Online Backup Reviews 2013 - The Top Ten Best Services - Carbonite, Mozy, SugarSync, and more!

 Carbonite Summary: Carbonite is our top choice here at OnlineBackupTopTen.com because it is easy to use, secure, reliable, and very affordable for the average computer user.  Carbonite works only when you aren't, saving computer and Internet speed for what you want to use it for.  With Carbonite, you will get software that integrates with your operating system and works quietly behind the scenes watching for new, or changed files to backup for you.  Your data is encrypted twice before being uploaded to Carbonite's data center and recovering it is easy with the Carbonite software or through Carbonite's website.  Carbonite spreads your encrypted data over 16 hard drives.  This system is call RAID-6 and is 36 million times more reliable than the hard drive in your home computer.  Should you accidentally delete a file, or lose a file somehow, you can easily get your files back with a few clicks right on your desktop.  If your computer crashes completely you will be able to restore everything you backed-up just by visiting Carbonite's website, logging in, and beginning the download of your data.  Bottom line: Carbonite is very easy to use, it is secure, reliable, there is no complex software to learn, and Carbonite offers excellent support options should you have any difficulty.  To top it off, Carbonite is a real bargain at just $59.00 per year for unlimited storage space.  See our Carbonite vs Mozy page for a detailed comparison of our top two services.

Mozy Summary: With Mozy online backup, you get many high-level features not available in many other cloud storage services.  One of the biggest advantages to Mozy is that you can backup both online and locally from within their easy-to-use software.  Both individuals and businesses will appreciate the real-time or scheduled options in Mozy's backup system.  There is no noticeable impact on system or network performance with Mozy.  You can restore up to 30-days worth of file versions using the Mozy client software or their website.  Security is handled well by Mozy with full encryption of your data sent over a secure 128-bit SSL secured connection.  All pricing levels are affordable and Mozy support is good.

Full Mozy Review

 SugarSync Summary: A full-featured, cell phone and internet-enabled device friendly, online storage and file sharing and syncing service, SugarSync is a powerhouse of awesome features for the mobile professional.  One drawback is that SugarSync does not automatically backup Outlook data (.pst files).  See our full review for full details of this gaping hole in their offering.  SugarSync is secure, offering full encryption and Geo-redundancy.  They do not offer a private encryption key option.  This is not a service we would recommend for those who just want to backup their data as there are more inexpensive services for that basic task.  There is no phone support, but they do have a live chat feature, a comprehensive "Getting Started" guide, as well as a traditional FAQ.  This would be our top choice if not for the issues discussed above.  However, this may be the ideal service for some.  If you already use many of the features on your phone or mobile device and need access to your files wherever you are, then you will want to check out SugarSync.  Want to know why we placed SugarSync ahead of Dropbox?  See our SugarSync vs Dropbox page for all the details.

 Dropbox Summary: Dropbox lets you automatically sync files of any type or size across all of your computers.  They offer 2GB of space free, as well as 50GB and 100GB for $9.99 and $19.99 respectively.  Dropbox is compatible with Windows, Mac, and Linux operating systems.  You can share your files with other people, and see each other's changes instantly with the "public" folder option.  Of course, you have complete control over who your share your files with.  In addition, you can easily create photo albums using folders of your photos.  You will get 30 days of "undo history", and unlimited undo history for a fee, which allows you to revert to earlier versions of a file.  All of your files are transferred to Dropbox over an encrypted channel, and stored using 256-AES encryption.  Your files cannot be accessed without your password, and Dropbox personnel cannot access your data.  Dropbox offers an iPhone app that allows access to your files.

iDrive Summary: Equally suitable for home and business use, iDrive provides and easy-to-use online backup solution for both PC and Mac users.  Installation and setup is simple as it automatically selects the most common folders for backup.  You can change this default setup to suit you. iDrive performs backups real-time or on a schedule that you create.  The default setup backs up your data once per day on a random, after hours schedule.  You will get 30 days worth of previous versions of files.  iDrive secures your data by transferring it over an 128-bit SSL encrypted connection, and then storing it using a 256-AES key.  They do offer a Private Encryption Key for added security.  iDrive offers support by phone and a support contact form.  iDrive is well suited to home users or professionals needing to backup a significant amount of data.