create the backup list and start the backup.

The third tab of the backup program provides access to a few global options that include enabling reporting, creating empty directories or copying file attributes.

Zback is a portable backup software program that can create quick data backups. It lacks functionality mainly thanks to its portable nature.

Tags: backup software, portable backup, portable backup software, windows backup, windows backup software, zback

Grab Your Free Copy of East-Tec Backup 2009

Martin — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 16:50:02 +0000

A banner on the homepage of the popular download portal Softpedia announces the giveaway of East-Tec Backup 2009 until July 31. The backup software, which retails for $40, can be downloaded and activated free of charge in July. Users who would like to download and use the backup software can follow the link by clicking on the banner on the Softpedia homepage (or directly here).

A registration is required which requires entering a name and valid email address. A verification email is send to the mail account. That link leads to a website containing the download link of East-Tec Backup 2009 and the registration code to register the software program.

The backup software program offers four modules in the main interface: Backup, Restore, Tasks and Sync.

New backup jobs are created in this module. One of the interesting – and user friendly – features of East-Tec Backup 2009 are presets that are available. Presets can be used to backup specific, and usually important, files and data. It is for example possible to backup the mail accounts (recognized the email clients Thunderbird, Microsoft Outlook and Opera on the test system), Registry keys or user settings from programs such as Skype, Windows Live Messenger, Winamp, Windows Media Player, various web browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera but not Google Chrome), Putty and dozens more. It is of course also possible to select files or folders from the computer system.

The data can be backed up to local folders, external hard drives, local area network folders, removable disks, CD, DVD or remote locations using the ftp protocol. The usual set of options are available to use compression and encryption to ensure data safety and integrity. Several backup types can be selected ranging from incremental backups over differential backups to stack backups. Backups can be scheduled and warnings configured.

It is furthermore possible to run programs before and after the task starts and to verify the backup after it has been completed. Another great option is to place backup jobs into groups which can be executed sequentially then.

Backups that have been created can be restored completely. It is also possible to only restore specific files or folders which is obviously great if you only need access to some files or folders of the entire backup.

The Sync option makes it possible to synchronize files and folders between two computers or devices like a local computer and server, desktop computer and laptop or a local computer and a network location.

The interface of the backup software is user friendly, tasks are easy to create. Users who are currently looking for a backup software should take a closer look and download East-Tec Backup 2009 for a test run. It might be exactly what they are looking for.

Tags: backup, backup data, backup program, backup software, east-tec backup, softpedia, windows backup software, windows software

Google Docs Backup Software

Martin — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 12:04:54 +0000

It is essential to have a solid backup strategy in place with cloud storage space becoming more popular. While many users run backup software on their local computer system to backup important data only a few take care that uploaded data is also regularly backed up.

The reason for this is that many users believe that the data is safe on Internet servers. A lot can happen that can put the data on those servers at risk. This ranges from hacking attempts, hardware failures that cause data loss or bankruptcy. It is therefor essential to make sure that data that is stored online is backed up regularly.

We have already mentioned how to backup Gmail before should be essential for every Gmail user. While it is unlikely that Gmail will be discontinued there have been times where the service was not accessible. Having a backup of the data would make it possible to access the emails anyway.

Google Docs Backup is another Windows backup software that can be used to backup one of the popular Google services. Users can use it to backup all documents on their local computer system that they have uploaded to Google Docs. Usage of the backup software has been simplified. All that needs to be done is to enter the username and password of the Google Docs account and to select a directory on the local computer where the data should be downloaded to.

A few optional settings are available. It is for example possible to select the output format for each document type and to route the traffic through a proxy server. A click on the Exec button will initiate the data backup which can take some time depending on the size of the data stored at Google Docs and the connection speed.

Gdoc Backup (via To The PC) is a free software program for the Windows operating system.

Tags: backup, backup software, documents, Google, google docs, google docs backup, software, windows backup, windows software

FBackup Plugin Based Windows Backup Software

Martin — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 13:29:25 +0000

FBackup is a Windows backup software that adds another interesting aspect to the backup process by offering plugins for backing up specific programs and data in Windows. At its core FBackup is just another backup software that comes with all of the features and functionality that one would expect from a backup software. Users can create new backup jobs easily by selecting a backup directory that can be located on a local hard drive or network drive. Folders and files can then be added to that backup by using the built in file browser.

