Downloads

System Recovery Online is a reliable service that works exactly as advertised--backing up your data automatically via your broadband connection to its offsite data storage complex and allowing you to retrieve files as you wish. The data is hosted by industry stalwart Connected so it's also a pretty safe bet. Unfortunately, in a world where 1GB or 2GB of online backup can be had for free (Elephant Drive, Mozy, Fabrik) System Recovery Online is, how shall I put it...expensive. Prices start at $10 for 1GB and $15 of 5GB, and they go up from there.

The SRO software client that sits in your system tray performing the backups is easy enough to use, if not the handsomest on the block. And unlike services such as Mozy, you can use it to restore files as well. There's no option to restore via a Web browser, which is generally considered a good thing by IT types and businesses that want to close that particular gateway for security purposes. However, the average user--including yours truly--would like to be able to retrieve data without installing the client.

If you like the no-Web approach, SRO is fairly competitive with other SMB-oriented backup services such as Acpana and @Backup. But for most users, the question remains...Why pay when you don't have to?

Note: This link takes you to the vendor's site, where you can select the version of the software that goes with the storage plan that interests you.

--Jon L. Jacobi