It is interesting to see that online backup providers (or online file storage solutions, call it what you will) are becoming increasingly popular even though external hard drives in the 500 to 1000 Gigabyte range becoming cheap as pie at the same time. Backing up data online definitely has some positive effects to it like providing access to data if the computer gets stolen or if the user connects from a different PC. There are lots of additional benefits but a few drawbacks as well.
The drawbacks can be minimized by choosing the right online storage solution for your needs. A college student who wants to backup his mp3 collection needs more space than the mother who wants to store baby photos on an online drive or the professor who likes to store copies of his upcoming books safely on the Internet.
The professor on the other hand might have special needs that the other two do not have. A secure connection to the online backup provider for one to make sure that no one can snoop on his traffic and grab his manuscript before he publishes it.
The following is a list of services and features that should be checked before selecting an online backup provider.
File Storage space:
Software client, web interface and connection:
Online File Storage Company
Price plays a big role as well. Several online file storage providers offer free accounts and upgrades to those accounts if the user requires additional space, priority technical support or functionality that is not offered in the free version.
Is there anything else that you are looking into before selecting an Online File Storage provider?
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…external hard drives in the 500 to 1000 Megabyte range…
You mean Gigabyte range right? :)
haha yes that’s right.
BTW, some online storage services have TOS’es that strictly prohibit copyrighted materials (e.g. mp3s). That would limit the college jock’s choice a bit.
For myself, I have Mozy Backup, free edition. It’s good enough for critical files; but I don’t like the always-on client. I’m still searching for a good, cheap backup service that doesn’t care what I store in, and has FTP access.
When Mesh gets more storage space it’ll be the best =)
I have no idea how these companies make money though… imagine the bandwidth usage and storage costs
For me, data encryption online is important. I know that for example Carbonite encrypt data on their servers so that only the user can see it.