The very same menu offers the ability to add filters that specify specific file extensions that should be included or excluded in the backup. Filters can easily be configured in the advanced options of the backup software program.

The options are also home to various other backup related settings including the configuration of compression and encryption settings, running programs before or after backup jobs, scheduling backups and selecting a backup type (full or mirror backups).

Probably the most interesting features are plugins that can be added to FBackup. A plugin is basically an xml file that has been created to backup specific data or programs. Several plugins are already supplied with the default installation which can be used to backup the My Documents folder or Microsoft Outlook data. Dozens of additional plugins can be downloaded from the plugin repository for data of Mozilla Firefox, Nero Burning Rom, Songbird, Thunderbird, Skype, Roboform, Mirc, ICQ, uTorrent, Opera and multiple other popular computer programs.

Each plugin can be added to the backup software easily and becomes then automatically available during the creation of new data backup jobs.

Free Backup can be downloaded directly from the developer’s website. It is compatible with 32-bit and 64-bit editions of Windows 7, Windows XP, Windows Vista, windows Server 2003 and 2008. FBackup is free for both commercial and private use.

Tags: backup, backup software, data backup, fbackup, free backup, windows backup software, windows software

Transfer And Backup Files With File Transfer Software Fling

Martin — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 08:47:54 +0000

We have spotted Flint in Lee’s awesome list of 40 awesome free Windows apps you can download in 2 seconds where he listed 40 free and lightweight software programs. It is definitely a good read and who knows, you might find a few programs that you have not heard about. Make sure to check the comments as well as they contain additional programs mentioned by users.

Fling is a file transfer software that can be used to transfer and backup files over a computer network and ftp. It’s two main uses are to backup files that are stored on a local computer system to computers in the network or to an ftp server located on the Internet.

The developers have added some other options that include backing up files between local hard drives, update a remote website over ftp or to automate transfers of files to an USB drive.

The program displays a wizard upon first start which will aid the user in setting up the first backup or transfer job. The user needs to enter some data after making the selection. The type of data depends largely on the selected job. Backing up data to a remote ftp server requires the ftp login credentials and IP while backing up files between two local hard drives requires only the selection of the folders involved.

The last step is included in every setup. It asks the user to select an update and scan option. Possibilities are manual updates, automatic updates when changes are detected (that means almost instantly), interval scans to check for changes occasionally and on demand folder scans.

It is possible to skip the wizard and configure the service manually. This adds a few additional option to the file transfer which could be interesting for experienced users.

It is for example possible to exclude files from being copied (using wildcards, e.g. *.exe), prevent the deletion of remotely hosted files or to delete local files after a successful file transfer.

Fling’s main advantage is that it is not complicated to setup. It takes roughly a minute to configure a backup or file transfer job in the software program. Fling is available for the Microsoft Windows operating system, more precisely for all major releases of the last years including Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003, 2008 and Windows 7.

You might want to check out our article on Windows backup software to read about additional free programs that can be used to backup and transfer data.

Tags: backup, backup software, file transfer, file transfer software, fling, transfer files, windows backup software, windows software

The 10 Best Windows Backup Software Programs

Martin — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 13:59:01 +0000

Backing up data regularly should be one of the most important tasks of every computer user; Yet only a minority is doing it thoroughly and regularly. The rest is flirting with disaster as there are numerous incidents that can delete data on computer systems. The most common ones are hardware failures, which can mean damaged hard drives but also (partially) unreadable CDs or DVDs, computer virus attacks but also human error. If you have ever met someone who partitioned the wrong hard drive you know that the latter can be cause for great frustration.

Backups are the single most effective method of preventing data loss on computer systems. The following article will list the 10 best Windows backup software programs.

Cobian Backup

Cobian Backup is a free for personal use backup software that supports both local and remote backups. The software is constantly under development by the developer which means that features are included regularly. Some of the key features include full, differential and incremental backups, file compression including the popular 7-zip format plus strong encryption for data security.

DeltaCopy

An Open source backup solution supporting incremental backups, one-click restore options, task scheduling and email notifications. Some advanced options include ssh tunneling and connecting to rsync daemons.

It makes use of a server client system. One or multiple backup servers can be created on computers running Windows by installing the server version on these computer systems. The client will be installed on the any computer system where files should be backed up regularly.

The backup software supports authentication, scheduling and connection by IP or hostname.

