Backup Your Files With Mozy

I always stress to people how important it is to backup their files.  Too many times I've gone to people's home or offices to assist in recovering a crashed PC but not being able to retrieve their important files.  Ever have that happen to you?  I use a number of ways to backup files.  I'm a bit of a fanatic when it comes to that. 

That's why this new services I've been testing has got me smiling.  It's called Mozy and it'll let you back up 2GB of data for free.  It's got a nice little client application you download after you've signed up for the service.  I like how you can specific specific folders to be backed-up, like My Documents for example, or you can select "Backup Sets", things like Spreadsheets, Photos, etc.  By selecting a Backup Set, you'll have all the files on your computer of that type backed up.  I did some tests and deleted files and then went to recover.  It's a piece of cake.  To recovery you simply login to the Mozy on the web and select the file(s) that you want to restore to your PC.  To see a sample, checkout the screen capture I took. Extra marks for Mozy for building a search so if you don't know where a missing file might have been  you just type in the name and it finds it in the backup.  That is awesome.  It is case sensitive though so I found I was having to try variations of the file name, but that was no big deal.

I know what you're asking.  "But is is secure mip?"  Short answer: yes.  Long answer for the need-to-know-crowd....

When you use Mozy, your files are encrypted on your PC using 448-bit Blowfish encryption and then transferred the Mozy servers using 128-bit Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption. You have the option of using a Mozy key, or your own private key to encrypt your data.

So if you're looking for a way to backup your data, check out Mozy.  Even if you already backup your data, this is a great way to augment your current process.  2GB is free and you can purchase additional space like 5GB, 10GB and 20GB all at very reasonable yearly subscription rates.

Comments

[Mark Evans]

thanks for the post. i've been looking for a good online storage service - mozy appears to fit the bill. by the nice, good stuff on your blog - it's become a regular read.

cheers, mark

[mip]

Hi Mark - glad you find mip's scan an informative read. As for Mozy, it is a great tool for backing up files online. It's a great way to keep files close at hand in case you need to do a restore/recovery.
Thanks for the feedback and I've added your blog to my RSS subscriptions as well.
Ciao,
mip