backup

Nero's BackItUp and Burn makes the whole process of regular data backups easier for everyone. Using an intuitive tabbed interface and simple controls, just about anyone can pick up BackItUp and Burn and start a regular schedule for backups in only a few clicks. The software even offers the option of sending you an e-mail notification when automated backups are complete.

In addition to regular backups, BackItUp and Burn also includes full burning capabilities (as the name suggests) letting you burn your music, videos, data, and pictures to CD, DVD, or Blue-ray disks. Nero offers a free Gigabyte of … Read more

Using a data backup program helps recover lost data but can also help get a stolen laptop back--if you're lucky.

A Berkeley, Calif., man recently recovered his stolen laptop after seeing photos the thief took of himself with the built-in camera via his Internet-based data backup program.

That's according to a police officer's article in an e-mail newsletter from Berkeley City Councilmember Susan Wengraf that was posted to the Web by open-source advocate Bruce Perens.

It all started on May 5, when the victim left his laptop in the back seat of his car (tsk tsk). Two … Read more

It's not often you review a product that some folks will find too limiting and almost worthless, while others will find it suits their needs perfectly. But that's the conclusion we came to with Seagate's Replica external storage drive, which continuously backs up your entire Windows PC--OS and all.

Read the full review of the Seagate Replica.

I blogged about Gmail's new feature that helps you migrate from other Web-based e-mail services to Gmail and I have received a lot of e-mails asking if there's a way to back up an offline POP3 e-mail archive to an online e-mail service.

The answer is yes, but depending on what e-mail clients you use, it can require a fair amount of work. If you're using Outlook Express, for example, it's fairly easy. If you use Thunderbird, however, there will be a few extra steps.

First, you will need a Hotmail account, if you don't … Read more

After I blogged about how Acronis misinterpreted its survey data, mistakenly reporting an alarming 87 percent of users back up their data only once every two or three months, the company released a revised report on the matter on Thursday.

The new report shows that nearly two-thirds (64 percent, as opposed to the earlier contention of 87 percent) of users back up their computers every two or three months, which is still much less frequently than is recommended to keep data safe.

In addition, the survey found that 80 percent of the some 6,100 participants surveyed in North America … Read more

Many of my favorite freeware tools have more-than-adequate competitors out there, but you can never have too much of a good thing. Here are four utilities that you may not have heard of to help you back up your files, take screen captures, uninstall programs, and test your download speeds.

MyUninstaller replaces the default Windows Add/Remove Programs utility, and is a strong alternative to Revo Uninstaller. They both uninstall programs, and that's just about where their similarities end.

MyUninstaller feels extremely lightweight compared to Revo and contains none of the system tools extras like Autorun Manager that Revo … Read more

Everyone knows they should back up their data, but a surprisingly small percentage of people actually do. Unfortunately, when the big crash finally comes or you experience a hard-drive failure, that's usually the time you realize you should have been backing up all along. There are a number of programs that make it easier to regularly back up your hard drive, but in my experience, many require several steps to get the job done.

Nero's BackItUp and Burn ($39.99), released yesterday, attempts to make the whole process easier for everyone. Using an intuitive tabbed interface and simple … Read more

Acronis, a major vendor of backup software, released a report earlier this week stating that about 87 percent of computer users back up their data once every two or three months--way less frequently than recommended. This suggests that most of us live dangerously when it comes to backing up.

The survey was widely reported in the press, but it turns out the numbers didn't seem to go well with Acronis' report.

The percentages released to the media were taken from the question "How often do you back up your hard drive or files?" Results include: 48 percent for "once a week (or more)"; 55 percent for "2-3 times a month"; 81.5 percent for "once a month"; 86.8 percent for "every 2-3 months", 91.4 percent for "2-3 times a year", 94.6 percent for "once a year or less"; and 25.5 percent for "never."

It may be that I'm Asian and extra good with math, but I couldn't help but notice that when added up, the numbers total around 500 percent. Other ways to interpret the chart didn't justify the reported 87 percent, either. So maybe you're not as bad at backing up as some media reports told you you were. … Read more

Backing up data is important and should be done often. But remembering and knowing how to do it is a different story.

With this in mind, Memeo--an online digital company that offers a variety of online services such as photo sharing --has released a backup solution for business users that will help keep track of backing up data. Memeo Backup Professional 4.5 is tied to an online console, from which an admin user can remotely view the status of backups of other users. This means that once it's installed on network computers, a single admin can oversee the … Read more