Cucku Backup

Cucku Backup calls itself social backup. It provides local backups but also backups on friend?s computers. It supports complete and continuous backups and can automate the remote backup process to take that of the user?s shoulders. All files that are backed up use encryption algorithms to ensure data safety and integrity so that the backup partners cannot see the filenames nor contents of the files that are send over to their computer systems.
It works best in computer networks but can also work over the Internet if enough time or upload bandwidth is provided.

Backup Maker

Backup Maker provides extensive backup capabilities. It comes with a standard and expert mode to suite both the needs of experienced and inexperienced users. The software supports full and partial backups, local and remote backups, selection of a backup execution interval and execution on certain events like USB detection or start and shutdown.

All in all an excellent software program to backup files on the Windows operating system.

Ace Backup

Powerful backup software that supports multi-versioning, backups to local and remote locations, file compression and encryption.

Microsoft SyncToy

SyncToy is offered by Microsoft as a free download for the Windows operating system. It can be used to easily synchronize data between computer systems. The program offers five different synchronization options that the user can choose from including a preview option before starting the process.

Mozy

Mozy is an online backup solution that offers backup clients for Windows NT based systems and Mac OS X. Every registered user receives 2 Gigabytes of free space with the option to sign up for a paid account for currently $4.95 that offers unlimited backup space. Several pre-configured backup sets are populated after installation including bookmarks, documents and multimedia files. These can but do not have to be backed up. Expert mode provides access to the full file system to pick files or folders to backup directly.

Personal Backup

A backup for the advanced user that provides great file filtering options. It comes with the usual set of features including local and remote backup creation (including SFTP), file compression and encryption, status reports and log file generation.

Allways Sync

Another software that has been primarily designed for file synchronization that is also supporting file backups to a local drive, over a local network or the Internet. It works on a per directory basis and can be installed on as many computer systems as the user desires. The software comes as a setup or portable version.

Comodo Backup

Another free backup solution for Windows users. Comodo Backup can backup files and folders on a local computer system to other drives, network locations, ftp servers and removable media. Backups can be scheduled and notifications can be send to inform about completed backup jobs. Other features include compressing backups, data recovery options, support of multi-session backups and incremental backups.

DriveImage XML

DriveImage XML is more a drive imaging software than a backup program. It can however be used to backup a full hard drive or partition to another drive. It uses the Volume Shadow Service to create exact backups during runtime. It is afterwards possible to restore the backup either from within Windows or with the use of a boot disk.

The verdict:

The choice of the correct backup software depends on several factors including the data size, the frequency of backups or the local computer infrastructure.

Tags: backup, backup software, software, windows backup, windows backup software, windows software

Windows Backup Software: Backup Maker

Martin — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 16:53:03 +0000

Backup Maker is an extensive Windows backup software that compares quite well to commercial backup software. It runs on all NT based operating systems including Windows XP, Windows Vista and even the beta and release candidates of Windows 7. Backup Maker at its core can be used to backup selected files and folders locally or remotely. What sets it apart are the extensive options that become available in expert mode. Inexperienced users or those in a hurry can schedule data backups in five easy steps whereas experts can change backup parameters in six additional ones.

The fast backup mode that is displayed by default consists of steps to select the files and folders on the computer system that should be included in the backup, the backup execution interval (execute every x minutes, execute at, execute on (Windows start, USB detection, Windows logoff), week days or months days, the selection of full or partial backups or combined execution (create full backup after x partial ones), the selection of the target directory (local drives, CD / DVD or ftp) and a descriptive name. Backups can also be executed manually by the user in the main interface as opposed to being executed automatically.

The six configuration steps that are added in expert mode allow the user to add more detail to the backup process.The steps allow the user to include or exclude specific files or folders, add a maximum single file size, how and if to catch up on missed backups, define the maximum number of full and partial backup instances, to backup only files with the archive bit set, adding password protection, things that should be executed before or after the backup and to split the backup into different parts.

Backup Maker is a full Windows backup software that should satisfy most users who are seeking for a reliable backup software for their operating system. Interested readers can take a look at the 10 best windows backup software programs.

Tags: backup, backup maker, backup software, windows backup software, windows software

Backup Email Clients and Web Browsers

Martin — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 11:29:51 +0000

Many webmasters and tech savvy Internet users do not only have one but multiple web browsers installed. They use the web browsers either for testing purposes, curiosity or because some sites open better (or at all) in specific web browsers. With multiple computer software programs comes the need for some users to backup the programs and data occasionally which has been a big mess until now because there was not one tool to backup all of the popular web browsers at once.

