Introduction
Online backups can be a very good way of protecting data stored on your computer; if this service can be offered for free then that adds to its appeal. Fortunately there are many providers offering online backups as a complete solution and these providers need to compete in order to get your custom. This competition has led to a number of very reputable companies offering a free version of their backup solution. While this free version might not offer all the bells and whistles of the advance premium versions, they still offer many advantages.

This article attempts to shed some light on the free online backup services currently available, and to offer some assistance to the interested consumer in making his final decision. Before you continue, we suggest you take a look at the various advantages to online backups  as well as the disadvantages to online backups. Once you’ve got a balanced view of the good, the bad, and occasionally ugly (but hey, let’s not talk about me) you’ll be a much better position to make your decision.

How free is free
The old adage tells us that you don’t get anything for nothing. In most cases this is true; in this case, fortunately, it isn’t. While some ‘free’ services may bombard you with advertising, or worse try sell your email address, the major free online backup services are mercifully free from both. The companies behind the services are large enough that they would not want to risk the legal and moral trouble they might land themselves in if they were selling email addresses; it’s possible also that they are making enough profit from their chargeable ventures that the free PR coming from the free services they provide is reward enough. Either way they all need to provide a free service in order to compete with the other offerings.  While it might not last forever, it does appear that free is free for the moment.

Why would I pay for online backups?
So if it’s all free, and the free service happens to be fine and dandy, why on earth would I want to use a paid-for alternative?  Good question.

Naturally the benevolent organisations offering free online backups are not doing it out of the goodness of their souls - they have businesses to run and mouths to feed. They all, without any notable exceptions, have a premium or business version of their service which people pay for. The paid versions invariably offer better features: more capacity, faster transfer speeds (though as you will note from our article Why Do Online Backups Take So Long? the upload speed is usually limited by your bandwidth provider’s technology), and better security features. While the free service might be okay for casual use there’s a good chance that if you seriously consider your online backup requirements you’ll need a little more than what is offered by the free solution. And this is to be expected: the providers don’t want to price themselves out of the market by offering a free package this is too good.

Conclusion
All the providers noted in our article on Leading Online Backup Services provide a free version of their service. Check out the list there and sign up.

While the old idea that you ‘get what you pay for’ may still be true, it is still entirely possible to get something for nothing.  Why not take advantage of free online backups while you can?

So you’ve got the latest in computer technology, the best electronic wireless router that money can buy, and a stonking 8mbit/s broadband connection. Why oh why does it take so long to backup your data online? For that matter, why does any upload take so long? It’s all in the numbers.

The speeds quoted for broadband connections (typically in mbits per second. A mbit being a million bits) are always for download speeds. The upload speed is not necessarily related to the download speed and is usually substantially slower. Why? Because generally customers download much more than they upload. Standard connection upload speeds are around 256 kilobits - that’s a thousand bits - per second. If you’re thinking on your feet then you’ll realise that this is 32 times slower than your 8 mbit/s download.

Broadband - ADSL - lines are asynchronous (that’s the ‘A’ in ‘ADSL’), meaning the rates of upload and download are different. If you’re lucky enough to have the use of a leased line then you’re more likely to have a synchronous connection. A synchronous connection means that you will get the same upload and download speeds. Lucky you.

So when you’re uploading your data to an online backup repository you’re stuck at the same speed as everyone else, and are limited by the physical constraints of the connection to your home rather than by any equipment you’re using inside the home. Next time you’re getting frustrated without your upload speed blame technology, not your computer.

Please note: these are what we consider to be the largest, most popular and most prominent online backup services currently available. We endorsing these services or the organisations behind them. We hope to be able to provide reviews of these services, but we’ve got lots to do, so it will all come in good time; if you want to offer your review then please use either the comments box to the base of this post, or feel free to contact us. We really would appreciate your input.

Without further ado, here brief summaries of the leading lights of the online backup world:

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• Backing Up Data Online
• Top 10 Advantages to Online Backups

While online backups maybe an indispensable godsend to some people, use of - not to mention the reliance on - online services should be considered very, very carefully. Your data is valuable, and entrusting it to the hands of a faceless company could well prove costly should anything happen. Below are 10 reasons you should think carefully before using online backup services. Click an item in the list to read more about that point.

1. Slow transfer times
2. No love for dial-up users
3. Privacy of your data
4. Continuity of service
5. Reliability of service
6. Limited capacity
7. Security of transferred data
8. Security of stored data
9. Time for data restoration
10. You need the internet!

Online backups are not A Bad Thing. What the do give is an excellent second line of defence, providing off-site protection for your data; perhaps in some limited circumstances they also provide an idea first line defence. The idea is not without its flaws, though, and unless you have very good reasons for doing so, relying on an online service as your first line of defence could be a very risky way of protecting your valuable data.

Above all, the decision to backup data online needs to be considered carefully, along with your unique requirements, before deciding on any one path.

