Online data storage - best deals???

NIKKID

Being of a slightly paranoid nature I have decided that it's time I got myself some form of online data backup storage for my stuffage. I have goodness knows how many cross stitch patterns and charts that I have designed myself and a huge resource centre of photo images and PDFs that I would be devastated to lose along with a bunch of videos of our beloved pets that would be terrible to lose.

I started by simply googling but was bewildered by the number of online services for data storage, some fee paying some free. I don't know where to begin so what's the best thing to do? Am I likely to get a more secure/better service with a fee paying storage system or are the free ones safe and sound?

I'm looking to store JPEG and other photo files, PT7 files [cross stitch design software] and some video files of varying formats.

Grateful for any advice/guidance.

TIA

fishybusiness

Why online storage?

Perhaps data that is really important to you could be put on an external hard drive? That would be my preference.

closed

and dvd's...

mr_fishbulb

I backup to an external HD, but also to "the cloud". My external drive sits next to my computer, so if there is a fire or a burglary, they're both gone so the online backup is just in case.

I used to use Mozy but they stopped their unlimited allowance. Now I use crashplan - http://www.crashplan.com/consumer/crashplan-plus.html

£90 for 4 year's worth of backup - piece of mind for me.

There may be cheaper options if you don't have a shed-load of stuff to backup.

boxst

How much space does all those documents take up?

Something like http://www.mozy.com gives you 2gb for free and will seamlessly back up as you add/change documents.

NIKKID

Thanks for your suggestions. I do already back up to hard drives and DVDs but Mr Fishbulb I do have concerns that if there's a fire or whatever the whole lot will go in one fell swoop. I'll check out Mozy. I googled to see initially what was available but wondered how secure they could be if they were free. 2Gb would probably do me initially. I'll have to have a count up and see what it all comes to

debitcardmayhem

NIKKID wrote: »

Thanks for your suggestions. I do already back up to hard drives and DVDs but Mr Fishbulb I do have concerns that if there's a fire or whatever the whole lot will go in one fell swoop. I'll check out Mozy. I googled to see initially what was available but wondered how secure they could be if they were free. 2Gb would probably do me initially. I'll have to have a count up and see what it all comes to

You could of course encrypt it before trusting their security. Truecrypt is one option and OpenSSL is another

boxst

NIKKID wrote: »

Thanks for your suggestions. I do already back up to hard drives and DVDs but Mr Fishbulb I do have concerns that if there's a fire or whatever the whole lot will go in one fell swoop. I'll check out Mozy. I googled to see initially what was available but wondered how secure they could be if they were free. 2Gb would probably do me initially. I'll have to have a count up and see what it all comes to

Mozy is extremely secure (http://mozy.co.uk/privacy/commitment/) and owned by one of the largest storage companies (hardware) in the world.

Gillor

5Gb of free storage with Sugarsync..........

https://www.sugarsync.com/

For a detailed review take a look at PC Mag review...........

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2343598,00.asp

victor2

NIKKID wrote: »

I'm looking to store JPEG and other photo files, PT7 files [cross stitch design software] and some video files of varying formats.

NIKKID wrote: »

Thanks for your suggestions. I do already back up to hard drives and DVDs but Mr Fishbulb I do have concerns that if there's a fire or whatever the whole lot will go in one fell swoop. I'll check out Mozy. I googled to see initially what was available but wondered how secure they could be if they were free. 2Gb would probably do me initially. I'll have to have a count up and see what it all comes to

2Gb is nothing if you're looking to backup photos and videos. It's less than half of a DVD, so you might end up paying for something.
Remember also, that upload speeds are generally a fraction of download speeds on domestic broadband, so adding new files could take quite some time. Consider also any bandwidth restrictions or limits your broadband may have.

That said though, it's a good idea to have offsite backup of your data, with appropriate encryption of anything important.

macman

Carbonite is pretty much a set and forget program for £42 per year-and unlimited storage, if the free ones don't offer you enough.
However you can only back up your main drive, not external drives.