Put it Online: The Lazy and Easy Way
Some call it “the cloud” while others refer to it as online storage: here are a number of vendors touting offsite backup services that backup your hard drive data regularly and automatically in the background as you work. I will not go through the long grocery list of available offerings, but we reviewed KineticD from Data Deposit Box offers a reliable and reasonably priced alternative with a per-month storage fee of $2 per gigabyte of data. And most importantly, the service is very easy to set up.
At 65 KB per second, the software interface downloads in less than four minutes. The setup process involves selecting the folders you want to backup on a regular basis (this is done automatically whenever your PC is running). The software prompts you to select My Documents, Desktop, Favorites, and other standard directories that you want to backup up. Through the Options menu tab, it is possible to select entire drives and other folders for backup as well.
Data is encrypted. Although Tom’s Guide did not verify the claim, the company says it is impossible for anyone onsite to access the data. The company manages its own server room—so if you don’t like the idea of your data floating around who knows where on “The Cloud” somewhere, it is reassuring to know that you data is onsite at the Canada-based Data Deposit Box’ data center.
The service is not without its downsides. Accessing a single backed-up file remotely from the KineticD server Website requires several clicks. You are prompted to enter your user name and password twice. The process can be a pain in the you know what.
However, once installed, I can confirm that KineticD does indeed consistently backup the data and folders you specify for safekeeping on its servers. Backups are done automatically and continuously and run in the backup ground as you work 24/7.
So if—fingers crossed that it never happens—your PC or server gets destroyed in a fire or another disaster, your data is securely stored elsewhere. The system works well, too, when traveling, since you can access any file or folder you forgot to bring with you from the remote servers. And once again, the price is right.
