Download GFI Backup Free Edition from this link.

With GFI Backup 2011, you can back up essential documents, pictures and videos, music, e-mails, and program settings. This is all done through a user friendly GUI. It will backup data to local and external drives, CD/DVD, remote FTP servers, and other removable devices.

To use the Freeware version, during setup you will have to check the circle next to “Freeware” and then click Next. Then you will have to agree to the terms and conditions which include agreeing that you will not use this version for commercial use. You will enter your Username, password, and Domain. If your computer is on a Workgroup, you do not need to enter the Domain.

GFI Backup uses two GUIs. The first, pictured in the above screenshot, is the GFI Backup Agent. This is for standard backups and is fairly easy to use. For advanced network backups, you can use the Administrative Console, the second GUI feature. For this demonstration, the Agent will be used.

Click on New Backup to get started.

You can provide a name for the backup in the “Backup Task Name” box. By default, the backup will be named “MyBackup 1 (2, 3, etc.)” You can leave the default name or make up your own. There is an option to enter a description of the task and group related tasks. For basic purposes, leave these fields blank unless you need a description attached. Click Next to move on to the next step.

Now you select the source. You can backup Files and Folders, Registry Keys, and Email. Files and Folders are selected here. This will allow you to specify which files and folders on any given disk(s) for backup. Click OK and Next to move on to selecting the destination.

If you do not know the destination path of your external hard drive, you can find it on Computer in the Control Panel. In this case, it is drive (M:). Next you will choose your options and then scheduling. You may run it only once or schedule it for regular intervals. In the Events panel, you should probably leave the default settings. Click Next and the backup begins.

Depending on the size and number of files and drives selected, the duration of the backup varies. You should minimize the window and complete other tasks or go take a long break because it is going to take awhile. Now you don’t have to worry, your files are being safely backed up.

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.