Traditional backup methods, such as external hard drives and writable DVDs, have serious disadvantages – they are not tolerable to natural disasters and require manual intervention. It’s more safe to have backup copies of important files somewhere in remote location with the ability of their instant restoring. With “old-style” online backup services it’s available for years, but their prices are traditionally too high, because they are oriented to “big boys”. But time changes and now you can get off-site backup for democratic, if not to say cheap, price. And even for free! One of these services is Mozy.

Mozy’s Remote Backup service is a simple, automatic and secure online backup solution. Mozy was the first successful company on the consumer remote backup marketplace. In opposite to other backup services, Mozy’s software is a small and imperceptible, while prices are low and storage space is unlimited.

How the remote backup service works?

When you first start using Mozy, its software creates a full back up of all the specified files. Then Mozy copies the files across the Internet and stores them on remote servers in data center. It you are backing up nearly 2 gigabytes of data, this will require several hours to complete, even with a broadband connection. It may require even more than 24 hours.

Once the initial back up is completed, Mozy’s software monitors your computer’s activity. Every 2 hours the remote backup software is looking for idle time. Any time the computer goes idle for a half hour or more, it makes a back up copy of all files that have changed since the last backup. So, an updated back up is made every 2 or 3 hours as long as the computer is powered up and connected to the Internet. Because only the new or modified files are transferred, the frequent “incremental” backups are quick. The new files are added to the already stored. As a result, Mozy always has a “mirror image” of critical files.

Before transferring over Internet, all data gets encrypted, and remains encrypted with strongest 448-bit Blowfish algorithm when stored on Mozy’s servers. No one can read your files, including Mozy employees. You are the only person who can unencrypt your information. Your data remains secure and under your sole control at all times. Enjoy peace of mind in knowing that your files are encrypted and stored in a safe, remote location.

Mozy Online Backup features

Scheduled or automatic remote backups

Open/locked file support

New and changed file detection for block level incremental backups

Bandwidth throttling

File versioning

Public or private key encryption

128-bit SSL encryption during data backing up and transferring

448-bit Blowfish encryption for remote data storage

Compatible with Mac

For more details compare Mozy’s features vs competitors. Anyway, before purchase you can try it by doing your own test remote backups.

Mozy plans

Consumers may choose Mozy Free or Mozy Unlimited. Both services allow consumers to perform an unlimited number of restores via the web or Windows Explorer. The amount of backed up data in paid plans is unlimited. Even in a free plan you get 2 GB space, which is enough in many cases.

Mozy Unlimited
Mozy Unlimited offers unlimited, secure, automatic remote backup for $4.95 a month or $54.45 a year. You can save money entering the promo-code JULY in special Mozy’s account registration form.

MozyPro Remote Backup
Mozy Pro is the professional solution to remote backup for business data. MozyPro can be used in single or multi-user environments. Full encryption and complete reporting available.

Mozy Free
Mozy Free offers 2 GB of automatic, secure remote backup for free.
Click here to try Mozy Remote Backup for FREE!

Mozy The Winner?

Is Mozy the best inexpensive online backup? Maybe. This remote backup company is preferred choice by Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal, Christopher Null of Yahoo! Tech, and winner of the PC Magazine’s Editor’s Choice Award. Also it wonned SBC Award. Some reviewers have concluded that “It is the most secure, feature rich and inexpensive remote data backup service in the world”.
By the way, in 2009 Mozy stored more than 15 PETABYTES of user’s data.

Alternative remote backup systems

Of course, Mozy is not the one-and-only remote backup company. There are remote backup systems with other sets of features, and other cost plans. For example, read about Mongofiles Remote Backup & Share service that offers up to 1 TeraByte of storage space. PocketPC remote backup can be more suitable with SugarSync, that has a special support for Windows Mobile devices and iPhones.