The first is pretty obvious—all the data you've selected for backup is copied in its entirety. Incremental backup saves system resources by only backing up changes in files from the last incremental backup, and differential backup saves all changes from the last full backup. With incremental, you need the latest full backup and all the intermediary backup data to restore a file to its original state, whereas with differential, you just need the last set of differential backup data and the first full one.
A couple of security options are usually available when setting up your backup: password protection and encryption. Using both of these is a good idea if the data you're backing up is at all sensitive. Another option offered by many backup applications is versioning. This lets you specify how many previous versions of your files you want to preserve, and for how long.
I recommend maxing this out, especially when you're storing backups locally, with no annual fee for hosted online backup. In any case, the incremental changes don't eat up a ton of space. A step further than the simple copying of files is copying the entire hard drive, including system files, as what's called a disk image.
This contains every bit of data on the drive and offers stronger protection, since it enables you to recreate a system after a hard drive failure. Some products can even update a disk image nearly continuously. But that extra protection comes at the price of more complexity in setting up and restoring.
Usually you'll need to run a pre-boot environment from startup media to restore a system image, since doing so from within your main OS isn't possible. For another—highly recommended—approach to backup, consider online backup , also known as cloud backup. Services like Carbonite and Mozy securely send your data over the internet and save it on remote file servers in encrypted form.
The big plus of this option is that the data is off your premises, and therefore not susceptible to local disasters. The downside is that they tie you to annual fees, and uploading and downloading backups is slower than loading local copies.
How you set up your backup affects how you can restore it. If you've backed up your entire disk image, you'll need to start the system from bootable media such as a DVD or USB stick that you create in the software. You should definitely create one of these types of rescue media if your software offers it. A great search function and one-click restore really set this one apart.
KLS Mail Backup is very popular freeware that will back up all your emails, contacts, and even web browser profiles and favorites. It offers Zip compression and flexible restore options and lets you choose full or incremental backups.
Beyond Inbox is very interesting as it seems to offer more features for email power users than other programs. It will back up your mail, archive your mail, organize your inbox, transfer emails to another account, and restore your email from backups. Rather than storing everything in a single archive, it stores each email as a separate file for greater flexibility.
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Prebuilt and Configurable Models. Best 2-in-1 Laptops To Buy Today. Convertible and Hybrid Models. Cameras Reviews. Nikon Coolpix B Review. TV and Audio. Best Noise-Cancelling Headphones. Online backup services are another option, but desktop clients tend to offer far more flexibility. Plenty of vendors have stepped in with worthy alternatives, and while none are quite as slick or transparent as Time Machine, some come darn close—and many are free.
Read on for our top picks. It has some downsides too. Scroll to the bottom of this article to see links to all our backup software reviews. Read our full review. In all our years of using it, R-Drive has proven to be a reliable workhorse that leaves us feeling confident our data is in good hands.
Among the free programs we tested, Backupper Standard wins primarily because it has the most features, including imaging, file backup, disk cloning, and plain file syncing, plus multiple scheduling options see our full review.
This was the case with Backupper 4, and the latest version has only added more options, making it a surprisingly well-rounded free offering.
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