Best Online Backups

5 Top Cloud Syncing Software For Windows

Cloud syncing is one of the best ways to keep all files updated and synchronized among devices and computers you use. It also eliminates the need to copy the files and keeping track of the file versions manually. You don’t have to do much with cloud syncing. All you have to do is upload your files then those files will automatically be in every other devices you use. If you edit one file, they will be updated automagically. That’s voodoo, we swear!

Most of us will think about Dropbox when we talk about syncing services. For those of you living under the rock for past few years, if you have used Dropbox, then that is what syncing services do. Fortunately for us and unfortunately for Dropbox, they are not the only player in the market. It is among the easiest to use and very well-known but certainly not the only one. And it is not the best depends on how you define best.

You see, Dropbox isn’t really the top in terms of security. So what about its features or pricing? Nope not really the best. And free space? Ehh, there are others that will throw Dropbox out of the water in this area too. Oh and Dropbox has mobile apps for a few mobile platforms but not more than the usual suspects. From general perspective, Dropbox is really good and easy to use. It is also very simple, straightforward and pretty affordable.

But for more specific aspects, such as most free space offered or best security, there are so many alternatives out there. So here are top 5 cloud syncing services for Windows. Check them out after the break.

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5 Best Online Storage For Windows

If there is a single digit that can scare the living hell out of everybody using computers, it is 6.

Why?

Because according to Google’s study in hard drives using over 100,000 drives, 6% of them could fail entirely without any warning sign whatsoever within first year. Think you enabled SMART alerts? Nope, not a single one for all 6% of them! That’s a whopping 6,000 hard drives a year in their first year of life.

Just think about it. It could be you, us or anyone you know and hold dear for. Now, it’s not exactly Zombie Apocalypse but most of our hard drives contain precious memories that are dear to us. Our lives and memories are pretty much all digital now. Even if not all, most of those are. What do you do when you lose them? You can’t just wave a magic wand and get them back.

Then there are human errors, natural disasters and theft. We won’t even go into them. 6% chance of losing data just because the hard drive can fail is enough for us to take preventive measure.

Backup. Yes, cloud backup and storage. What’s safer than storing our data on the cloud with redundant servers, self-healing facilities and all that? You aren’t storing on a single hard drive. The cloud is not a single machine, but a collective network which is much like our neurons!

So without further ado, here is best 5 cloud storage services for Windows users. Check them out after the break.

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5 Best Cloud Backup With Unlimited Storage For Windows

By 2016, analysts from Gartner Inc and IDG forecasted that more than 1/3rd of our personal data will be on the cloud.

One-third is by any measure a small number. You see, we are no longer in the age of floppy disks or even thinking 8GB is a massive storage space. And we are in the era where we create thousands of terabytes of personal data everyday, collectively.

Most computers nowadays come with 500GB hard drives. Soon, 1TB or more will become a standard. Just two years ago, we used to use 320GB hard drives as standards. For desktop computers, the amount of storage space we can have through RAID configurations can be dazzling. Let’s not even talk about NAS storage devices.

Personal data consists of documents, spreadsheets, stuffs we download online, music, videos, game saves, and a lot others. In a year or so, each of us produce at least 50GB of them. Sometimes more. If you collect high quality music files, then you will always be in need of storage space. And if you are a creator like a videographer or photographer, then your storage need is massive.

So 36% of all that. And it’s not just you, or me. It’s all of us. That’s gigantic. In 2011, it was only 7%. The proliferation of high-speed Internet access is also another reason too.

Plus online backups are safe. A lot safer than backing up to external hard drives. We have already established why. Haven’t we?

So what do you do if you need loads of cloud backup storage for your files? Pay hundreds of dollars? Not really.

Here are top 5 cloud backup companies that offer unlimited storage backup for all of you. Check them out after the break.

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5 Best Cloud Backup For Windows

“52% of people lose photos, videos, financial statements and other precious data on their computers every year.” – IDG Connect

Scary number, isn’t it? What’s more scary is that your data are threatened from every possible fronts you can imagine. Some are within your control, but some are beyond what you can do.

