| Retail Price for 1 Year: | $60.00 |
| 1 Year Plan Savings (16%): | $10.00 |
| Your Price for 1 Year: | $50.00 |
| Retail Price for 2 Years: | $120.00 |
| 2 Year Plan Savings (20%): | $25.00 |
| Your Price for 2 Years: | $95.00 |
Backblaze at a Glance
Our Rating
4.4 / 5 stars
[xrr rating=4.4/5]
Price:
Personal Plans
- Unlimited Account: $5.00/month
- Unlimited Account: $50.00/year. Saves you over 16% over monthly plan.
- Unlimited Account: $95.00/two years. Saves you over 20% over monthly plan.
- Click here to save over 16% – 20% on Backblaze!
- Purchase a prepaid code with Bitcoin.
Business Plan
- Unlimited Business Account: $50.00/computer/year.
Pros:
- It does not require scheduling because it is backing up all the time.
- Works with Windows XP and up, and MAC OSX 10.4 or later.
- 11 Language Interface
- Option to restore via USB Flash Drive or USB Hard Drive
- Locate Computer feature
- Unlimited file size backup now available.
- iPhone app now available.
- User-friendly
- Affordable plans
- No bandwidth throttle
- Block-level backup
- Multithreaded backup
- Live-chat customer support
Cons:
- No Android App for access of files on the go.
- No support for networked drives
- Limited to one device or computer
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[pods name=”review” slug=”8825″ field=”sign_up”]
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Full Backblaze Review
If you do not know or if you are unsure what you want to save, and where is the file’s specific location, or you do not want the burden of trying to figure out everything, Backblaze backup is the online backup solution! Backblaze storage is unlimited and backup just about everything in your computer and external drives by default except the items you exclude.
Backblaze is backup software that “just works”. With the recently released version, two of their award-winning backup software and they have made many improvements on what was already an excellent service.
Backblaze backs up past versions of your files, although it is only for up to 30 days. There is no way to extend the versioning policy, which is unfortunate given that Backblaze online backup is a service that provides unlimited backup, which limits Backblaze’s with ransomware protection. This limits Backblaze’s usefulness when it comes to ransomware protection.
Backblaze backup greatest strength is its ease of use, which is based on the fact that it is an unlimited backup service, and works by just backing up different file-types based on the extension that gives a small amount of user-management and saves a lot of time.
Some of the Backblaze software’s flaws are the lack of mobile backup, and previous file versions are not continually saved. It also limits you to use multiple computers, although that is common to most unlimited backup service.
Backblaze usually retains your private encryption key. When this is enabled, only you will have this key. The advantage is that only you will have the option to decrypt your secured files.
The performance of this feature is strongly flawed. While the files are encrypted confidentially before sending it to the cloud, to recover it again requires that you give your passphrase to Backblaze so the service can decrypt them before transferring them back to you from the cloud storage.
Most online backups that offer the same private encryption, including Acronis True Image, does not require to give your private encryption key. This is because Backblaze restores on the web and requires an internet connection, rather than using your desktop client.
Backblaze declares that your passphrase is not saved and will be deleted after its used to decrypt your files. You have no choice but to take the company’s word for that, which completely breaks the purpose of private encryption.
The disadvantage of this feature is that if you forget your private encryption key, Backblaze can’t reset it for you and you will lose access to your files.
Even with or without the private encryption, Backblaze encrypts all of your files at rest on its cloud. The level of encryption used is AES 128-bit, which for all practical purposes is unbreakable security.
We will discuss more of the benefits throughout this Backblaze review in a much broader comprehensive approach. The security and support, backup process, speeds for transferring files, and a whole lot more.
Installation
Easy to use is just as important with installation as it is with day to day use with Backblaze. Installation starts by visiting the new Backblaze. By entering your name and email to create your account you can then start your free trial and download the installation executable file for your computer. Depending on what operating system and web browser you are using you may have to download the file and then open the folder where the installation file is located. If you are using Windows and Internet Explorer you should be able to simply select RUN after the file is downloaded and the installation on your computer begins.
Once the installation starts you will be prompted to accept the license agreement. After you click Install Now to agree, the Backblaze installation will begin by installing the necessary files on your computer for the Backblaze client software to run.
Backblaze will begin analyzing your hard drive and data during install. Depending on how large your hard drives are this can take a few minutes. When this phase is complete, you will be presented with an install complete scene and a summary of the files Backblaze found for backup and your initial backup will begin.
Backing Up
One of the things that makes Backblaze so easy to use is their unique backup method. Most backup services backup only what you tell them to back up, or what is in their specified backup sets. Backblaze is different, it defaults to backing up all your files. The only exceptions are your operating system files. Previous versions of Backblaze also excluded some other files like ISO files, but with version 2 that restriction has been removed.
There are some backup preferences to check in version 2 of Backblaze to improve performance under Settings. First double check that Backblaze has found all of your hard drives for backup. Backblaze supports external hard drives as well as internal hard drives so it is always good to check that all your hard drives have been found or unselect a hard drive if you do not want it backed up.
Under the Settings Performances tab, you can choose to allow Backblaze to automatically throttle your data connection or to manually select it. Automatic throttle should be good enough for most people but if you find your Internet is slowing down you might want to select manual throttle and select your own settings.
Backblaze defaults to backing up your data continuously, and this a usually a good setting, but again if you want more control you can set it to backup on a schedule.
The Settings Exclusions tab is important to check after installing Backblaze. While most people might not need to exclude any other files from their backup this tab does have a crucial setting. Backblaze comes with default to backup file that is under 4GB. Files larger than that will be ignored. This can be set to a higher size or to an unlimited size, but it is important to note that the default is still set to 4GB and you should go in and set this higher.
Backblaze allows users to set their own encryption key if they desire. Backblaze will encrypt all your data before sending it to their servers. If you use your own encryption key it is very important you do not lose it or you will not be able to decrypt your data without it.
The other remaining settings tabs are a listing of files awaiting backup, reports and event log. Useful for checking the status of your backup, or if you need to contact support.
Restoring
You can start a Backblaze restore from either the desktop client or through the web admin interface. If you do start your restore from the desktop client you will actually be redirected to the web admin. There is no direct restore via the desktop client.
Once at the web admin you can choose if you would like to download your files over the Internet or have them put on a USB flash drive or an external hard drive to be sent to you for an additional charge. If you only need a small set of files you can easily download them. If you need to restore all of your files the cost of a USB flash drive or external hard drive restore would be worth the extra money to save you time. Backblaze is one of only a few companies that offer a USB flash drive or external hard drive restore.
Navigating the web admin to select your files and starting your restore over the web is fairly simple. Once you have selected your files you will have to wait for the files to be retrieved and added to a zip file for download. My test restore was just over 5GB and it took just over 15 minutes for it to be ready. They will email you to let you know when the download file is ready.
It would be nice if there was a way to download files more directly either through the desktop client or a virtual local drive. The restore process is perhaps the hardest part of Backblaze, but probably still manageable for most users.
Other Features
Locate Computer – There are many stories on the Internet of online backup users using information from their online backup service to help locate their stolen computer. Backblaze is the only company that has made it into an easy-to-use feature. If your computer is stolen you can use the information from the Backblaze web admin to help locate your computer to give the correct information to the police.
Overall
Backblaze makes it easy to backup your files and keep your data safe. It is one of those applications that “just works”. The majority of users will have no problem setting up the service and even though the restore process could be easier it is simple enough that the majority of users should have no problem with it. Backblaze offers an excellent service at a very affordable price. For those people that just want a backup service and don’t want to worry about whether they set everything up properly Backblaze delivers. They prove that backup can be easy.
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