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Home > Archive > Backup Software > February 2006 > What backup software for home use
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What backup software for home use
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| jameso 2006-02-06, 7:53 am |
| I currently use Veritas Backup Exec *Desktop*, and am looking for a
different product.
I like VBED - most significant is the catalog feature, tied to the
ability to restore using "Folder View". You can select a file in the
folder hierarchy to restore; the application then tells you which media
/ backup file you need in order to restore the version of the file you
want.
However - the application has now been sold on multiple times (Veritas
to Seagate to Stomp, who have replaced it with Nova's PC Backup). As a
result, you can no longer buy it. If I needed to do a total restore and
were not able to find my installation CD, I would be stuck, as the
backup format is proprietary.
Therefore I need a different product. As a minimum, one that is likely
to be around for some time to avoid this problem repeating. Better, one
that stores backups in classic .ZIP format. That way, I can recover
files even without my backup software.
The question is: Which product is best? Being a homeuser, I don't want
to pay more than the $80 that the dearest of the home products run to.
Everything I've looked at has one of the following limitations
1. No catalog feature as described. Some keep a catalog of backups.
Some don't keep such at all (e.g. WinZip 10.0 pro). None of the ones
I've looked at allow you to browse a folder hierarchy of backed up
files without first knowing which archive you want to look in.
2. Proprietary format.
3. Encryption no better than Zip 2.0. Some apps have AES (e.g., Genie),
but where they do you need a proprietary decryption tool. This
immediately takes you back to problem 2.
4. Real limitations on file and folder selection. (e.g. KLS). You need
to be able to select, e.g., Docs and Settings, minus one whole profile.
Several backup apps only allow you to include folders with their
subfolders, and not to also exclude them. Other limitations are not
being able to exclude by filtering things like thumbs.db.
5. Page faults, GPF, unexplained errors, several seconds of 100% CPU
between steps, and other generally annoying features.
Any suggestions welcome!
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| I use three products, and like them all.
AutoSave 2.0 from V-Communications. See
http://www.v-com.com/product/AutoSave_Home.html. It backs up new and changed
files to any device automatically as they are created or changed. I use this
to back up files while connected to the company Network Attached Storage (a
Buffalo LinkStation) during the day. It logs changes when I am not at the
office and therefore not connected to the NAS.
BounceBack Professional. See
http://www.cmsproducts.com/product_...k_software.htm. When I get home
at night I plug my CMS external hard drive into my laptop and BounceBack
launches and does a complete backup with no intervention.
Norton Ghost, from Symantec. Each weekend I do a complete imaging of the
drive to an external drive. I also use Norton GoBack, which allows me to
recover from crashes, bad installations, etc. It is a wonderful product that
has helped me many times. It has a great feature that allows you to install
and test software, and then either accept or reject the changes made to your
computer. See
http://www.symantec.com/home_homeof...ery/index.html.
All three products allow me to restore a single file or a complete backup.
(And GoBack recovers the entire drive.) I am not sure if they will meet your
requirement for a catalog, but you can browse the backups for a single file,
if needed. AutoSave has versioning (and I set it to save 5 versions of each
file).
None of these products has ever caused a crash, nor have any failed during
backup. I have never had to do a full restore, so have never had to test
that capability. But I have recovered individual files from both AutoSave
and BounceBack. I guided my son through a complete restore of his drive
using an image created with Norton Ghost. It worked successfully for him.
Sincerely,
Gene
"jameso" <usenet@oakleys.org.uk> wrote in message
news:1139231173.428038.291930@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
>I currently use Veritas Backup Exec *Desktop*, and am looking for a
> different product.
>
> I like VBED - most significant is the catalog feature, tied to the
> ability to restore using "Folder View". You can select a file in the
> folder hierarchy to restore; the application then tells you which media
> / backup file you need in order to restore the version of the file you
> want.
>
> However - the application has now been sold on multiple times (Veritas
> to Seagate to Stomp, who have replaced it with Nova's PC Backup). As a
> result, you can no longer buy it. If I needed to do a total restore and
> were not able to find my installation CD, I would be stuck, as the
> backup format is proprietary.
>
> Therefore I need a different product. As a minimum, one that is likely
> to be around for some time to avoid this problem repeating. Better, one
> that stores backups in classic .ZIP format. That way, I can recover
> files even without my backup software.
>
> The question is: Which product is best? Being a homeuser, I don't want
> to pay more than the $80 that the dearest of the home products run to.
>
> Everything I've looked at has one of the following limitations
>
> 1. No catalog feature as described. Some keep a catalog of backups.
> Some don't keep such at all (e.g. WinZip 10.0 pro). None of the ones
> I've looked at allow you to browse a folder hierarchy of backed up
> files without first knowing which archive you want to look in.
>
> 2. Proprietary format.
