Cloud Storage Buzz Personally Recommends

Me and my son.
Me and my son.

I received an interesting email the other day asking me straight out what I use for cloud storage and backup. I thought instead of just replying to the person I would write up my response here for everyone to see. I think it is important that people realize that my needs are unique and what works for me might not be the best solution for you. I encourage you to find a solution that works for you to keep your files safe whether it is using a cloud based service, local backup or a combination of them. It is to easy to have them all wiped out in an instant with a hard drive failure or worse. Then the photos and memories like the ones I have added to the post here could be all gone.

The majority of my home backup are photos, video and music and some word processing, spreadsheets etc. In fact my photo and home video collection, thanks to a high definition camcorder, has grown considerably over the years to over 150GB. I am not a professional photographer but taking pictures and recordings at all of the kids activities, school concerts etc adds up. For this reason alone I tend to prefer the services that offer unlimited storage. I just don’t want to deal with the hassle of running out of room in my cloud backup or storage.

 

What I Used To Use

Back in the day, when I only had to worry about backing up one computer things were easy, I used to create backups to floppy disks (remember those), then a Zip drive and CDs and DVDs. Eventually I discovered cloud backup. My first cloud backup service was Mozy and I thought it was a great service. As our computers grew to two in the house I created an xcopy batch file that copied all of the files from the one machine to the one that had Mozy on it and had Mozy back all of the files up. I was also running an external hard drive that I also copied files to so I had a local copy. At some point, as I mentioned in my latest post about Backblaze, I moved away from running an xcopy batch file to using the Microsoft Sync Toy to accomplish the same function.

I was a happy Mozy user for many years UNTIL they decided to drop their unlimited plan. John was still writing here and after the new Mozy plans were announced we sat down and came up with a list of other unlimited cloud services that Mozy users could switch too. It was unfortunate that Mozy made the change they did. I was happy with them but I could see the writing on the wall when they announced the new plans. I remember looking at the size of my backup with them at the time, and while it was not as large as it is now, I knew it was going to continue to grow. I knew I would have to switch of end up paying considerably more.

What Cloud Services I Use Now

When I had to switch from Mozy I explored several of the unlimited options available and settled on Backblaze. I have been a happy Backblaze user since 2011 but it is not all I regularly use. I have become less dependent on any one service since 2011, partly so I do not get caught by a service deciding to discontinue the plan I am on, and partly because I became more involved here. John was losing interest in running this website and I wanted to see the site continue so I knew I would have to step up and start looking more closely at the other services.

  • Backblaze – They are my main cloud backup service. I like how easy they are and like I did when I was a Mozy user, I copy all my files to one machine in my home network and have Backblaze back it all up.
  • Bitcasa – I really like Bitcasa, they are doing some innovative things. I don’t rely on them only but they have been a great way to access my files when I am away from home. I also use them to store photos from my network cameras.
  • SpiderOak – There are some files I only trust to SpiderOak. These are mostly some of my business files but there are some personal files in there as well. The zero-knowledge and high level of encryption makes it great for keeping sensitive files safe.
  • Google Drive – Most of my word processing and spreadsheet work is done with Google Drive so I use it regularly for writing up quotes, keeping track of work and lots of other tasks. I use Google Drive mostly through my browser, but I don’t actually use the desktop client. I use InSync to connect my Google Drive with my desktop. I just prefer it to the Google client.
  • Spanning Backup – I use Google services a lot, probably to much, and I wanted to make sure all of my email, calendars and Drive documents are safe. While I have local copies of my Drive files I don’t use a desktop email client or calendar program so I wanted to make sure that data was all safe as well. I went with Spanning Backup to backup my Google account. I check it regularly to make sure my information is backed up just in case Google decides to freeze or delete my account.
  • LastPass – I know that LastPass is not technically a cloud storage or backup service in the traditional sense but it does store my username and passwords in the cloud. Fully encrypted and makes life with accounts and passwords so much better on computers, Android and iPad. Excellent cloud service.
  • TrueCrypt – For those files I do not want someone to be able to get at I use TrueCrypt. It is not to difficult to setup and adds that extra layer of protection to my really important files.
  • BitTorrent Sync – Have I mentioned how much I like BitTorrent Sync yet? This software has become a regular part of my day from backing up files from my smartphone and tablets to helping me manage all of the photos and video that i have. Excellent tool that is bound to get even better by the time it comes out of beta.
  • Dropbox – I use Dropbox fairly often still. It still comes in handy working with others to collaborate on projects and I really like the API. My use changes depending on what projects I am working on.
  • CrashPlan – I picked up a family plan last November when they had their big Black Friday sale. Got it for a great price and installed on one of the Windows computers and my main Linux computer that I was using until recently. I like it but I will likely be taking it down to only a single unlimited plan in November. My experiences with the company as of late and how poorly CrashPlan actually runs on Linux with its dependence on Java just makes it more work than it should be.

I probably have more cloud storage and backup accounts than the average person but I also write about the topic a lot more than most people. If I was not writing about cloud storage and backup I would prune it down but it does offer some extra protection to have my photos, music and video on multiple services. You never know California might just fall into the ocean and my Backblaze backup could be gone or the CrashPlan data center could be destroyed by an F5 tornado. It is also possible that I might add in another service as well. I have been testing both Shutterkeep (yes the company currently advertising here) and Zoolz Home. Both look promising and I will see if either can impress me enough to drop one of the cloud services I already use or not.

What is your personal favorite cloud storage or backup service and why did you go with them?

Me and my daughter.
Me and my daughter.

Posted

in

by

Tags:

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Share This