[PCWorld]

Post your comments for GeekTech: Super-Easy Online Backups here

[bbdj]

Tom, nice write up, as always. However, I must point out that I tried Carbonite and really loved the service with two exceptions: 1) it doesn't backup my Outlook file and Quickbooks file while they are open, and they have to be open all day long, and 2) when I finally decided to backup everything (~100GB), I received a notice from Carbonite that they were cancelling my account for excess/abusive usage, citing their Terms of Service. So, it apparently is not really unlimited, which is false advertising. Otherwise, this is a very useful service.Don Carlos

[EnigmatcSoul]

Hello,It should be mentioned that the only differentiating factor between Carbonite and some of the competition is the fact that they appear to be allowing unlimited backup size. This is a significant feature, of course, but one that worries me about this backup provider. I believe Carbonite may be grossly underestimating how much data people have to backup. It would be easy for me to identify well over 100GB worth of data to backup. The fact that it doesn't do byte-level differential backups or in-use files is also significant, per the previous commentor's note.I currently use the free version of Mozy, which offers a time-unlimited 2GB free backup. They do offer byte-level differential, and backup in-use files. For people with large amounts of data, their paid subscription services would be more expensive ($2/month - 5GB, $5/month - 30GB, $10/month - 60GB), but worth considering nonetheless.Cheers,Shawn.

[joeuser]

Serious security issue with Carbonite. Although I'm a big fan of the price and ease of use there is a problem with the way they store your data. Because you cannot encrypt your data with your own key, Carbonite staff has direct access to your data. So if an employee gets fired or their company gets hacked your data is just sitting there in the open. Once they fix this flaw I'd strongly recommend them, but until then their service should be avoided.

[CHudson]

Hold on! You have missed several deadly time bombs in this article.1) Continuous Backup with No Versioning- Carbonite does not do versioning. Each file backs up and overwrites the online version of the file. No versions are kept.- Continuous backup means that if you modify a file it will automatically backup and replace the online version. You lose your ability to restore the file to the previous state. - To work around this they do not back up changes to a file until 24 hours have passed. If you made changes and they were not backed up for 24 hours you have no ability to restore your data.So you are not backed up for 24 hours then your previous backup is overwritten. This is analogous to running a continuous tape backup with a single tape. Your backup is good until something goes wrong then you discover you have no backup.2) Speed of Large Files- Carbonite does not backup versions. It must send the entire file every time. If you have a 500MB Outlook PST file and you receive a few new emails, Carbonite will have to send all 500MB for every backup. This may be fine for an MP3 or AVI file, but for a PST or database file it is unworkable. Limited to 2GB max per file.3) Automatic delete- If you delete something from your computer, Carbonite will automatically delete it from your backup as well. - If you later discover the file missing, too bad. It's gone.- Sure it keeps things tidy but that's the most common reason people lose files.I suspect Carbonite would be fine for home use storing your music online... But you would be nuts to use it for a backup tool. Buyer beware. Sometimes you get what you pay for.For my $5 I'm sticking with Data Deposit Box. It may cost me a bit more but it actually works.

[Ackhack]

Previous comments have been great, and completely turn me off to this product. My biggest question after reading the review was about the ease, speed, and effectiveness of restore functions. After all, what good is backup without restore? If this service doesn't do incrementals and save versions, then its not for me. Also, the company had better come clean with their storage limit policy. I'm not even going to check it out until someone assures me that I won't be terminate for abusing the terms of service!

[kmp50]

I belong to a survey site that gave us free access to Carbonite for thirty days. I uninstalled it early because it installed some program in addition to its backup software that I didn't notice until it popped up in my task bar like an IM icon. It took several swings to get rid of it all - the addition wouldn't delete with Add/Remove programs. I had to delete it -so it may still be hovering around in the bottom of the memory pool- used CrapCleaner to get the dregs. I use Mozy, too - picures and a few documents, since I'm not in business. This is not a program that should have a charge attached for the use it delivers. A few free programs do as well or better. JMHO:!:

[billgwinn]

This article was great. I purchased Carbonite and it has worked perfectly on two PCs. I am getting ready to add it to a third. My company may start using it to support road warriors.