Mail Browser Backup tries to change that by introducing a computer software program for the Windows operating system that can – in its current version – backup Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome and the Chrome clone SRWare Iron. It can also create backups for the email client Mozilla Thunderbird and the ftp software Filezilla. The list is incomplete and the software developer has already announced that the next version of the backup software will include Internet Explorer backups as well as backups for the Opera and Safari web browsers, the email clients Windows Mail and Incredimail plus eMule.

The backup itself could not be more straightforward. The portable application displays all supported computer software programs in a list. Grayed out items are currently not supported. Each entry can be selected by clicking in the checkbox next to it. Options are to either backup or restore the selected programs.

The program will open a file browser that can be used to select a directory for the backup or to select a previously created backup for the restoration process. Mail Browser Backup requires the Microsoft .net Framework 2.0 or above and will run on Windows XP or Windows Vista. The source code of the application is provided by the software developer on his homepage.

Tags: backup, backup software, browser backup, email backup, mail browser backup, portable software, web browser, windows software

Internet Explorer Backup

Martin — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 10:42:52 +0000

Microsoft Internet Explorer does not come with the options to backup its settings. This can be problematic for users who want to backup their Internet Explorer data for security reasons or before migrating to another computer.

Internet Explorer Backup is a data backup software that can backup various Internet Explorer related settings and options such as favorites, proxy settings, autocomplete passwords, cookies or dialup accounts.

It can furthermore be used to migrate the backed up data to another computer system. Even more interesting is the fact that the data can be restored even if Internet Explorer versions differ. It is not a problem to backup Internet Explorer 5 data and restore it on a computer with Internet Explorer 6.

A few options are provided by the backup software upon execution. Data can be backed up or restored. There are additional options to rollback and to create scheduled backups.

A few additional settings can be configured after selecting the initial course of action. Backups can be compressed, password protected, verified and limited in size.

Supported Internet Explorer versions are Internet Explorer 4. 5.0x, 5.5, 6.0 and 7.0. Internet Explorer 8 beta is currently not supported by the backup software.

Tags: backup software, data backup, data restoration, Internet Explorer Backup, internet-explorer, windows software

Email Backup Software KLS Mail Backup

Martin — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 14:20:59 +0000

Despite its name KLS Mail Backup can not only backup email accounts of Outlook Express, Mozilla Thunderbird, Windows Live Mail or Windows Mail but also the web browsers Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and SeaMonkey / Mozilla.

You can configure jobs in the email backup software that backup all or specific data of the selected software programs. The job creation begins with the selection of the first software program that you want to backup. KLS Mail Backup (via Download Squad) will immediately display various data types and their size in a second pane in the same window.

For Outlook Express they are the email inbox, settings, rules, signatures, internet accounts, stationeries and address books. A checkbox in front of every item makes it fool proof to select the items that should be backed up in the job. The email backup software is able to read all profiles if more than one is existing on the computer.

Once the selections have been made you can either add the job and close that window or simply add the job leaving the window open to select a different application or profile that you want to backup as well.

The target directory for the backups can be defined in the properties. It is unfortunately not possible to define different directories for the jobs. Everything is stored in the same directory which can be on a local hard drive, network drive, ftp server or CD / DVD media.

The properties do also contain options to change the compression of the backups including the maximum size of each volume. They also contain basic versioning and an option to delete old backups.

The email backup software has to be installed but is completely portable afterwards which means that it can be moved to a portable device to execute it from there.

Tags: backup software, email backup, email backup software, KLS Mail Backup, mail backup, portable software, windows software

Device Driver Backup

Martin — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 23:57:12 +0000

Driver Backup 2 (via Download Squad) is a portable open source software that can be used to backup and restore the drivers of a computer system. The backup software automatically scans the computer system after start and displays the discovered devices and their drivers in a list divided into categories that look like they were taken from the computer hardware dialog of the Windows operating system.

The software application has a surprisingly small size of just 1 Megabyte and runs pretty solid and fast. After the initial scan of the system’s device drivers a backup can be initiated. It is up to the user to backup all device drivers or only the drivers that have been selected. The backup software provides filters to display only OEM or third party drivers as well as only those drivers that have been digitally signed or are fully portable.

