Need more room to store files, photos, and music? Storegate is an online hard drive that gives you protection from data loss should your computer crash or get stolen.

Overview

Storegate offers online data storage and backups, mobile phone backups, Web albums, file sharing, and remote and mobile access to your data.

Features

• Online Storage - Store your data online and protect it from destruction due to physical damage, theft, computer viruses, deletions, and computer crashes. Storegate’s free plan starts off with 2 GB of storage space with additional upgrades available.
• Remote Access - Access your online storage files from any Internet-connected computer
• Mobile Access - Access your online files from your Internet-capable mobile phone.
• Automatic Data Backups - Not only can you park your files on Storegate for online access, you can schedule automatic data backups so that your most important files are always backed up with the latest changes.
• File Sharing - Share large files, photos, and other documents with friends, family members, and co-workers without having to send bulky e-mail attachments.
• Web Drive - Install Web Drive and save files directly to a drive letter on your computer. These Web Drive files are backed up automatically to your Storegate account.
• Web Albums - Create and share photo albums 
• Phone Backups - Backup your cell phone data with Storegate
• Security - Storegate uses secure facilities to house their servers as well as SSL encryption to protect your data from theft during transmission and storage

Benefits

With a product such as Storegate, you have peace of mind knowing that your data files are safe from file corruption, viruses, theft, and destruction. Anytime/anywhere access to your data means that you can work with your files no matter what computer you are using.

How it works

Simply sign up for a free, personal, or business account and begin by uploading your data and scheduling automatic updates.

Recommendations

Storegate offers several plans and services with ala carte pricing making it a versatile online storage solution that fits your needs.

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Drag and drop your important files to one of the leading online storage depositories - Xdrive!

Overview

Xdrive is an online storage service and backup solution powered by AOL that makes protecting your data online as simple as using folders on your computer. With 5GB of free storage and optional plans for higher storage needs, this service is eye catching indeed. XDrive is easy to use with numerous features such as remote access, file storage, file sharing, and drag and drop functionality.

Features

Drag and Drop - With Xdrive’s Desktop Lite software (which uses Adobe Air technology), managing your files locally and online is a snap. Simply drag and drop.

5 GB of Online Storage Free - Xdrive offers 5 GB of online storage for free! Upload photos, music, data, and other important files for easy access from any Internet-connected computer.

Automatic Backup - Schedule regular, automatic backups to protect your most important files from destruction.

Share Files - Xdrive makes it easy to share files with others. Simply designate the folders that you want to share and invite others to access them. You can even fax documents from Xdrive to fax machines.

Benefits

Instead of investing in an external hard drive, upload your files to Xdrive. Once your files are uploaded and a backup schedule created, you can rest easy knowing that your data is accessible, secure, and protected from a disaster.

How it works

Simply sign up for a free 5 GB account with your e-mail address and a password. Registration is fast and easy with very few forms to fill out. Next, select the Xdrive interface that best meets your needs such as the classic Xdrive interface or the new Desktop Lite software. Upload files, schedule backups, and access your data as needed. If you ever outgrow the 5GB of free storage, upgrade plans are available.

Recommendations

Xdrive is a versatile online data protection solution that offers a full five gigabytes of free online storage with no strings attached. If you’ve been considering upgrading your hard drive, consider this terrific alternative.

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Your Important Files Anywhere. No Software to Download. Try Box.net for Free

Access, Backup, Share and Sync files across all your computers
Running low on disk space? Looking for an easy way to share files? Want an online storage solution? You can’t go wrong with Box.net!

Overview

Box.net is an online storage “box” where you can upload your files securely for remote retrieval later. Not only can you use Box.net as an online storage location for all of your important files, you can also set up file sharing so that you can securely share large files with friends, family members, and colleagues without having to use e-mail.

Features

• File Sharing and Collaboration - Share large files with collaborators and avoid the hassles of e-mail. Privacy protections are incorporated into file sharing so that only those with your express permission can access your files - and only the files that you want them to see.
• Data Protection - Box.net takes your privacy concerns seriously and uses 246-bit SSL security for encrypting your data. In addition, data spans across multiple firewall-protected servers scattered in facilities that are geographically separated from each other. Store irreplaceable files on Box.net and rest assured that your data is available to you (and only you) where ever you are, whenever you need it.
• Open Box Services - Box.net integrates with numerous popular Web applications such as Facebook, Blogger, Web Doc, and Zazzle. Simply upload your files once and easily link to them from within the Open Box related applications.
• Remote Access - Web based document storage allows you to access your data remotely, where ever you are and from whatever computer you happen to be using. You can even access files from your iPhone!

Benefits

While removable storage devices have become large enough to be practical, nothing quite compares with being able to access your important files remotely. Remote data storage ensures that if your computer and removable storage devices are physically destroyed or stolen, your data is still accessible.

