I have been looking for a good online backup solution. The idea is that your computer keeps track of any changes you make and automatically uploads them to a secure server. If your hard drive goes bad, it is a simple matter to download all of your data.
I am experimenting with a few different services. One of the ones I tried is called Mozy and I finally gave up on it. It is nice in theory, but they just haven’t figured out how to make it work on OS X.
I’ve heard some people say they have had good results with the Windows version.
Their business model is to give you unlimited backup of a single computer for $4.95 per month. Once you get a complete backup, Mozy just uploads the changes to the server. It can take a very long time to do a full backup of your computer. Most internet connections are fast to download and slow to upload. The initial backup may take a few days or even weeks depending on your connection.
Backups can be scheduled to run automatically so if everything works correctly you can just set it and forget it.
One of the unique things about Mozy is that they will send you a DVD if you need to recover your files, but have a connection that is too slow. This can be a nice option.
As far as security goes, Mozy gives you the option of using a key that they generate to encrypt the data or you can use your own key. By using your own encryption key you can make sure that your data is useless to anyone who doesn’t have the key. The way I understand it, the encryption takes place on your computer before it goes over the network, so your data is kept secure. (Just make sure you keep a backup of your key somewhere other than your Mozy backup!)
By encrypting the data using your own key, it should be secure, even if Mozy gives all your files to someone else. For example, if someone was to steal or seize Mozy’s servers your data should be inaccessible unless they also get your key.
Mozy also has a business class service that can backup databases and Microsoft Exchange. The prices for those services are quite a bit higher and you’d need to make sure you have a fast enough connection to support the amount of data you’d be transferring each day. They have a 2Gig free personal plan, which can be a good way to try things out–although some problems only seem to appear when you get into larger amounts of data.
As with any online backup solution, you can reduce your network usage by being careful about what you include in the backup. Once the initial backup is complete, I would recommend taking a look at what is actually changing each day and see if it is really data that needs backed up. If you include your temporary internet folder, you could potentially upload hundreds of megs of data you don’t really need.
I’m going to keep an eye out for future versions of Mozy because it looks like it will be a good service once it is working with OS X.
It works great for me in OSX (Leopard) and has for quite some time. I’ve been using the free version (2G limit) to back up the most critical files on my system and it’s doing just fine. Your blanket statement that it doesn’t work under OSX is misleading. You should have said “on my system” or something.
Irony: as I typed that, I got a Mozy has unexpectedly quit message. Clearly, your milage may vary :)
-A
I’m using the free 2GB plan of Mozy on Windows XP. As far as I’m concerned it’s pretty much what I need, you can easily choose what to backup (sets or folders). I’ve also needed to retrieve a file I have changed on my computer and it worked. It’s nice to know that you have previous versions of your files saved for you for 30 days.
I only backup my Current Projects & Next Actions (the most valuable data on the computer) and so far I’m under the 2GB limit, but I’m thinking to upgrade when it will be necessary.
@Andy – I had good luck with 2 GBs. I ran into problems when I started trying to backup 25 GB. (Which is the whole point of the paid service.) I was even on a T1 and a 3Mbps (upload speed) connection.
I worked with them for about 2 months trying to get it to work, so it isn’t like I just gave up right away. You are right, it is possible that somewhere it works for someone on OS X. However if Mozy support can’t get it to work after 2 months of working with me (someone with a software engineering and network administration background) it isn’t something I would recommend as a workable solution.
Has anyone else out there had good luck with larger amounts of data using OS X?
I personally will never count on uploading all my personal stuff to a third server, a backdoor is always a possibility (though I agree a low possibility).
My backup strategy involves using GPG (open source) for encryption and then uploading the files to online server – I use diino.
My complete backup plan :
1. Once per night – auto ghost (norton) to an External HD
2. Once per night – auto incremental backup of important stuff – docs, 42Tags and more.
3. Once per night – auto encryption of VERY important files and backup on diino online
4. Once per month – Burn enctypted DVD and spread to family..
5. Once per month – Upload to my ftp server – encrypted material – docs…
I’m using the free 2GB plan of Mozy on Windows XP. As far as I’m concerned it’s pretty much what I need, you can easily choose what to backup (sets or folders). I’ve also needed to retrieve a file I have changed on my computer and it worked. It’s nice to know that you have previous versions of your files saved for you for 30 days.
I only backup my Current Projects & Next Actions (the most valuable data on the computer) and so far I’m under the 2GB limit, but I’m thinking to upgrade when it will be necessary.
Mozy has worked like a charm for me (my original review here, though admittedly I don’t have huge files to save. I use the free version but thanks to referrals I’ve managed to increase the 2gb limit to 5gb ;). I love how ever since I originally set it up nearly 6 months ago I’ve hardly had to touch it.
@SpiKe – Are you using it with Windows or OS X? Everyone seems to be having good luck with Windows or with less than 2GB of data. I’ve been pretty impressed with Jungle Disk although the setup does require a bit more technical expertise and an Amazon Webservices account.
Yeah it was Windows. Downloading the backups off of Mozy seems like a chore but thankfully I only have docs and websites saved so it’s nothing large. When reformat my comp will get to see how quickly/easily you can access your files.
re: Mozy latest build for OS X Leopard 27 Dec. 08
Hey kids: have you **tried** recovering some test files? I did and neither their web disk image service or the in-app restore service can handle Quicken “package” type data files (really folders).
Summary: Mozy for OS X is in semi-beta; your file loss may vary.
From dealing with the clueless tech support (the guy recommending windows utilities), it leads me to believe that the details of OS X filesystem and backup are not handled correctly by Mozy due to programmer ignorance.
Another Gripe: it won’t let me ignore the VMWare files (which are huge) every time i try to build the file picker list.
I would love to add simple offsite backup to my scheme, but for now i stick to SuperDuper.
Foob