The device drivers can be stored on the computer’s hard drive using custom descriptions, filenames, path formats and device path formats. The device drivers will be stored in separate device folders by default. Each folder contains the drivers of that device. This can be a single .inf file or dozens of files that are needed for the device.

Once a device driver backup has been created it can be used to restore that set of drivers on the computer system. You can either restore a single device driver by installing the driver from the directory it was saved in or all device drivers from withing the device driver backup software.

Backup and restoration of backed up device drivers is a quick and easy process which makes Device Driver 2 a perfect companion for a USB device with enough storage space to store the drivers.

The device driver backup software comes with a few command line parameters to automate the backup and restoration process further. There is also a command line builder which is currently only available in Italian language. It should however be relatively easy to use it to create the parameters needed for the desired operation.

Tags: backup drivers, backup software, Device Driver Backup, device drivers, driver backup, driver backup software, portable software, restore drivers, windows software

Hard Drive Backup Software

Martin — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 11:10:36 +0000

Creating regular backups of important data is an important task that should not be skipped unless you are prepared to setup they computer system anew and still loose important data like emails, office documents or photos.

We covered Windows backup software before at Ghacks but never before a portable software that could backup partitions and hard drives.

ODIN, which stands for Open Disk Imager, is a portable Open-Source backup software that can backup partitions and hard drives with the exception of the system partition. It is currently available in a very early beta which should not be used in a productive environment.

The hard drive backup software is able to backup or restore data. The current version is easy to use. Backing up data basically involves picking a drive letter or physical drive, selecting a location to store the hard drive image, optionally changing a few parameters and hitting the start button.

The options provide access to a few interesting settings like turning on gzip or bzzip2 compression, splitting data into chunks or saving only used or all blocks of the partition or physical drive.

Restoring an image is as straightforward and easy. The user has to pick the partition or physical drive and select the image that should be restored.

The hard drive backup software has a few limitations which probably will be removed in later builds of the software. The inability to create a backup of the system partition is probably the biggest.

Tags: backup, backup software, hard drive backup, Hard Drive Backup Software, Open Source, partition backup, portable software, windows backup software

Windows Backup Software DeltaCopy

Martin — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 07:05:22 +0000

DeltaCopy is not the usual Windows backup software that you encounter when searching for backup solutions for the Windows plattform. It uses a server client based concept to backup files from a number of clients on a central backup server. This means that the main application for DeltaCopy are home networks and small business network with the need for a central backup system.

DeltaCopy is an Open Source portable Windows backup software that supports incremental backups, email notifications, one-click restore options and a task scheduler in an easy to use interface. It will run on any Windows NT based operating systems. The developers have not listed Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 on their web pages.

Interestingly enough it can connect to rsync daemons running on Linux systems since it basically is a Windows wrapper around rsync. SSH Tunneling is available if the destination server is a Linux / Unix system running rsync.

How does the Windows backup software work?

The administrator installs the server version of Deltacopy on one machine. The backup software installs itself as a Windows Service. Once the server is up and running so called virtual directories can be created. This is a similar procedure to setting up an ftp server. The admin picks a folder on a hard drive on the server with the option to create multiple virtual directories on the server.

The client is then executed on a client machine. Profiles manage the backup jobs on the client machine. This is the place where the user selects the files and folders that should be backed up regularly. The backup server will be entered during that configuration as well. The server can be identified by entering the IP or hostname of the server running the backup software.

Authentication is possible. This has to be enabled during server setup and the client computer has to use the same login credentials that have been created on the server to be able to perform the backup.

Backups can be initiated either manually or by using the Windows Task Scheduler. Files can be restored from the client interface if the need should arise.

DeltaCopy is a sophisticated but not overly complicated Windows backup software that works best for small home and company networks.

Tags: backup, backup server, backup software, deltacopy, windows backup, windows backup software, windows software

Avanquest Software AutoSave Essentials Competition

Martin — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 19:41:50 +0000

AutoSave Essentials is a new commercial backup software developed by Avanquest which can be used to backup important data easily with minimal user interaction. That is the biggest selling point of the software. It comes with three predefined backup plans for music, documents and photos minimizing the time a user needs to configure the backup software if he stores his data in the My Documents directory in Windows (because files in that location will be backed up in those plans).