>
> 3. Encryption no better than Zip 2.0. Some apps have AES (e.g., Genie),
> but where they do you need a proprietary decryption tool. This
> immediately takes you back to problem 2.
>
> 4. Real limitations on file and folder selection. (e.g. KLS). You need
> to be able to select, e.g., Docs and Settings, minus one whole profile.
> Several backup apps only allow you to include folders with their
> subfolders, and not to also exclude them. Other limitations are not
> being able to exclude by filtering things like thumbs.db.
>
> 5. Page faults, GPF, unexplained errors, several seconds of 100% CPU
> between steps, and other generally annoying features.
>
> Any suggestions welcome!
>
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| David Arnstein 2006-02-06, 5:48 pm |
| You're using Microsoft Windows, right?
I've stated this before, but it bears repeating (of course I believe
that!). I suggest that you restrict your choices to backup software
that is used by enterprises. This because of the pervasive culture of
low quality that is present in the Windows world.
What I mean is, one can make a living publishing crappy software for
Windows. As a result, just about every piece of software that I have is
ridden with bugs. When Microsoft Word screws up my paragraph numbering,
I just start my document over. When my backup software weirds out, I'm
well and truly XXXXed.
If your backup software is used by enterprises, these companies will
usually prevail upon the backup software publisher to fix bugs that they
find. They have the power ($$$).
It won't do you any good to locate an enterprise-worthy backup program
if it costs $10,000. So look for software companies that sell to home
users as well as enterprises.
I know of two such companies: EMC/Dantz (Retrospect backup) and Ultrabac
(Ultrabac backup). Both programs seem to work well. I switched from
Ultrabac to Retrospect to get some features that I like.
--
David Arnstein | Have fun with your spams:
arnstein+usenet@pobox.com | http://www.bluesecurity.com
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| jameso 2006-02-06, 5:48 pm |
| Thanks for that advice.
Yes - using Windows. Interestingly, of course, that's why I went for
the Veritas back in 1999 / 2000 - scaled down version of an enterprise
product.
Will check out Dantz and Ultrabac
James
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| jameso 2006-02-06, 5:48 pm |
| Thank you for those tips Gene
I hadn't heard of the first two. I knew of Ghost, but thought it was
just for whole-drive images.
Will check them out,
James
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| Andrey Molchanov 2006-02-07, 5:54 pm |
| Hi,
Take a look at DoubleSafety (http://www.doublesafety.com).
A flexible filtering system is available (individual file exclususion
and filtering system). You can see example at
http://www.doublesafety.com/help/it...backup_set.htm.
DoubleSafety store all backup archives in the ZIP format with an
adjustable level of compression quality.
Program has AES encryption, but why do you need Zip 2.0 encryption? It
is equal to total no encryption. Or not? If Zip 2.0 password-protection
is anyway valuable for ypu, please say me and I will try to implement
this feature.
DoubleSafety costs 45$.
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| jameso 2006-02-07, 5:54 pm |
| Thanks Andrey - will take a look.
Sorry, I wasn't clear. I *don't* need Zip 2.0 encryption, precisely for
the reason you highlight.
My gripe was that most backup software fails in one of two ways:
(i) the best encryption offered is Zip 2.0. That's no good - I want
AES.
or (ii) offers AES, but does it in a proprietary way shared by no other
ZIP utility. (At which point, what's the value of having a standard
like Zip.)
Now, I know why many apps fit the description (ii) just given. There is
no ZIP standard for AES encryption. Still I can dream on! At the end of
the day, I know I'll be accepting compromise somewhere, it's just a
question of where.
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| David Arnstein 2006-02-07, 5:54 pm |
| In article <1139340677.927391.236730@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com>,
jameso <usenet@oakleys.org.uk> wrote:
>My gripe was that most backup software fails in one of two ways:
>
>(i) the best encryption offered is Zip 2.0. That's no good - I want
>AES.
>or (ii) offers AES, but does it in a proprietary way shared by no other
>ZIP utility. (At which point, what's the value of having a standard
>like Zip.)
>
>Now, I know why many apps fit the description (ii) just given. There is
>no ZIP standard for AES encryption. Still I can dream on! At the end of
>the day, I know I'll be accepting compromise somewhere, it's just a
>question of where.
If you cannot find another solution, you could consider using a
separate piece of software to create an encrypted file system. Then
you could use a backup program that has the features you want, except
encryption. The encrypted file system "lives" inside an ordinary disk
file. You would allow your .zip file to fill up the encrypted file
system.
In the commercial world, I know of SeNTry from
http://www.softwinter.com. There are also Open Source solutions, such
as http://sourceforge.net/projects/truecrypt.
--
David Arnstein | Have fun with your spams:
arnstein+usenet@pobox.com | http://www.bluesecurity.com
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