The Best Online Backup
How to select the right remote backup provider for you
Congratulations! You’ve decided to find the best online backup for your valuable electronic data. In so doing, you’ve taken a huge step to protect yourself from costly and agonizing file loss. Now you just need to know what to look for in a remote backup provider so that you get the most for your money.
There are certain essential factors that you’ll be comparing to make sure you choose the best online backup service for you:
- Storage space
- Maximum file size
- Number of computers supported
With that in mind, many of the best online backup services offer unlimited storage space, unlimited file size and unlimited computers supported, though you may see those conveniences reflected in the price. So, be sure that the best online backup for your needs is actually that expensive – or you wind up just throwing away your money on more remote backup than you need.
The following are some of the more important features to look for in selecting the best online backup provider for you or your business:
- Version History: This is important, since we constantly change the content of our files and folders. For optimal remote backup and better peace of mind, you don’t just want to the best online backup for the most current version of each file and folder, but you want remote backup for all (or at least several) of the previous versions of those files and folders too.
- Scheduling: If this is going to be the best online backup for you, remember that it’s always better to be able to pick and choose what days and times you have the remote backup performed, without having to initiate it manually each time. For example, you might want your best online backup program to remote backup your data after hours or while your computer is idle. At times, engaging an online backup while you work could hamper the efficiency of your other operations.
- Continuous Data Protection: Also referred to as Block-Level protection or Incremental backups, this handy technology is detects any new files or changes to existing files on your computer and, in the background while you work, automatically engages the remote backup for just those changes.
- Multi-Platform Support: You’ll want to ensure your best online backup supports the appropriate platforms for your remote back up needs, whether you use Windows, Mac, Linux, Unix, Novell, or none or all of these. Just make sure the best online backup you choose can actually remote backup the data on all your computers and not just some, or one.
Other features you should be well aware of as you hunt for the best online backup include the following:
- File Sharing: Maybe you want to use your remote backup service as an “Internet desktop” too, where you could share certain data with one or more others at different computers simultaneously. Such capability makes collaboration a breeze and subverts the need for constant emailing back and forth.
- Email Archiving: If you handle a large quantity of daily emails, this allows you the space to store that data separately (though accessible through the same login and user interface) than all the other data you store through your best online backup.
- Web Access: This lets you access and sometimes even upload (read: remote backup) and restore your data from any computer with an Internet connection.
Make sure, as well, that the best online backup service you choose will allow you to remote backup all the various file types you need to backup online.
All that aside, however, the most important factor in selecting the best online backup service for you is security. Look for the following:
- Minimum 128-bit SSL encryption on transfers
- Minimum 256-bit AES or Blowfish encryption on storage
- Data you remote backup should be stored in multiple, redundant facilities
- Your best online backup should employ a data centre (or data centres) as secure and state-of-the-art as the one you would use for web hosting
View our list of the Top Online Backup Providers