Theft is one. Sure, you can install alarms and all that, but thefts still happen. Then there is natural disaster. Imagine bushfire or tornado ripping through your house. Then there is flooding. Water is always a nemesis for electronic devices. What else… hmm. Oh yes, human error. How about dropping your laptop to the ground and killing the hard drive? Or spilling hot coffee onto it? That counts pretty well. Plus, hard drives can fail without us doing anything too!

Then here is a kicker: our beloved Windows operating system can crash, and sometimes, system crashes can cause us to loss our data too! Scary, isn’t? Thing is, there isn’t much you can do apart from switching to Mac OS X or Linux. And we reckon that is hard or impossible for you. You might need to use Windows and Windows only.

So what do we do? Prevention is better than fixing, they say. All of us know that online backups are the answer. Here are 5 best cloud backup firms you can choose from, right after the break.

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5 Best Syncing Software for Windows

Online syncing helps you to keep up to date with your files without having to copy files around. All you have to do is upload your files to syncing service, and those files will be in every other devices you use. If you edit one file, they will be updated automagically. That’s voodoo, we swear!

Most of us have used or at least heard of Dropbox. Then you have pretty much used a syncing service already. But Dropbox isn’t the only player in the field. No, it might be among the pioneers and perhaps the most well known. But is it the best? Hrmph… depends on how you define “the best”.

You see, Dropbox isn’t the best in terms of security. Nor in terms of features or pricing, or free space offer. Sure it is available on all operating systems but when it comes to mobile, Dropbox doesn’t support a lot other than the usual suspects. But when you look at it from general perspective, Dropbox is really good. Very easy to use, very simple and straightforward, and oh it is pretty affordable too.

But if you are look for more specific aspects, there are a lot of alternatives. So let’s take a look at 5 best syncing services for Windows. Check them out after the break.

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5 Best Online Backups For Windows

Windows 1.0 came out since 1981. Windows 8 came out last year. What’s still the same between two Windows version with 32 years in between?

Crashes.

Sure, since Windows 7, the blue screen of death and annoying crashes have reduced dramatically. But still, crashes happen. Much more so than *nix based Mac OS X and Linux. That’s still what Windows users have to face on regular basis. It’s still a reality (oh how we wish for crash-free Windows!).

So for Windows users, data losses happen with not just hardware failures like hard drive failing or natural disasters, your operating system can also cause you to have data loss. This is worse if your company is still using that dreadful Windows Vista.

So now you are facing a lot of threats from all fronts. From your own error (does spilling hot coffee on laptop count?), to theft, to natural disasters, and now your very dear operating system? Gosh! We feel bad just to list out dangers for your data.

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5 Best Online Backups For Google Apps

Google Apps allow you to use uber awesome Google cloud apps and services with your own domain. So imagine Google email and Google Drive services with your own domain name, and everything else too! That’s exactly what Google Apps does for you.

Since the inception, Google Apps have helped many businesses to enjoy low-cost cloud solutions that are beneficial to them in many ways. Google Drive helps them manage their own cloud storage as well as documents online. Google Apps Mail let them enjoy Gmail on their own domain, with massive storage. But Google Apps is more than that. Using Google Apps, there hundreds of third party apps you can purchase and deploy on your domain through Google Apps Marketplace. Those apps range from contact management to fully blown ERP solutions, right from Google Apps Marketplace.

While Google already has their own awesome backup system in place, that is only for errors at Google’s part. Unfortunately, 75% of data loss are due to human errors. So if it is from your side that cause the data loss, Google will not go and dig into their tape archives and restore your data. Most likely you will lose your data if you don’t have any backup.

You don’t have to though, since we are going to give you 5 awesome cloud backup solutions for Google Apps right after the break. Check them out!

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5 Best Online Backups For Japan

The land of rising sun is known for its awesomeness all around. From amazing fashion to latest inventions that can put US and Europe to shame, Japan is ahead of everything when it comes to technology.

For those of us in Europe and US, Japan is usually an exotic travel destination. But it is so much more than that. A lot of world’s inventions come out from Japan, and there are so many things that are only in use within Japan and don’t come out to other countries. And it is the country where people can enjoy 1Gbps fiber optic connections almost everywhere. Even on a bullet train, you can get high speed wireless Internet.