Many professionals work on multiple computers day in, day out. This isn’t a problem for workers on a network with a network storage drive, but it is a problem for those who juggle data from various office branch locations, home computers, and laptops. Storing files on Box.net solves the problem. Now, you can easily find the file you need no matter which computer you are working on.

With Box.net, not only can you store your files in a central, Web-based location, you can also share them with selected individuals.

How it Works

Box.net is easy to use. Sign up for a Lite, Individual, Business, or Enterprise account and upload files up to the file limits of your account. From there, you can log in from any computer and manage your data.

Recommendations

If you’re looking for an inexpensive, secure, and easy-to-use online storage solution, Box.net is a top contender!

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If you’re a photo buff, you’ll flip for FlipDrive. This online storage and backup solution is terrific on its own. However, the fact that you can store and share your photos online for free adds icing to the cake!

Overview

Think of FlipDrive as a virtual hard drive located on the Internet. With the basic plan offering a full 20GB of storage space, the possibilities are endless. You can safely and securely store your data and access it from any Web browser - anytime, anywhere. In addition to storage and remote access, you can also choose to share select files with your friends, co-workers, and family members.

Features

• Online Storage - If you need massive storage, FlipDrive delivers with plans ranging from 20 to 100 gigabytes of storage space.
• Photo Albums - FlipDrive’s unlimited photo storage and album sharing gives you additional space over and beyond your plan’s limit. As long as you place your photos in the photo storage area, you can store as many photos as you want without worrying about running out of space. Create albums and share them online.
• Calendar - In addition to storing data and photos online, you can store all of your important appointments and tasks in the FlipDrive Calendar. Now, you can access your calendar from any Internet connected computer.
• Address Books - Keep your contact information readily available by using the FlipDrive’s address book. Create an address book and share your photos and documents with your contacts as needed.
• Favorite Sites - Ever have a computer crash and lose everything - even your Internet bookmarks? The Favorite Sites feature prevents this from happening again. Simply store your favorite sites in FlipDrive and access them from any computer.

Benefits

Using FlipDrive as an online storage and backup solution makes sense. Should disaster strike and render your computer unusable, you will still have access to your stored files. For example, storing photos online ensures that your precious memories are protected from disasters such as house fires, floods, and theft.

Not only is FlipDrive a smart way to protect your files, it’s also a smart way to access them, especially if you use multiple computers.

How it works

FlipDrive offers a free 30-day trial with regular plans starting at about five dollars per month for 20 GB of storage.

Recommendations

FlipDrive is an excellent, secure online storage repository on the Web with the added benefits of unlimited photo storage, online calendar, and favorite sites. At a whopping 20 GB for the basic account, you won’t outgrow FlipDrive anytime soon.

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Computer Data Backup Tips

How to Backup your Computer in the next 3 minutes

Has your hard drive ever crashed and all your valuable files went with it? The photos you took of Baby’s first steps, your financial data and maybe all those Movies or Music files you loved?

If it hasn’t happened, rest assurred that someday it will. If it has happened, you know the value of backing up your files.

So, if you havent backed up your computer yet …

Just DO IT NOW!

Here is a free download thats about as easy and automatic as “blinking”.

If your still reading then here are a few more options to consider regarding backing up your desktop, c drive, documents, photos, music and everything else..

Of course SpiderOak 2 GB Free is the simple way to do all of the above here are the other choices:

Also see: Transferring Data from Old Computer

So maybe you’d better get busy and backup your computer before disaster strikes.

You have several alternatives to use when backing up your computer. These choices range from using CDs, an external hard drive, another computer on a home or office network, or one of the many online backup services available on the Internet. You may use one, or several of these methods in combination. Below is a graphic linking to SpiderOak 2 GB Free Backup, this is a great way to easily backup all files on your computer. SpiderOak is so simple to use- even a 5 year old could do the backup!

The old way to do a backup - The CD Backup option

If you choose to use CDs, make sure you get the CD/RW discs, as these may be written over several times. Using CDs to back up your files can be a bit cumbersome if you have a lot of files, since a CD only holds 700mb of data. If you have a lot of data, it can take a lot of CD’s to hold it all. To back up using CD/RW’s just stick the CD/RW disc in the CD drive, then copy and paste the files onto it. If you make changes to files later and want to refresh your backup, just stick the CD backup disc into the drive again, copy and paste the changed file to the CD and the computer will replace the old version on the CD with the new version from the computer.