Wait!
Naturally there are also advantages to using online services to store your backup data. In the interests of a balanced argument, we recommend that you read the article Top 10 Advantages to Online Backups. It’s great. We wrote it.

Reason 2: No love for dial-up users - Are you on a dial-up connection? You need to find another way to backup. As a corollary to point 1, above, consider the implications of transferring all that data across a line that is at least 5 times slower for uploads than your average broadband connection. 120 x 5 = 600 = just under two years. Ouch. When you come to restore data your downloads will be at least around 20 times slower than a broadband connection. Good luck!Reason 3: Privacy of your data - While we will not suggest that companies offering online backup services are anything other than legitimate (there’s certainly no reason to doubt their integrity), you must be comfortable with having all your data on their servers. You can of course encrypt it first, but many users do not have the knowledge or resources to do this; encryption also adds another step to what is supposedly a ’set and forget’ system. You may be happy for employees to look through your photo collection, but if you are putting private financial data on there it may be another matter altogether.

Reason 4: Continuity of service - Again, there’s no reason to think that this should effect anything, but you need to consider the possibility that the service you choose will not be around in 5 years. Further, what if the service disappeared overnight? What if it was sold to another owner who wanted to do things differently to how they were previously done? These might not present significant problems - you may be prepared to swap to another provider at short notice, for example - but then again it might. The pertinence of this reason depends on your situation.

Reason 5: Reliability of service - what if the service isn’t quite what it sells itself to be? There is the possibility that at a critical moment the service will lose your data, it may not provide you with the access you require to your data, or it might corrupt every file you send for backup. Reading reviews from other users can prevent you making the wrong choice to start with, but this cannot protect you from any changes that may occur to or within the service.

Reason 6: Limited Capacity - Most of the free services available at the time of writing will limit the amount of data you can store. If you want more - sometimes unlimited - capacity then you’re going to have to pay. Check the amount of data that you’re likely to be uploading, and check your service provider’s capacity. If the amount of data you want to store increases (this is very likely), then you may have to upgrade or move. Neither moving or upgrading should necessarily cause problems, but as always it is worth considering in relation to your requirements.

Reason 7: Security of transferred data - is your data secure as you transfer it to the service’s servers? You don’t know? Then check! Many services offer encrypted transfer; check yours is one of them. Unencrypted data can be intercepted and read by people with nefarious goals. With identity theft on the increase, this should be a something you consider whenever you transfer something across the internet, not least the contents of your hard drive.

Reason 8: Security of stored data - once your data is backed up on the service’s servers, is it safe? Can hackers or crackers gain access and view the data? Online services will most likely have safeguards in place, but they will vary in potency. If you’re worried, then you need to check.

Reason 9: Time for data restoration - How can you restore your data if you ever need to? You may need to download all your data across a relatively slow connection, and this may be a few days’ work. If you’ve got a lot of data then it may simply not be feasible. Services sometimes offer alternatives like mailing a DVD to you; while this may ease the problem you will still have to wait!

Reason 10: You need the internet! - What if you can’t connect to the internet for whatever reason? Perhaps you’re somewhere without reliable connections, or perhaps you need a code or file that was on your computer’s hard drive before it crashed? If you can’t get online then you may not be able to retrieve your data. If you’re not online then you will not be able to backup your data, either, so you could be a few weeks’ worth of backups behind schedule at the time of a data disaster. If you haven’t got regular, reliable access to the internet with your computer, then online backups may worse than useless.

Once again, there are good sides too. We recommend that you read the article Top 10 Advantages to Online Backups before you make any decisions.

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Related Articles

• Backing Up Data Online
• Top 10 Disadvantages to Online Backups

Online backups may be a useful first- or second-line defence for your files, insuring against loss of both the data on your computer and any first-line backups that you may have. What makes online backups so useful? Below are 10 reasons why you should be using online backup services. Click an item in the list to read more about that reason.

1. Separate location
2. Requires no input
3. Access your files from anywhere
4. Backup from anywhere
5. Incremental backups of important files
6. File encryption
7. No equipment or consumable costs
8. No reliance on fallible materials
9. No reliance on your memory or your spare time
10. There are free solutions

Wait!
Naturally there are also negatives to using online services to store your backup data. In the interests of a balanced argument, we recommend that you read the article ‘Top 10 Disadvantages to Online Backups‘. It’s great. We wrote it.

Reason 2: Requires no input - Once the backup is configured, you will rarely have to provide any input to the process. Depending on the service, backups may occur continuously (whenever you are connected to the internet) or at a specified time; either way you should be able to make sure that this is at a time to suit your schedule.

Reason 3: Access your files from anywhere - one result of your files being stored on a server which is accessible from the internet is that you can access them from any internet connection. Unlike traditional backups that are contained on physical hardware, disks or tape, your online backups can be used to restore data to your computer from anywhere on the planet.

