Suggestions for Online/Cloud Backup Services

[Sam_Jones]

Hello, I've been using Carbonite for a few years now. It seems to work decent enough but now that it just expired and before I renew for another 3 years (for the best price), I was going to try IDrive based on the review from pcmag.com. However, when I got down to the comment section there's a bunch of negative reviews. I was wondering if anyone has a recommendation based on their experience. Thanks in advance.

[Porthos]

You are going to have the usual comments about cloud or no cloud.

How much data are you looking at?

 

[AdvancedSetup]

My own personal advice. Having Online backup as a secondary backup is fine, but personally I'd recommend using a local external USB drive as the main backup.

Backup Software
https://forums.malwarebytes.org/index.php?/topic/136226-backup-software

 

Edited October 23, 2023 by AdvancedSetup
Updated information

[Sam_Jones]

3 hours ago, Porthos said:

You are going to have the usual comments about cloud or no cloud.

How much data are you looking at?

 

258 GB. I was planning on doing a local backup as well but I'm trying to see if an online/cloud service offers that option too. Since the last time I did a local backup was many years ago, I'm hoping the software and process has gotten easier meaning more user friendly.

[Sam_Jones]

7 minutes ago, AdvancedSetup said:

My own personal advice. Having Online backup as a secondary backup it fine, but personally I'd recommend using a local external USB drive as the main backup.

Backup Software
https://forums.malwarebytes.org/index.php?/topic/136226-backup-software

 

Thanks. I think I've seen this article before. There's a few things holding me back at the moment, perhaps unnecessarily. I have an old laptop so I'm not sure if I should buy an external hard drive with usb2 now or wait til I get a new laptop with faster data transfer ports and a compatible external hard drive at that point.

[Porthos]

3 minutes ago, Sam_Jones said:

have an old laptop so I'm not sure if I should buy an external hard drive with usb2

USB 3 is backward compatible.

USB type A which is what you have now will be around for a good while still

[Porthos]

12 minutes ago, Sam_Jones said:

258 GB. I was planning on doing a local backup as well but I'm trying to see if an online/cloud service offers that option too.

258 is nothing.

What Windows do you have on the computer? What are you willing to pay per year?

[Sam_Jones]

32 minutes ago, Porthos said:

258 is nothing.

What Windows do you have on the computer? What are you willing to pay per year?

I have Windows 10 Home Edition. I think I've been paying a little over $100 per year, so I think I'm OK in that range especially with added peace of mind.

[Porthos]

Now you need to consider what online service you trust with the data.

I personally keep a separate folder with sensitive data off the cloud. The rest I could care less about except that I would rather not lose it.

I personally do not have issues with a Microsoft account and One Drive. Others highly resist and disagree with MS and their practices.

Some feel the same about Google.

 

Edited October 23, 2023 by Porthos

[AdvancedSetup]

2 hours ago, Porthos said:

Some feel the same about Google.

 

I feel the same about ALL of them.

 

If you're concerned about security and privacy - I'd recommend you read up on VeraCrypt

https://www.veracrypt.fr/en/Home.html

With VeraCrypt you can encrypt your data before it goes to the Cloud so even if breached they would not be able to access your private data. Just don't forget the password or you won't be able to access it either.

 

 

Edited October 23, 2023 by AdvancedSetup
Updated information