Best Online Back-Up Services

Here we compare six online services that take the worry and hassle out of back-ups.
Backing up your PC is a lot less hassle if you do it online, and your files will be safer. too. Online back-up services automatically make safe, encrypted copies of all your PC's files and store them on their servers. You can access your back-ups at any time, and many of the services will also keep old versions of files that you've replaced or updated. And because your files are stored away from your home, they're also safe from catastrophic disasters such as fire or theft. Once the back-up service is installed and set up, it runs automatically in the background, so there's nothing for you to remember and no tiresome chores to perform.

HOW WE TESTED
We registered accounts with all the online services, downloaded the software and set them to work backing up our important files. We looked at the available storage space and cost for each service, and noted the extra features and tools offered. We also tested how easy the services are to use.

SQUIRRELSAVE
£61 per year
www.squirrelsave.co.uk
SquirrelSave offers unlimited storage for just £5.05 per month. It works with more than one PC (though it won't save files or folders with identical names, so make sure you haven't used the same ones on different computers) and can also back up files to external hard drives and NAS (Network Attached Storage) drives. The back-up is controlled using a downloadable software tool. The default setting is to back up everything in your Users folder, though you can choose what to save if you want to exclude files. Its very easy to use. All your backed-up folders are listed in the Includes tab. Highlight any you don't want and press Delete to remove them. To add a folder, click the 'Add folder' button and browse for it on your hard drive or network. There's a handy option to exclude specific files or folders, though it doesn't let you exclude all files of a particular type. During the back-up, progress information is displayed and you can pause or slow down the process to use less bandwidth. By default, back-ups of new and changed files are made automatically, but you can choose to perform a daily back-up or switch to manual, if you prefer. If your computer suffers a disaster and you lose your files, click Retrieve to see a list of back-up dates. Click the one you want, select the files and folders you need, and they'll be saved to the Retrieved Files folder. Rather than keep every version of a file, SquirrelSave will back it up at six hours, 12 hours, then at one, two, four and eight days, and so on, using a doubling time scale. Deleted files are recoverable for 32 days, except those which were on your computer during your first-ever back-up, which are kept forever. The only drawback to the service is that you can only access your files if the software is installed on the computer you're using.

LIVEDRIVE BACKUP 

£48 per year
www.livedrive.com

Lived rive provides unlimited storage, but unlike SquirrelSave, it charges an extra £5 per month to add NAS drives to your back-up. The basic price only covers one PC, but you can add additional computers to your account for £1 per month each. Back-ups are performed using the software. Altered files are backed up once an hour by default, although you can change this, and even have back-ups performed in real-time. You can choose which files and folders to back up, and exclude specific file types. You can also right-click files to add them individually. LiveDrive's web interface is clean and businesslike. It has an integrated player that lets you play music and images, and lets you view Microsoft Office documents. You can also share your stored files with others. Restoring files is easy to do through the software, or there's a separate tool you can use if you need to restore a back-up to a new PC.

CARBONITE HOME
$59.99 per year (around £38)
www.carbonite.com

Carbonite is a well-established online back-up service that offers unlimited storage for an annual fee. You need a separate account for each PC you want to back up. Carbonite automatically backs up the files it thinks you'll want saved (your Desktop, Documents and media directories, though videos have to be added manually), but you can customise the selection. Because Carbonite gives you unlimited storage space, capacity isn't a problem, but if you've got hundreds of gigabtyes of music and video files, uploading them could take a long time. Carbonite automatically updates your online back-up whenever it detects a change, but you can run it once a day or set it to monitor and back up changes at specific times. To add files or folders to your back-up, right-click them and select the option from the menu. Unlike Livedrive and SquirrelSync, you can't organise files from the software itself, but you can access them on the web and from mobile apps.