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Carbonite Review: Mac OS X Online Cloud Backup |
| Sign up for Carbonite | |||||||||||||||||
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| Excellent and comprehensive online backup with easy remote file access, exclusive discount | |||||||||||||||||
[Editor's note: NextAdvisor visitors can combine our exclusive discount with Carbonite's multi-year discounts for even more savings. Refer to the table below to see how the savings add up.]
Backup By default, Carbonite backs up your documents, email, photos, and music. We like that Carbonite takes care of emails automatically, since many online backup services don't, requiring the user to manually locate these files and add them to a backup schedule. However, it won't back up files larger than 4GB unless you tell it to. Restore & Remote File Access In the event of a crash or any other data loss, you simply use the downloadable Carbonite InfoCenter to restore your lost data. But Carbonite's usefulness goes beyond disaster recovery. While we generally talk about an online backup service as a remedy for catastrophic data loss, there's another feature users will love and use much more often, and that's versioning. Carbonite will automatically save up to twelve versions of every file you back up. This allows you to roll back to a previous iteration of any file to recover lost changes. It's like the ultimate "undo." Anyone who's ever made unalterable changes to a large text or graphics file will recognize the value in this feature. Carbonite can also be used to access files from any computer that has an Internet connection. Simply log in to the remote access section of carbonite.com and you'll see all your files, just as you would if you were looking at your hard drive (minus the programs). It's a good feature, and it's one you'll find with many online backup services, although it's not as evolved as it is in a product like SugarSync. You can't, for instance, use it to securely share files with others. They're for your eyes only. A small knock against an otherwise great service. Pricing Carbonite offers unlimited storage for a single computer for $53.10 per year (after discount), roughly $4.42 per month. Two- and three-year subscriptions can bring the price down to an equivalent of $4.31 per month. Unlimited backup is a great deal, but note that Carbonite limits you to backing up a single computer. If you'd like to backup multiple computers, you need to purchase a subscription for every computer you need to backup. Conclusion For pure online backup, Carbonite is a great bargain. While it may not have all the fancy features other online backup providers have, the setup is simple, fuss free, and comprehensive. You'll just set it and forget it—until the day you need to restore your files. Sign up for Carbonite | Compare to Other Mac Online Cloud Backup |
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| Cheapest Price: | $3.86/mo (w/ 3 year plan) |
| Free Trial/ Discount: | 10% off 1 yr; 13% off 2 yrs; 21% off 3 yrs |
| Gigabytes (GB) of Storage Included: | Unlimited |
| # of Computers Backed Up: | 1; $53.10/yr per add'l computer |
| External Drive Backup: | No |
NextAdvisor Online Cloud Backup Blog Headlines
What Services will Backup my Computer and Allow me to Privately Share Files?
Q: I need a service that will backup my computer and that also allows me to give clients unique passwords for documents I share with them. I currently use an external drive and send clients their work, but would like to start doing this in the cloud. A: There are a couple of cloud storage services [...]
How Many Files can I Backup with MyPCBackup?
Q: When backing up my computer with MyPCBackup, how large and how many files can be uploaded at once? I have a picture directory with 10,000 files or so. Can I upload this directory all at once? A: Thanks for your question! The biggest perk of MyPCBackup is that you get unlimited storage space for one computer. [...]
Which Online Backup Service Features a "Mirror Image" of my Hard Drive?
Q: I'm afraid that if I were to loose my hard drive completely, I wouldn't be able to find and load all the programs I use. I'd like to know what service to purchase so that my backup includes a "mirror image" of my hard drive? A: Online Backup services work hard to save all of your important [...]
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