External Harddrive Backups

A different solution than the CD may be to use an external hard drive. These are fairly inexpensive and hold a lot of data. For most people, one external hard drive can hold all the files on their computer. The external hard drive will connect directly to your computer via a USB connector. Like the CD, you can just copy and paste your files directly onto the external hard drive. You can use the same process to refresh the old copies on the external hard drive with updated files from the computer as is used for CD-RWs.

Better safe than (you know)!

Whether you choose CD-RWs or an external hard drive, it may pay to make two copies of your backup files and store one in a place away from your home or office in case of a disaster like a fire, tornado, hurricane or other calamity destroys your computer and all your backups. A copy of your backup files stored in a bank deposit box, friend or relative’s home or other place can be a real lifesaver.

Backing up your files to another computer if you have a home or office network is another alternative. If file sharing is turned on both computers, you may back the computers up on each other, or to an external hard drive hooked up to either.

SpiderOak is Simple and FREE- Personally I think this is the obvious choice

When you have your backup files set up and your computer crashes, all you have to do when you finally get it up and running again is to copy and paste from your backups back into your new hard drive or computer. If you have been actively refreshing your backups, then you may have very few, if any files lost and you can be back in the saddle relatively quickly.

As an alternative to manually copying and pasting to your backup you can use a backup program to automatically run your backups. Windows Vista comes with a backup utility which works pretty good. There are many other programs available to buy, or free at online freeware web sites. The advantage to using these programs is that they can be set to work automatically, freeing you from the chore. Most can automatically sense the files you have changed, and only back up those files. You can choose the frequency, time of day and types of files to backup with most of these programs. Some will even shut your computer off for you if you choose to backup at the end of the day. The program will back up your files and shut the computer off while you sleep. If your computer fails, you just restore the data from the backup device when you get up and running again.

Online Data Backup - SpiderOak, Carbonite and others

Backing up you computer files to an online data backup service is growing in popularity. The way is works is pretty simple. Investigate the companies online, choose one We like SpiderOak, Box and Carbonite), download their software and install it. The software will backup your files to the remote computer on a schedule you choose. Some of these backup companies will give you a small amount of space free. Expect to pay a monthly or yearly subscription fee for space used above the minimum.

These services can be great if you are on the go a lot and lugging an external hard drive or boxes of CDs would be inconvenient. On the downside, they can be impossible to use if you have dial-up Internet service. Or, if you forget to pay the fee, or cannot access the internet, the backup data may be unavailable to you.

Backup Data How Often

How often should you backup your computer? That depends on how much you use your computer. If you operate a small business and use it daily, then your computer should be backed up daily. If you are an infrequent user, weekly or monthly may suffice. The key is to make a backup plan and stick to it.

Backing up your computer files is very important to avoid lost data in case of a computer failure. With so many backup systems available, there is sure to be a system which will work for you. This is one project you should start right now.

We Trust and Highly Recommend BOX.net for all your Online Data Backup, Storage and Access needs!

Backup and Restore your Files, Music, Videos, Pictures and Documents, In fact- Back up your Entire Harddrive Automatically!

Backing up your computer is important however, you don’t necessarily need to backup every single file residing on your hard drive. Your backups are part of a larger recovery strategy. First, it’s simply impractical to back up the entire operating system, all program files, system settings, and data. Plus, you can always reinstall your operating system and programs from the original installation discs. In addition, your computer has systems in place for restoring or repairing system files such as System Restore or Microsoft Windows Resource Checker.

When deciding what to back up, focus on data. This includes documents, spreadsheets, financial data, photos, videos, and any other information that you value. For example, if you’re a poet who regularly composes poems on your computer, make sure to back up your poetry files! Likewise, if you’re business professional who has a huge database of customers on your computer, make sure to backup the database.

Simply choosing to back up your My Documents folder isn’t good enough. For example, if you use a tax preparation program such as TurboTax or TaxCut to file your taxes each year, your data may be stored in the application’s folder - not My Documents. Similarly, if you have an Act Database with all of your professional contacts’ information stored in it, the actual data will be in the Act folder. In addition, if you’ve created your own folder system or have partitioned your hard drive, you’ll need to make sure that you carefully go through each folder and subfolder in search of data.

Before setting up the backup, it’s smart to create a list of data that you know you need to backup and then go through and find the appropriate folder. For example, your list might look something like this:

• Family photos
• Manuscripts
• Microsoft Money files
• Tax returns
• Contact list
• Estate planning documents
• Travel videos
• Recipes
• All work-related files (D: drive)

The first backup will take a great deal of time because the data has not been backed up before. Once backed up, future backups will be much faster as only changed files are copied. For example, if you’ve only altered three files since the last backup, then only three files will be copied.

Make sure that when the backup is scheduled, all programs and documents are closed. Otherwise, if the backup utility sees that the data is in use, it might skip the file.

Attachment too large? Use Box.net instead! Send files securely and Fast