mozyhome

Over time computers have become fast, efficient and a storehouse of knowledge, documents, pictures and media. In fact if something were to happen to our computers we generally pay hundreds of dollars to recover the data that was on it. Physical hard drives crash all too often and when you need it the most. That is why all IT professionals understand the need for backups. But most backup software is expensive; require some knowledge and experience to set up and also requires additional hardware (such as an external hard drive) to backup computer data. In most cases people with limited computer experience give up due to the complexities of setting up a backup. Out of this necessity Mozy has carved out a market for themselves.

Mozy online backup hits all the right buttons – it has a web based intuitive interface to control your account, simple and easy to use software and a free version with 2GB space. In case you have more than 2GB backup data then they also have an affordable subscription. It is this combination of features and affordable pricing that exploded Mozy’s growth. Just ask the million customers that have already signed up. And many more are enjoying the peace of mind.

How Does Mozy Work?

Mozy has a simple process to backup your data. There is a small program that you download and runs on your computer with an easy to use interface. This is used to select which files and folders you would like to backup. The program then encrypts all files and backs them up over your internet connection. This process is secure and painless. The backup process can even be automatically scheduled to run at specific times (such as 4AM everyday) so as not to interrupt your work.

  • Security: For the technical crowd, the data is transferred over the internet over SSL which is the same encryption used to protect your credit card information when buying something online. On Mozy’s servers your data is protected by 448-bit blowfish encryption to prevent unauthorized access.
  • Bandwidth: The Mozy application can be configured to use only a certain amount of bandwidth without affecting your computer’s performance. It will also give you an estimate of the amount of data you have selected to backup and how long it will take with each setting. You can also configure Mozy to only use very little bandwidth between 9AM and 5PM and use more after 5PM.
  • Advanced Settings: There are a few very advanced settings in the application which allow you to define only certain sets of files in a folder to be backed up. Such as all files with the word “Alice” or all pictures with the name “Birthday” in it should be backed up.
  • Virtual Drive: Another very nice feature is the ability to add Mozy as a virtual drive on your computer. This basically means you can copy (or cut) and paste any files or folders directly on to the Mozy virtual drive and it will be copied over to Mozy’s servers. This is especially helpful if you do not prefer to use the backup utility.
  • Restore Files: In order to restore files from Mozy to your computer simply select which files and folders you would like to restore and where you would like to save them on your computer. Mozy does the rest. It will instantly start downloading all your files securely to your computer. If you would like to restore a single file to a previous version simply right click on the file and click Restore to bring up more options. All changes to files backed up with Mozy will be automatically saved for the past 30days. This means, if you writing a new chapter for your book every week then all the changes are chronologically saved and can be recovered independent of each other. In case you lost your computer Mozy has a step-by-step utility which will restore all files as it appears on the Mozy backups on to your new computer.

How Do You Know Mozy Is Safe?

Mozy is trusted by more than a million customers who use it to store their most important documents, pictures, financial papers and anything else that you can store on your computer. It is used by individuals and businesses alike to save their most important files. To give you an idea of the amount of data already being backed up by Mozy take a look at the comparison with the Library of Congress.

mozy-library-congress

What if you backup a lot of data with Mozy and then decide it is not the best fit for you? Well, Mozy is one of the few places which let you delete your account online without any hassle with a couple of clicks. There are no long queues and no one will try to persuade you on the phone to upgrade your plan. Within 24 hours all your data will be completely deleted from Mozy.

Home Users VS. Business Customers

There is a difference between MozyHome and MozyPro subscriptions. The Home is overall designed for laptops and desktops at home. The Pro plan is mainly for servers, databases, file shares, centralized backup management for multiple servers and 24hour phone support. This is a very logical distinction between the Home and Business customers and should not have any confusion.

The pricing is also different for MozyPro. Unlike the flat $4.95 for MozyHome, the Pro version costs $3.95 + $0.50/GB per month for workstations and $6.95 + $0.50/GB per month for servers.

What’s The Catch?

The only catch with Mozy is the 2GB limit for its free accounts. Many users will never need to go over that limit. But if you have lots of videos and tens of thousands of pictures then you will need to get the $4.95 unlimited plan. And by unlimited I really do mean unlimited – there are no restrictions for disk space or the number of files or folders.

Verdict

Backups are an essential component of the computer world. Computers and hard drives fail at an alarming rate and there are very few easy to use, affordable backup solutions for average home computer users. Mozy has the backup infrastructure and 24×7 support available to provide enterprise level data backup for the regular computer user. It is feature-rich, easy to use, affordable and free. It is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED and preferred backup solution for anyone with a computer. Get a free account now!