You know the drill: backup, backup, backup. For all of your important files, besides having a local backup (e.g., to an external hard drive or network attached storage device), a remote backup where you keep a copy of the data off-site is just as important. Online backup services securely store your data away from your home, so in case of a disaster like a fire or earthquake, you'll still have your irreplaceable photos, videos, and documents. Here's a look at the most popular backup services that provide unlimited storage online, so you don't have to worry about keeping everything important backed up or running out of space.
Backblaze
Backblaze offers unlimited storage for just $5 a month per computer (Macs and PCs). Some of its advantages over other competitors are its ability to backup external drives and also order a USB drive ($189) or DVD with all your files on it if you need a quick and easy way to restore your files (the web restore method is free). It's a dead simple program to use--in fact, you don't even choose your files or folders, as Backblaze just selects the most common ones (you can exclude files you don't want backed up).
Pros: Unlimited space; automatic backup of common files like pictures, email, documents, and music; web interface to restore files individually; additional encryption key option; physical media for your restore files; very simple
Cons: Files you remove from your hard drive are removed after 30 days from Backblaze's servers, so you can't use the service to archive files; 9GB file size limit; program lacks some status indicators and more robust features
Cost: $5 a month for unlimited storage per computer or $50 per year per computer ($10 savings)
Verdict: Great option for unlimited, simplest set-and-forget backup, especially if you think you could use the quick restore method of getting a USB drive in the mail with all your stuff on it.
Carbonite
Carbonite is one of the most popular online backup services, in no small part because it was one of the first to offer a very simple online backup proposition: a flat fee for unlimited storage for one computer. Currently this is $59 a year for a Mac or PC (only one computer). There's a 15-day trial so you can see how the service works before paying for the yearly subscription (there's no monthly option).
Pros: Unlimited space; automatic backup of common files like pictures, email, documents, and music; web interface to access files remotely or restore individually
Cons: Files you remove from your hard drive are removed after 30 days from Carbonite's servers, so you can't use the service to archive files; old versions of files only kept for 3 months; can't backup external hard drives with the Home plan; only one computer included
Cost: $59 a year for unlimited storage
Verdict: A decent option since it's one of the most established online backup services and one of the few offering unlimited storage. If you're a multi-PC household or just don't want to pay yearly, however, you're better off looking elsewhere.
CrashPlan
CrashPlan is the last of the unlimited online backup plans in this roundup, and one of the most feature-rich. Available for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Solaris, CrashPlan has a free version where you can use the software to backup locally to another computer or to a friend's computer. To backup to CrashPlan's servers, the unlimited plan is $5 a month for one computer. A nice thing about CrashPlan is there are file size limits, you can have multiple backup sets, and files you delete from your hard drive aren't deleted from their servers unless you specify as such.
Pros: Unlimited space; atons of features including backup verification; affordable multi-computer plans; can backup attached drives
Cons: Backups seem to run a bit slower to the NAS in my tests; in the multi-computer plan, can only restore files to the computer you're at
Cost: $5 a month for unlimited storage or $49.99 for 1 year; for 2-10 computers, $12 a month or $119.99
Verdict: The most feature-rich unlimited plan and a great option if you have three or more computers to back up.
Other Online Backup Options
Other online backup services are available, but they place storage limits on your backups and can cost as much as the unlimited services above.
MozyHome, for example, no longer offers unlimited storage but costs $5.99 per month for 50GB of space; you could do better with any of the above.
You could also use a file syncing service like Dropbox or SugarSync instead as your online backup solution. These services duplicate the files in your folders and have the added benefit of letting you remotely access the files, instead of needing to restore them in the pure traditional backup sense. They also are, however, more expensive and priced per GB.
Whatever your choice, make sure you get your remote backup system in place before disaster strikes!
