![]() The process for restoring files isn’t quite as straightforward as backing them up. This feature is handy if you use any other applications that are particularly dependent on upstream bandwidth, such as VoIP or videoconferencing. You can also specify a time window during which Mozy throttles bandwidth, which limits its impact during the day and still gives it full access to your connection at night. If you activate it, you can limit the amount of bandwidth Mozy uses (in eight increments from 32 kb/sec up to 1Mb/sec). Mozy also offers a bandwidth throttling option, which is turned off by default. A history log lets you view the details of past backups, and you can enable a notification message in the event that a backup hasn’t been performed for a certain number of days. You can also perform backups on an automatic and ongoing basis subject to specified parameters such as how long your computer has been idle or how busy your CPU is. For starters, you can tell Mozy to back up your data daily or weekly according to a schedule you define. Mozy gives you a number of ways to customize your backups. We didn’t encounter any system slowdown during the encryption or transfer process. For added security, the actual data transfer is also encrypted via SSL. pst) as long as your hard drive is formatted with NTFS.īefore any of your data goes out over the Internet, the Mozy client encrypts it using the key you specified at installation. The time it took to complete our first backup was pretty much in line with the initial estimate, while subsequent backups took considerably less time. The saving grace is that since subsequent backups are differential and as a result only include new or changed files, they complete much more quickly. ![]() Even people with relatively fast 6Mb/sec cable modem connections will likely be limited to a relatively 384 Kb/sec (at best) when transferring data upstream. ![]() If 24 hours to do a backup seems like a long time, keep in mind that the inherent weakness of any online storage service is that it’s bottlenecked by the speed of your upstream link. ![]() Mozy doesn’t actually measure your connection speed but instead bases its estimate on a “typical” broadband connection. When you define your initial backup (or add new files or folders to an existing one) Mozy reports how much of the storage allotment will be used and about how long it will take - in our case it amounted to 1.1GB and 24 hours. You can use the software to back up data on multiple systems, but the storage quota remains the same for your online account. But then again, if you do have access to networked storage, you’re probably not a candidate for online backup in the first place. Mozy will only let you access local drives, so you can’t use it to back up data on say, a NAS drive. You can modify Mozy’s choices using a rules-based interface to include or exclude certain file types, folders, etc. It did a good job of identifying the kinds of data one might typically overlook (things like IE and Firefox favorites, or files stored outside of My Documents, for example). The Mozy software took the liberty of recommending certain backup sets organized by category. (The posted privacy policy outlines the circumstances under which this could happen.) (You can also import an existing key if you have one.) Using Mozy’s default key is certainly the most convenient option, but it may not be a choice many people are comfortable with since it means that the company could theoretically decipher your stored data. When you first install the Mozy software, you must decide whether you want to use Mozy’s built-in encryption key or generate your own. Whether you choose Mozy’s free or paid version, you get 448-bit encryption to secure your data. Mozy Remote Backup uses a downloadable client utility, which at the moment is only available for Windows XP (though a Mac version is in the works). If that’s not enough, you can bump up to five, 30, or 60GB for $1.95, $4.95 or $9.95 a month, respectively. For starters, there’s a free version that limits you to 2GB of backup storage but is untainted by any subsidized advertising or marketing distractions. Mozy Remote Backup offers several levels of service and attractive pricing. One increasingly popular option is to back up your data to an Internet server across your broadband connection, a method employed by Mozy Remote Backupfrom Berkeley Data Systems. But once you finally do decide to start backing up, it can sometimes be intimidating choosing from among the myriad methods and applications available for the task. You’ve undoubtedly heard about the importance of backing up your data thousands of times already, so we know we don’t need to tell you again.
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