# Recommend me a good web-based file backup service **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 2, 2009, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-good-web-based-file-backup-service/484127 "2009-02-02T15:59:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2009, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-good-web-based-file-backup-service/484127/1 "2009-02-02T15:59:49Z")
I’m paranoid about losing files, as much of my income derives from freelance writing; though I have a 9 to 5 job now, there’s been times when ALL my income was from writing, so I’ve always been religiious about keeping multiple copies of anything important. I had been using Yahoo! Briefcase, but they’re phasing that out. Anybody care to recommend a better one? I wouldn’t mind hearing anecdotes about good and bad services. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2009, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-good-web-based-file-backup-service/484127/2 "2009-02-02T16:59:32Z")
Not what you request, but how about getting a USB HDD and putting a backup of all your files in your car? ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2009, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-good-web-based-file-backup-service/484127/3 "2009-02-02T17:00:17Z")
I recently bought a WD Passport Elite. The hard drive comes with backup software, as well as online file backup. I’m not sure how much space you need, but it does it automatically for whatever folders you select once per day. It’s worked well for me so far. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2009, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-good-web-based-file-backup-service/484127/4 "2009-02-02T21:15:12Z")
[www.mozy.com](http://www.mozy.com) is the best by far and it is free for the first few gigabytes. It is only $5 a month for unlimited backups. Be warned that the initial backup can take a week if you want to upload, say, 80 gb but that is a one time deal and you can still use your computer just fine. Nightly incremental backups only take a few minutes. I successfully did a near full restore from it and it worked with no problems. It is a legitimate company and many of us recommend it. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2009, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-good-web-based-file-backup-service/484127/5 "2009-02-02T21:20:18Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Not what you request, but how about getting a USB HDD and putting a backup of all your files in your car? You underestimate the depth of my paranoia. 😃 I have a HD backup in the glove compartment. But the crazy part of of me thinks, “Okay, what if the house blows up and a piece of debris from the explosion lands on my car? What then, hotshot? What then!?!!?!?” Thus I like to be prepared. I’m like Batman with 0.000% of the money, 10% of the assholery, and a wife. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2009, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-good-web-based-file-backup-service/484127/6 "2009-02-02T21:54:18Z")
Carbonite comes highly recommended by several tech gurus on Copyediting-L. Me, I just rotate two external USB drives between home and my safe-deposit box (which also contains extra cables and backup software). If a meteor took out the house, I’d be out a few weeks’ worth of data at most. (But I’d have other problems . . .) ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2009, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-good-web-based-file-backup-service/484127/7 "2009-02-02T22:01:40Z")
> [@Scarlett67](#): > > Carbonite comes highly recommended by several tech gurus on Copyediting-L. > > Me, I just rotate two external USB drives between home and my safe-deposit box (which also contains extra cables and backup software). If a meteor took out the house, I’d be out a few weeks’ worth of data at most. (But I’d have other problems . . .) You’re saner than I am. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2009, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-good-web-based-file-backup-service/484127/8 "2009-02-02T22:09:53Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > [www.mozy.com](http://www.mozy.com) is the best by far and it is free for the first few gigabytes. It is only $5 a month for unlimited backups. Be warned that the initial backup can take a week if you want to upload, say, 80 gb but that is a one time deal and you can still use your computer just fine. Nightly incremental backups only take a few minutes. I successfully did a near full restore from it and it worked with no problems. It is a legitimate company and many of us recommend it. I also use Mozy. And as mentioned by **Scarlett67** , Carbonite is another, similar service. (There are others but I think they are the big two, with similar offerings.) ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-good-web-based-file-backup-service/484127/9 "2009-02-03T05:40:18Z")
If you can hold on for a bit, Google is [on the verge of offering GDrive](http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/01/30/2358215), their on-line, presumably free, file storage system. ---
**Author:** ![tetranz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a587f6/32.png) [@tetranz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tetranz)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-good-web-based-file-backup-service/484127/10 "2009-02-03T12:39:40Z")
I’m happy with [Jungle Disk](http://www.jungledisk.com) which stores the data on Amazon S3.