With that kind of connection at their disposal, there is no excuse for them to not do any cloud backups. For people in other countries, the Internet connection speed is slower than what we can get in Japan. So the initial backup can take sometimes, and restoration process can take even longer.

But in Japan? You realize what you can do with 1Gbps speed, yes? So there is no excuse to not backup. And here are 5 best online backup companies with presence and networks in Japan, right after the break.

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5 Best Online Backups For Gmail

When Google launched Gmail, people thought it would never surpass Yahoo and Hotmail. They were established players in the industry with millions of users. Email is somewhat of a personal thing. Once you are using a provider and have no issue, it’s hard to be convinced to switch.

Today Gmail has over 425 million users.

And that is not counting Google users who already have Gmail accounts but not actively using it. Since having a Google account means having access to all Google services and apps, it’s no surprising that Gmail surpasses all other email providers and become the de facto email provider everybody is using.

While it’s mostly safe for your emails since they are stored on Google servers, things can still happen. Human error can still be deadly to all your important emails, so as being hacked. Imagine someone getting access to your account by illegal means and delete all your emails. It could be your recent ex that have your account password too. Either way, you are royally screwed if it happens.

So how do you protect your emails? Backup. Now you must be thinking Google has their backups. Sure they do but they won’t be rolling back from their backups just because of your human error. Plus, you won’t have immediate access to all your important mails. For that purpose, we have curated 5 best online backups for Gmail. Check it right after the break.

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5 Best Online Backup For Canada

Whenever we talk about North America, the great United States of America is the first thing that come to our mind. But you know, USA is not the only country in North America region. Among the superpowers in that region, Canada is also quite a prominent country.

We may not hear much about Canada in the tech world. Its uber close proximity to USA and most prominent tech firms being in US make it somewhat invisible in tech world. But Canada is no sloth either. Many great tech firms like Microsoft and Google have branches in Canada, and there are a lot of homegrown tech firms there too.

With almost 100% wireless penetration rate in the whole Canada, and around 80% broadband penetration rate, it is suffice to say that more than 80% of Canadians are using computers. With such massive usage, the need for backups also rises. The scenario is always the same everywhere: natural disasters, manmade disasters, hardware failures, theft, human error. Regardless of the cause, data without backup is just dangerous.

So for our Canadian readers, here are 5 best online backup companies with networks and servers in or within close proximity of Canada. Check them out after the break.

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5 Best Online Backups For Raw Files

If there is one thing I absolutely hate about being a photographer, that would be managing ever growing pool of images. Everyone think that being a photography is all about fun – with girls and laughs and all these glamor. I am pretty sure they will go nuts if I let them manage these image files just for a day.

You see, as a photographer, you have this attachment to every single shots you take. Yes, even the bad ones. Sometimes, we just can’t decide which one is bad enough to delete (although we can easily choose the best ones). Then we also have to save the images we shot for clients, for both portfolio and archiving purposes.

And from one photo shoot alone, we might have a couple hundreds or more photos. With that much photos growing almost everyday, it’s hard on storage space even when they are in JPEG format. But alas, no, we have to shoot in RAW format which contains a lot more information about the light and details, and so significantly bigger too. A RAW file can be anywhere from 10MB to 50MB or so.

So you can now see the pain we have. Plus since the hard drives can fail miserably due to either hardware problem or human error, we also have to backup our photos too. That’s a must since those photos are something we can’t get back. They are not just personal memories. They are works so it’s even more important.

Fortunately, there are so many backup services to choose from. We just have to pick the right one. So here are top 5 best backup services for RAW files. Right after the break.

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5 Best Syncing Software For Mac

Do you know Dropbox? Well, who doesn’t unless you have been living under the rocks for the past five years. And if you know Dropbox, then you definitely know what syncing is.

Basically, syncing allows you to put your files on the cloud, and magically they will appear on every other devices (smartphones, tablets, computers) using same syncing software. Voila. And every changes you make to a file on any other devices you own, the changes will be reflected in other devices too. Voodoo, isn’t?

