Every computer user has important data on their computer that they would be in trouble if they loose in the case of a hardware failure or software crash.  Every computer expert recommends that you should backup all your crucial data to an external device like a external hard drive, thumb drive or optical disk. However, what happens if there is a natural disaster or fire burning down your residence and making your backup totally useless. Plus, you would have to setup backing up even if you have a program, you would have to set it up yourself and pay for the media to put it on. This whole process is a total chore and still is not a perfect backup method.

However, if you sign up for a online backup service, you can set your computer to upload everything as files change and be sure that it is safe even if your residence is destroyed. The two services that I have used are Jungle Disk and Mozy.  Jungle Disk uses Amazon’s S3 service and charges a mere 15 cents per Gigabyte. However there are also some setup fees and uploading speeds also. Mozy on the other hand, has a free account that has 2 GB of free storage, and then an unlimited storage account for only $5/month per computer.  I decided that was the better service because as it backs up, it puts all the data online and secure from harm. The one disadvantage, is that with Jungle Disk you can upload from as many computers and mount the storage as a disk drive on your computer. However, Jungle Disk requires you to buy a backup application for an additional one time fee of $20, however there is a 30 day trial to start you off.

I have replaced localized backups with using Mozy’s unlimited service, and their included applications makes it so easy and I don’t even think about backing up my data but, I know it is safe!  I reccommend everyone using online backup because, the data is always safe and takes no thought or effort!