Anyone using Carbonite for backup?

[fvbounty]

I'm trying a 15 day trail of Carbonite on line unlimited backup program, it seems very good from what I can tell, it runs a small program in the background and automatically backs up your stuff, pictures , music, my documents, favorites, e-mails, just about anything you want....it does cost $49 a year and if you put in Leo has a code you get a extra 2 months. There is no limit to how much you backup, I like the fact its off site and its very easy, it is encrypted twice so you shouldn't have to worry about anyone messing with your stuff. I heard about it through a Leo Laporte podcast....Here's a link!

http://carbonite.com/

[fvbounty]

And if your worried about someone going through your files you can always encrypt them with Truecrypt!!!!

TrueCrypt - Free Open-Source On-The-Fly Disk Encryption Software for Windows Vista/XP, Mac OS X and Linux

[ctal]

Keep in mind, though, that for people who have many gB's of data to back up this may be an impracticable approach considering that the data has to go over your lan and the internet. Especially when you consider that upload speeds are usually much slower than download speeds, and also that the data is transmitted in encrypted form, which will slow it down further. Albeit that would occur during idle periods, when the computer is not in use, and apparently their program is smart enough to only upload new or modified files once the initial full upload has been done, but for many people I think the time and bandwidth that would be required may still be a concern.

Regards,
-- Al

[fvbounty]

Originally Posted by ctal

Keep in mind, though, that for people who have many gB's of data to back up this may be an impracticable approach considering that the data has to go over your lan and the internet. Especially when you consider that upload speeds are usually much slower than download speeds, and also that the data is transmitted in encrypted form, which will slow it down further. Albeit that would occur during idle periods, when the computer is not in use, and apparently their program is smart enough to only upload new or modified files once the initial full upload has been done, but for many people I think the time and bandwidth that would be required may still be a concern.

Regards,
-- Al

Your right it took about 30 hours to upload 9 gigs off my rig and thats at 1.5 mbs upload speed with comcast, they tell you that the first time can take a few days, but now, like this morning it backupa few files which only took a few seconds. I have everything backedup on external hardrives, but this is pretty neat, not having to think about all the time! The best part,heven forbid you ever have a fire or something your stuff is still there!

[JimTram]

Been using it for a year now. Nifty little program. I have it backup at a certain time daily as opposed to automatic which semed like always.

I will renew for another year.

[SupDawg]

This is actually something I have been looking for, for a while. Trying it now.

[traveler]

Originally Posted by fvbounty

Your right it took about 30 hours to upload 9 gigs off my rig and thats at 1.5 mbs upload speed with comcast, they tell you that the first time can take a few days, but now, like this morning it backupa few files which only took a few seconds. I have everything backedup on external hardrives, but this is pretty neat, not having to think about all the time! The best part,heven forbid you ever have a fire or something your stuff is still there!

New Gaming rig - Asus P5E3 Deluxe Wi-Fi - Intel QX9650 - CORSAIR TWIN3X2048-1600C7DHXIN 2GB PC3-12800 - 150 gig Raptor - 320 gig WD 3200YS - Corsair HX 620 watt PS - EVGA 512-P3-N841-A3 GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB -

AMD FX 55 - XP-90C & SilentCat 9 - Asus A8N-SLI with Swiftech MCX159 - 2X1024 Corsair 3500LLPro 2-3-2-6 1T - 2X BFG 6800GT OC Zalman VF700-CU - 1 WD 74 Gig Raptor boot - 1 Seagate 7200 sata data - Nec 3500A - Plextor 716AL Slot Loader - Enermax EG 701 AX 600 watt PS - Silverstone Temjin TJ03B case with side window - G7 lazer mouse - Cannon Pixma I8500 printer - Windows XP Pro SP2 Slipstreamed - Dell 2405FPW lcd

9 gigs!!??!! That's all!!??!!

150+320+74+1 Seagate 7200 sata data = more than 9 gigs ???????


I have way more than 9 gigs.

Originally Posted by Carbonite website

However, users should be aware that the speed of today's DSL and cable Internet services will make it very slow to back up more than, say, a few dozen GB of data.

That's why I prefer ghost images.

I just got saved by a ghost image. Why did my optical drives stop reading some DVD and CD disks? - Club CDFreaks - Knowledge is Power

[ctal]

Originally Posted by traveler

9 gigs!!??!! That's all!!??!!
150+320+74+1 Seagate 7200 sata data = more than 9 gigs ???????
I have way more than 9 gigs.

I'd assume that the 9 gB he backed up were only data files, and perhaps just important data files. But I too am a firm believer in drive imaging -- doing a reinstall from scratch, if a hd fails or if necessitated by software somehow getting messed up, just takes too much time. For each of my computers I keep my image files on at least one internal and one external hard drive. If I were using Carbonite, I'd upload them in addition to the data files.

Regards,
-- Al

[SupDawg]

I just want to get my data out of my house in case of a fire or tornado or some other calamity. Using Acronis or Ghost would not help me if my system was physically destroyed.

[traveler]

Originally Posted by ctal

I'd assume that the 9 gB he backed up were only data files, and perhaps just important data files. But I too am a firm believer in drive imaging -- doing a reinstall from scratch, if a hd fails or if necessitated by software somehow getting messed up, just takes too much time. For each of my computers I keep my image files on at least one internal and one external hard drive. If I were using Carbonite, I'd upload them in addition to the data files.

Regards,
-- Al

Exactly. If you image your partitions, than what's another quick 9 gigs.

[traveler]

Originally Posted by SupDawg

I just want to get my data out of my house in case of a fire or tornado or some other calamity. Using Acronis or Ghost would not help me if my system was physically destroyed.

What data is that?

It must be personal and generated by you since all bank accounts, investment accounts, utility statements, etc., and even tax returns exist and can be retrieved from somewhere else if you lose them. Family photos would qualify.

[SupDawg]

Yes... Photos would be it. I don't print many photos, so my 10gb photo collection is priceless to me.

[fvbounty]

My 9 gigs is photos and I still have music to back up, (I'm on the boat right now), e-mails, favorites, and documents. You can backup the C drive if you want, but all I want is my data....Jim thanks for the input I think I'll get it too!

[JimTram]

The thought did occur to me as well what would happened if the house caught fire or my equipment was stolen. Yes some archives are available at the financial institutions. My concern is for IRS purposes, as I keep all financial records for five years. No banks in my area archive that long. They also want quite a bit of money for older records.

As pointed out earlier, photos are priceless. I very seldom get prints anymore.

All in all for me online backup fit the bill. I tried Mozy but had technical difficulties on their end.

[Gr8Golf]

I use Mozy.com - I like it