Reason 4: Backup from anywhere - if you are on the move then use of traditional backup techniques may simply be impossible. Backups may may require connection of a hard drive to you computer, the use of a server in a central office, or use of writable media that you cannot carry with you. Because with online backups your data is stored on a server with a connection to the internet it is accessible from anywhere in the world.

Reason 5: Incremental backups of important files - After the initial data transfer has taken place, only the changes that you make will be sent to the online backup server. This way of doing things is distinct from, for example, a traditional tape backup where absolutely everything is transferred on each and every occasion, and saves a considerable amount of time.

Reason 6: File encryption - Depending on the service you use, your files may (but you need to check!) be encrypted as they are transferred over the internet; they may also be sent using a secure connection. Whilst on the backup server, again depending on the system you use, the files may again be encrypted to prevent prying eyes examining your data.

Reason 7: No equipment or consumable costs - Using online backups means you are using hardware owned, maintained and operated by someone else to store your data. There is no longer any need to buy backup consumables like CDs, DVDs, tape drives, disks, or whatever else you were previously using; neither will you have to buy equipment that uses consumables, software with which to perform the backups, or servers to manage the process.

Reason 8: No reliance on fallible materials - Hard drives crash, CDs and DVDs get scratched or broken, tapes are notorious for perishing and breaking. Online backups mean that you don’t have to rely on equipment that can fail, break or get lost. True, you have to rely instead on a third party’s equipment but given that their entire business is based around reliable online backups, it is a safe bet that their equipment is more reliable than yours. It is probably also the case that the online backup service will have better systems in place to deal with disasters than you can afford.

Reason 9: No reliance on your memory or on your spare time - Backing up data is often something that is subject to the vagaries of free time and your memory. Since backing up is not an activity that directly makes money for you or your company, its postponement or cancellation can often be ‘justified’. Similarly, if you are relying on your memory and motivation to undertake this often unforgiving task on a regular basis then, with the best will in the world, it will get neglected. Automating the entire backup process has to be a preferable solution, and online backups allow this to happen.

Reason 10: There are free solutions - Depending on the service, you may be able to backup online entirely free. Those services that charge do so at a minimal rate and certainly the money saved in hardware and time will almost always outweigh the yearly cost. While cost should not be one of the first considerations when you are safeguarding very valuable data, it will be important to some users - especially those using it as a secondary line of defence.

Once again, there are bad sides too. We recommend that you read the article Top 10 Disadvantages to Online Backups before you make any decisions.

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Related Articles

• Top 10 Advantages to Online Backups
• Top 10 Disadvantages to Online Backups

Backing up your data online can be a simple, cheap and very effective way of ensuring its safety. As a secondary backup - a backup of the initial backup, if you will - it is easy to see the immediate advantages.

While this method of creating backups will not suit everyone and every application, it does provide some unique benefits over other methods (see our article Top 10 Advantages to Online Backups for more details):

• Free - (or at least very cheap)
• No additional equipment necessary - no need to purchase hard drives, tapes, CDs or DVDs.
• Off-site backup - data is stored safely and away from your main computer
• Online access - You can always access your data, no matter where you are
• No intervention required - Backups can take place at a pre-scheduled time every day without your intervention
• Easy to use - set it up and forget about it!

There are a few considerations to take account of before deciding to place your backups online see our article Top 10 Disadvantages to Online Backups for more details):

• Limited capacity - most free services are limited to only a few gigabytes of data. If you want more you’ll have to pay.
• Transfer Times - transferring a lot of data takes a long time. If you’ve got a lot of data then you will probably need a constant connection. If you are only online for a limited time during the day then you may have problems ensuring full backups are completed.
• Broadband Only - if you’re on a dial-up connection then you’ll need to find another way to backup. Sorry.
• Paranoia - The company providing the service will have your data on their systems. While they are very unlikely to be interested in what you are storing online, they will be able to. If you’re paranoid about what you’re backing up then using an online service isn’t for you.
• Discontinued Service - you need to consider the possibility of the service you are using discontinuing without warning. While this is fairly unlikely with a large, reputable company, it is still a possibility. You need to weigh up the situation carefully and consider the importance of what you’re backing up.

Once you’ve decided that online backups are right for you, you will need to choose a service. We hope to have reviews of the of the various services available on Perfect Backups. Until these are available, it is advisable to look online for reviews of the services and to look at the websites of these services before making a decision.

Setting up online backups
Normally you will have to load some software onto your computer before the backup process can start. At this point you will also need to decide which files you want to backup.

Carrying out online backups
Executing the backup process will be explained thoroughly on the website of the service you chose (if it isn’t, then choose another service). All are designed to be as simple as possible (although, as with anything, this is acheived with varying degrees of success). Perfect Backups hopes to include walkthrough tutorials for each of the major providers in due course.