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company Details Carbonite have their HQ in Boston, MA and they first offered their online backup utility in the first half of 2006. At the time of writing they backup and protect in excess of 2.5bn files for people in most modern contries. The company was founded in 2005 by David Friend and Jeff Flowers. Carbonite is a simple, safe online backup solution for casual home computer users, students, home office users, commercial travelers, etc. For less than five dollars a month, Carbonite archives all the irreplaceable data on your computer (digital photos, mp3s, spreadsheets and other important files) when your MAC is attached to the Internet. Carbonite is extremely effortless to initialize and use, needing practically no ongoing user configuration. Carbonite's online backup program is configured to instantly back up amended data from your desktop whenever it is connected to the internet. Security Carbonite security is very reliable. Traffic up and down your computer and their secure storage is encoded with triple DES – which is very secure – and once on their servers your files is encoded using Blowfish 448bit encoding – it gets no better than that. The Storage for your data is held on dual up-to-date facilities in Massachusetts that provide carefully temperature-controlled rooms, fail-safe power generators, restricted personnel access, and lots of other functions to protect the security and integrity of your data. Backup Features When initially setup Carbonite will backup your 'My Documents and Settings' folders yet this can simply be amended with the desktop client. There is no maximum to the amount of information that can be archived, therefore you can pick as many or as few folders as you desire. Archiving will start when your desktop is idle, thus preventing drain on resources or bandwidth. Also, you can configure the backup scheduler to backup when you want. Network drives and external drives cannot be backup up using Carbonite. In our tests it required thirty seven mins to backup 2,000 megabytes of files using a standard 8mbps DSL line while accessing other data on the internet. Carbonite offers a continuous backup facility which means that information is backed up as soon as they are amended. Thus you don't need to rely on scheduling backups and checking your computer is switched on when the scheduled time falls due. Nevertheless, if scheduling is what you would prefer, the PC client does have that option also. A process indicator and status notifications are available. You can also add files and folders to the backup schedule by right-clicking. The Carbonite utility creates a 'virtual drive letter' where you can see which files have been backed up and which are currently queued for archive. The manager also annotates colored dots on files to show whether they are backed up, pending backup or not included in the schedule list. The PC client permits unlimited 'file versioning' for 3 months. There are also no limits on the size of individual files or the amount of data that you can backup. However, it is important to take into account that the initial archive time required is a lot more than that required once you are up and running and your initial archive is complete. Restore Features File recovery can be setup from either the client or the web portal and can be restored to - by default - their original location or another location on the laptop they were originally backup up on or to the web portal. On the PC version, restores can also be managed by right-clicking a file or folder. There is also a search option so you can find files to restore that match a specific filename or filename pattern. Control and Analysis The web portal provides central control for all PCs being archived. The resource and bandwidth usage can be geared between high and low. Reports can be generated to show what is backed up. Interface To use Carbonite you must use the Carbonite Client Software on each device that is to be archived. Yet, when setup, all backups can be administrated from a central admin portal. Loads of devices can be administered under one account, but, multi-account control isn't supported. When the program is up and running, it permits access to a virtual drive letter that is used to monitor the status of backed up information and to restore folders. The small icon in the bottom-right corner of the PC is initially yellow – this indicates that the initial backup is running. Once the initial backup is finished, the tray icon turns green. The desktop utility is clear and no problem to use. The web portal is also uncluttered. The utility is intended to be set-and-forget so the options are not cluttered with lots of options but instead are setup to allow you to select what and when you want to backup and then allow the client to do it. Device Support There is support for PC and MAC. There is an iPhone, iTouch, iPad and Blackberry apps however these only allow you to monitor archived folders, not actually archive your device. You can attach files from the backup set in emails. Any amount of machines – MAC or PC – can be backed up. Limitations Network drives and external drives cannot be archived There is no block level incremental backup ability Carbonite is a client backup program, so it can not archive server databases such as SQL server, Exchange server. Open or locked files cannot be backed up until they are no longer being used. Whole machine backup is not supported. Proxy server support is not available. File Sharing and Collaboration Files and folders can be shared privately via the web portal and seperate access permissions can be set on individual files and folders. No public file sharing or collaboration features. Synchronization Lots of PCs can be synchronized with each other and with the central web site. Web 2.0 Integration None currently. Customer Support Phone support is available for an additional cost of $19.99 a year. The following support options are available and free: - Live Chat - Email Support / Email web form - Online Documentation, FAQs and knowledge-base - Blog There is also a free 15 day trial available. Ease Of Use Carbonite is extremely uncomplicated to install and use, simply download the client package and run it. There is audio commentary that teaches the entire process and you will be archiving your information in no time at all. The 15 day - no credit card required - free trial means absolutely no risk in trying Carbonite out. When setup all that is required is right-click on a file or folder to add it to your archive. Cost Initial setup Cost - Free 15 day trial Monthly charge - Not applicable Annual Charge - $54.99 Initial allowed storage amount - unlimited Cost of additional storage - no charge Cost of additional devices / PCs / users - Unlimited device but one account per user Referral Program - 3 months free subscription for each referral that signs up after their free trial E-billing facility - yes There are no corporate service plans available, however, there is a pro edition of Carbonite available at http://www.carbonitepro.com which is designed for commercial use. Hidden cost: Telephone support costs $19.99 per year. Conclusion Carbonite offers a easy to use secure method to backup your files from either PCs or MACs. The unlimited storage for a set price allows for uncomplicated money management and prevents the need to always note how much information you are archiving. The Carbonite Online Backup service is very safe and the support is strong. If you are looking for a simple archive solution then this is an excellent choice. .
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