Online Backup Software Gets New Name and Functions

Connected Online Backup offers painless, automated data backup.

Glenn McDonald, PC World

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Online backup packages can take the hassle out of storing your files. You don%squott have to buy and install storage devices, and the software automatically backs up specified data at specified times, usually while you sleep.

Connected Online Backup, formerly known as DataSafe, is a powerful and elegant online backup solution. Like similar products by McAfee, MCI, and SureFind, Connected Online Backup lets you back up and encrypt files over the Internet to a secure remote server. You can then retrieve that data if your local files get corrupted.

What sets Connected apart is its proprietary technology that determines which portion of each file has changed since the last backup, so it can retrieve only those parts. Since Connected charges by the amount of data transferred (50MB per month for $14.95), the less you back up, the less you pay. Connected also offers the speed of a private dial-up line for an extra 25 cents per megabyte.

(Online backup is not recommended for wholesale system or application backup. If you want to save a copy of something that large, tape or disk storage is less expensive and more appropriate.)

Informal testing with Connected, which now supports Windows NT as well as Win 95 and Win 3.x, revealed a product that is remarkably powerful and easy to use. Besides the NT support, the new version also has more potent restore options and is firewall-friendly. Within 25 minutes of downloading the free trialware version available on Connected%squots Web site, I successfully backed up my files from the last seven days.

Connected uses 56-bit DES encryption on all stored files. During the installation process, you are asked to create a password. You can let Connected choose one, which is stored on a remote server separate from your encrypted data. Or, if you%squotre paranoid, you can determine one yourself. Be careful, though--if you lose your password, not even Connected will be able to retrieve your data. An Explorer-style, drag-and-drop interface lets you determine which files you want to back up and when. Connected automatically backs up user-generated files and ignores things like software applications. You can also tell Connected to disregard certain file types or entire directories. This comes in handy for blocking all those .HTM and .JPG files, for example, that your browser or push product has been caching all day.

You determine when and how often your automatic backup occurs. When Connected does perform a backup, it launches a status window giving you the details on each file saved. (Files in use, for example, will not be backed up.)

File restoration is also fully automated and available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In addition, Connected promises multiple levels of data redundancy to protect your data on the company%squots end.

Connected is a good option for ensuring that critical files do not get lost. With 50MB of storage at $14.95 and the software free for download, it%squots a competitive price, too. (McAfee%squots online backup products sell for between $40 to $65 retail plus $10 per month for 30MB of storage.)

Backing up files is a smart thing to do, and Connected makes it easy. Just like exercising, you%squotll feel better after you do it.

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