Additional options are available to save the complete My Documents folder in one backup plan and to save Web Settings which will essentially save Firefox and Internet Explorer cookies and user data. Those predefined backup plans are great for inexperienced users who don’t feel like configuring a backup software.

Custom backup plans can be added which offer two additional options. The first is to create a backup plan for specific folders, partitions or drives of the computer while the second creates a backup plan for specific file extensions. The latter will backup all file extensions of the type on all connected drives. Configuring those custom backup plans is a breeze compared to other backup solutions on the market. Everything can be configured with just a few clicks.

AutoSave Essentials provides a good variety of backup locations. The choice ranges from local hard drives, removable storage devices like USB devices and network / ftp storage. The backup software will automatically recognize if a selected device is not present during scheduled backups and will start the backup as soon as the device comes online again.

Backups can be scheduled to run once a day, week, month, during system start, continuously or manually only. Continuously will monitor the selected files and folders all the time and start the backup whenever file operations take place. Each of the operations will take place in the background with virtually no interference with important system processes or other work that takes place at the same time.

The biggest selling point of AutoSave Essentials is the ease of use. Users who store their important data in the My Documents folder can virtually use the application without interaction of the backup destination drive is the correct one. It works out of the box for those users. Others will have to add backup plans manually but this operating requires minimal user interaction as well.

Avanquest was nice enough to provide me with ten full versions of AutoSave Essentials as an early birthday present to celebrate the third birthday of Ghacks on October 3. If you want to win a full copy of AutoSave Essentials let me know in the comments. Regular users will be at an advantage. So, let me know what you would back up with the software. AutoSave Essentials will run on 32-bit editions of Windows XP and Windows Vista.

Tags: automatic backups, autosaves essential, avanquest software, backup software, backups, ghacks, offer, software promotion

O&O DiskImage 3 Express Edition

Martin — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 09:46:01 +0000

O&O DiskImage 3 Express is a backup software that backs up all hard drives that are connected to the computer with the press of a button. That is by far the main selling point of O&O DiskImage 3 Express Edition. The backup program is basic and intends to be that way, supposedly for the user’s sake but probably also because they need arguments to sell the professional and enterprise version of O&O DiskImage 3.

O&O DiskImage 3 Express Edition comes with three buttons that control the backup and restoration process. Button 1 creates an image of all system partitions on the computer. The user simply selects a drive where he wants the backup to be restored and that’s it. No selection of single partitions, no options whatsoever. Pure and simple but probably to simple for tech savvy users.

The second button restores a partition. One major drawback is that the system partition cannot be restored. So all personal data on that partition is lost unless you buy the pro or enterprise version which can restore the system partition.

The question that arises is why the program does backup the system partition if it cannot be recovered? The answer to that is probably a business decision. Would a user who needs data from his system partition buy a commercial version of DiskImage? I bet he would.

The last button lets a user browse an image that was created. Each additional backup only saves the differences and not the full partition saving disk space on the (external) hard drive where the images will be stored on.

Paragon’s Drive Backup is an alternative which offers more functionality and the option to restore the system partition as well.

Tags: backup, backup drive, backup program, backup software, disk image, drive backup, paragon, windows backup

Do Specific Data Backups With Tame

Martin — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 20:55:28 +0000

Tame is a specialized backup solution that can monitor applications and perform backups once those applications close. It would for instance be possible to monitor Firefox, Opera or Internet Explorer and make a backup of the profiles once the applications are closed by the user. Other variants include instant messengers and their logs, ftp clients, p2p applications and everything else that is writing data during use.

Tame is easy to use. Just install the application on your system and pick an application from one of the running processes. That application will be monitored from then on. The only other information that have to be specified are the folder that should be backed up after that process terminates and the backup folder that will contain the backup of the data.

That’s pretty easy, ain’t it? The While that is the main use of Tame it does offer another way to backup files. Next to the so called Program Closing Backups System Timed Applications are available.

tame

This comes closer to normal backup operations on a system. The user can specify a time, a folder that should be backed up and a destination folder for the backup data and the backups will be started at that time if the computer is running. Folders can be local folders or folders on a network or backup server.

Tame requires the Microsoft .net framework 2.0 or higher. No information on operating system compatibility. It runs fine on Windows XP Service Pack 3.

Tags: auto backup, backup, backup server, backup software, backup-solution, net backup, software

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