Three Online Backup Options Compared
By Bob Rankin
Online backup services are becoming quite popular, but it can be daunting to sort through all of the options. Can you get by with a free backup option? How much backup storage do you need? And are there any gotchas if you exceed your storage allotment? Read on to learn more about three popular cloud backup services…
Backing up the files you’ve stored on your hard drive is one of the most important tasks for any computer owner. Nobody wants to lose their music, photos, emails, documents or spreadsheets because of a computer glitch, virus or unexpected hardware failure. I’ve written about Free Backup Software for those who want to use local storage, such as an external hard drive. But if disaster strikes, your backup can be lost in a flood, fire, hurricane or tornado. That’s why it’s smart to consider online (cloud) backup as an alternative, or in addition to, local backups.
Mozy
Mozy, one of the earliest online backup services, has seen so much success that it’s done away with truly “unlimited” storage space. Instead, Mozy has implemented a tiered pricing structure based upon how much data one stores on its servers. The result, for one admittedly extreme customer, was a monthly bill that could have exceeded $2,000! Naturally, he passed on that proposal and found another online backup service.
Mozy’s tiered pricing starts at $5.99/month for up to 50 GB. Up to 125 GB costs $9.99 per month. The fellow mentioned above was storing about 1.5 TB of photos with Mozy; an extreme case, indeed! Still, if you have a more typical amount of data, you may well end paying Mozy $120 a year. If you exceed the 125 GB tier, your bill may jump dramatically.