In this age of polydevices, this is important. It is a lot more convenient to have access to all your files regardless of what devices you are on, without having to copy and recopy the files. That is just priceless. Time and energy that could spent elsewhere are saved. And then you don’t have to worry about having duplicated data.

But Dropbox isn’t the only player in this field. In fact, there are a lot more services out there that can rival or even surpass Dropbox in several aspects. So without further ado, check out the 5 best syncing software for Mac right after the break.

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5 Best Cloud Storage for Mac

This could happen to your Mac, so back everything up now!
broken-macbook-pro

I found a crazy statistic recently, and Google did the research, on 100,000 hard drives, so it’s pretty well researched. 6% of hard disks will experience data loss in a year. And that doesn’t count human error, which is an even bigger factor in data loss. I don’t know about you, but my Mac contains my photos, game saves, work, my life basically. If I lose that, it would be catastrophic.

So what’s the solution? Cloud storage, in other words storing your data remotely as a back up, is a huge industry now with hundrends of thousands of customers, and there are new companies popping up almost every month. It’s becoming a big industry, and for good reason. It’s convenient, as it’s automatic. You just install the software and your hard disk is backed up automatically. It’s cheap, costing around $5-$10 per month.

So the question is, which company should you choose out of all these options? I’ve researched and tested over 50 of these companies, and now I’m doing a comparison on just cloud storage for macs. Take a look at the summary table below, and then I’ve got a few paragraphs about the top 5.

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5 Best Online Backups For USB Drives

How many of you have never used a USB drive? Anyone? Someone? Hello?

Okay, fine. Practically no one. Since the invention of USB port and USB flash drives, everybody has owned and used at least one. And now that you can buy hard drives or SSDs with USB connectivity, the usage of USB drives have exploded. Seems like everybody owns one!

usb-cloudThey are quite useful too. For USB flash drives, they are fast, inexpensive and you can store a lot of data too. Heck, 128GB USB flash drive costs around $100. That’s the price point everybody can afford. Plus they are small enough to double as keychain too. Since they are using flash data storage technology, it’s hard for them to get damaged just from drops or other kind of mechanical hardware errors like hard drives. But they are small enough to lose easily, or get stolen, or misplaced.

Then there are USB hard drives, which are basically same 2.5″ laptop hard drives in an enclosure. They are portable, and can store up to 1TB or 2TB of data now. Plus if you are careful with them (not dropping them or anything), then they can last a few years too. But still these drives are prone to hardware failures and you can lose your data. A drop can instantly make the whole drive inaccessible, so as a coffee spill.

So what gives? What are we gonna do about our data on those USB drives!? Simple. Back them up.

Then there is another dilemma. If you are using another external hard drive to backup your USB drives, that’s going to be retarded. A better solution is to use a cloud backup solution. We have 5 best of them for USB drives. Check them out after the break.
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5 Best Online Backups For Terabytes

The evolution of computer data storage is nothing short of astonishing advancements. From the times of punch cards which fit 960 bits (yes, bits) of data maximum, we are now at the age of storing hundreds of terabytes of data on the cloud.

Twenty years ago, we were still using 3.5″ floppy disks that could fit approximately 1.44MB. We bought software that was archived split onto multiple floppy disks. Then came CDs which fit about 650MB to 700MB. Around those times, hard drives were only at around 1GB to 4GB. Even 8GB drive was pretty big in the early 2000s.

Today, the standard hard drive size that comes with most computers is 500GB. Back in 2009 when we purchased laptops, it was 160GB. And we are already seeing 1TB hard drives becoming standard size. Even SSDs, the most expensive and fastest of data storage, are now at 500GB. Terabyte drives are coming soon. Who knows what’s the future of data storage is? One thing we know for sure is that data storage needs and space will see exponential growth in coming years.

With that much of storage available for personal users and businesses, backing up terabytes of data is the new name of the game. It used to be expensive even to backup a few hundreds gigabytes but not anymore. Things have changed since then. And here we have curated 5 best online backups that will let you backup terabytes of data, right after the break.

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