Of that number, there … PCMag.com is a leading authority on technology, delivering Labs-based, independent reviews of the latest products and services. By connecting any USB or external hard drives, it can also connect it automatically during initial backup or you can plug them in later and add them from the settings. Backblaze says it uses "2048 bit public/private keys to secure a symmetric AES 128 bit key that changes for every backup "session" on your computer." This function also provides details on the most recently backed up files, the current ISP serving the computer and its IP address. Many of Backblaze's competitors, including iDrive and SOS, have this capability, so experienced users will notice its absence. When you first install the programme, it immediately scans your hard drive for all files (except for operating system files, applications and temporary files which may cause complications when trying to restore them) and gives you an overview of the files to backup. So again, yes Backblaze is highly recommended as the cloud backup for your computer. How to Free Up Space on Your iPhone or iPad, How to Save Money on Your Cell Phone Bill, How to Find Free Tools to Optimize Your Small Business, How to Get Started With Project Management, Read Check Point ZoneAlarm Extreme Security Review, The Best Cloud Storage and File-Sharing Services for 2020, How to Back Up Your Mac With Time Machine, How to Make Sure iCloud Is Backing Up, Syncing Your Data, How to Send Large Files Over the Internet, Drive Full: How to Avoid Running Out of Storage Space on Every Device, Report: Apple Dropped Plans for Fully-Encrypted iCloud Backups. Although this is a bit involved, customers can do this entirely on their own and whenever they want, which is better than some services, which make you submit a ticket or call during specific hours. If you click an affiliate link and buy a product or service, we may be paid a fee by that merchant. Signing up for Backblaze only requires an email address and password. Note that Backblaze will refund you for the cost of the drive if you return it its original condition. In the Performance tab, you can manually set threading and throttling preferences, but most users should just leave this on the Automatic setting. I had Windows 10 running but with only 8GB RAM new Windows 10 updates made my computer too slow, and I was getting hardware incompatibility reports. Backblaze works well as a cloud backup service! But it means if your main machine is a laptop, and you travel out of town for 31 days and leave your external hard drive at home, all the data on that drive will have to be re-uploaded to Backblaze’s servers when you return from your trip. You can also pay $100 (soon to be $110) every two years for the service. You can, of course, pause the scan immediately after it starts the backup process, but you'll still need to deal with the hassle of Backblaze's exclusion-based system, if you want to make changes. Backblaze does allow you to exclude folders of your choice or files of specified types or sizes, but it can still be tedious to make sure you account for every single file you don't want backed up. Other services, including SpiderOak and SOS Online Backup, let you add multiple computers and mobile devices to one account. Hard Drive Failure Stats for Q1 2019 At the end of Q1 2019, Backblaze was using 104,325 hard drives to … "mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://www.bitcatcha.com/cloud-storage-reviews/backblaze/"}, Backblaze performed fine in our tests, uploading a 1GB file set in an average time of 7:47 (mm:ss). Almost every recent drive we have reviewed supports USB, and the same goes for laptops and desktops. When you run your initial backup, there is a button that reads: “How long will my first backup take?” which will give you a forecast. The display of third-party trademarks and trade names on this site does not necessarily indicate any affiliation or the endorsement of PCMag. In the latest update, Backblaze allows users to integrate logins with the G-Suite single sign-on (SSO) service. You may unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time. Desktop-size and portable platter-based storage has never been cheaper. On the back end, Backblaze adds this file to what it calls a Bucket. How To Set Up A Shopify Store (In 19 Minutes), VPN Beginners Guide – Crucial Questions To Ask, Instagram Tools & Strategies No One’s Talking About, Making $15,000 PER POST. The Backblaze interface is compact and well-organized, even if it doesn't look as sleek as that of SpiderOak ONE or Acronis True Image. Backblaze doesn't offer a permanent free account level like IDrive ($13.90 the First Year at IDrive) 's or Big Mind's 5GB accounts. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your consent to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Backblaze offers cloud storage as a separate service. Backblaze was originally released in 2007 as a personal cloud backup system. A native New Yorker, he has at various times headed up PC Magazine's coverage of Web development, enterprise software, and display technologies. When you click “okay”, it then proceeds to automatically back it all up for you so you don’t really have to do anything except let it work its magic. From the Locate My Computer panel, Backblaze can track the location of your backed-up device, as well as the last upload set and the computer's IP address. We tested Backblaze's mobile app on a Google Pixel running Android 9 and had no issue signing in to a test account. After the Backblaze installation completes, it scans your hard drive for certain file types (such as documents, media files, and downloads) and calculates the total size of the backup. That said, we still wish it offered an alternative to its exclusion-based backup selection and the mobile app does not impress. In short, if you’d rather not go through the hassle of having to manage your files, Backblaze makes it very easy for you. You have to pay a deposit upfront but you will get a refund when the hard drive is returned. Michael cowrote one of the first overviews of web services for a general audience. For our backup tests, we increased the size of each of our mixed file sets from 100MB to 1GB. Backblaze does not feature file-system integration such as right-click options for excluding files or folders from your backup. Backblaze’s simple functions limit it as just a simple computer backup service. We repeated this process with the second and third set, and took the mean-based average of the three times as the point of comparison. Backblaze lays out the usage expectations in its terms of service. External Hard Drive Backup If you have any external drives connected to your computer, whether it’s a small USB thumb drive or a 1TB external hard drive, you can back them up to your BackBlaze account for no extra charge! Since Backblaze doesn't let you specify individual files and folders to back up, it presents a challenge for testing. However, Backblaze will backup external USB and Firewire hard drives that are detached and re-attached as long as you remember to re-attach the hard drive at least once every 30 days. Alternatively, there is also an trackable email system that usually gets a response within a few hours along with the option to track your ticket status. As you will later see in this review, Backblaze’s the biggest advantage is also one of its shortcomings. Still, more advanced users may miss the robust options offered by competitors, such as more intuitive controls over the backup selection, support for multiple devices per license, and private file sharing. "brand":{"@type":"Brand"}, The USB option costs $99 and can handle up to 256GB of data, while the portable hard drive option costs $189 and can store up to 8TB. For those with just one computer to worry about, Backblaze is cost effective compared to other online backup services. SEE ALL FEATURES @ BACKBLAZE OFFICIAL WEBSITE. Backblaze suggests only considering drives with more than 50,000 drive days of operation and those with at least 500 drives in the sample. Your subscription has been confirmed. On my 1TB hard drive… Basically, you need to legally own everything you upload and not violate anyone else's privacy. "creator":{"@type":"Person","name":"Samuel Low"}, {"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"Product", The main screen shows all the backup devices linked to your account. Best of all, Backblaze monitors your computer and updates the backup files anytime there are changes, all while maintaining a minimal presence on your computer so it doesn’t interfere with whatever else you are doing. In the Schedule tab, backups are set by default to occur continuously; in other words, Backblaze watches for file changes and updates the stored version in real-time. Backblaze proves that online backup services do not need to be expensive or complicated, delivering a competitively priced service that is easy to set up and manage. You can specify the backup device used and the backup time period, if you are looking for a specific version of a file. On the flip side, if there are any files you prefer not to have backed up, you can specify which folders to exclude from being fed into cloud storage. If you choose to restore to B2, the file set will be formatted as a Snapshot, essentially a zipped collection of files as they existed at a certain point of time. But it would cost too much to use an online-syncing service to back up all of your files. Now depending on your network and computing speed and the size of your files, it could take a few hours or even a few weeks. As you make your selections, Backblaze calculates the total file size of the restore. Backblaze's web interface is effective, and it matches the straightforward design of the desktop application. We then reran the backup, removing the file sets from the exclusion list one at a time. It's easy to set up and works in the background to keep your files protected. This allows you to set your own password to access your files which only you will know (with one precaution: If you forget it, you may lose access to all your data so Backblaze provides a notice to caution you to be sure to remember it). Another alternative way is to use the mobile app to download and/or play the files you wish to access. 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