Note: In honor of Data Back Up Day (the 1st of every month), I am republishing this article that originally appeared on this blog on 21 Dec 2008. To the bottom, I have added a new update that discusses my feelings about Mozy over the last year and a half. Remember, keep your data safe!
I was inspired today after I read Dick Eastman’s blog article (The link for that article is at the bottom of this blog entry). I realized that I really needed to look into other ways to back up my genealogy. So, I figured I would try the website that he recommends: Mozy.
You all know that I am a huge fan of backing up your genealogy files – and luckily, I’ve been able to keep it all to a 2GB thumb drive (I use 2 different thumb drives – one for my genealogy and pictures and one for all of my school stuff).
So I headed on over to Mozy.com to see what they have to offer. Since I am a poor college student, I immediately began searching for a free offer. Luckily, they have a free service where you can upload 2GB of information. This is what I am using and it compliments my 2GB thumb drive system perfectly.
I was surprised to read that for only $4.95 a month you could get unlimited storage. If you think about it – this is SUPER CHEAP! In a year that is about $60. With that $60 you can save yourself a ton of headaches, crying spurts, and hair appointments to cover that new bald spot that you gained from pulling your hair out. You’ll have piece of mind knowing that if tomorrow your computer decides to crash or if a virus gets your computer – all of your important files are safe and sound. You’ll be able to restore everything.
So, the way Mozy works is that you download the program on your computer. Then, you just tell it what files you want it to backup, when you want it to backup - and your done. It is pretty easy to use and very user-friendly. I’ve never used this service before today, and I figured it out rather easily.
However, (and this is such a small “however”), it will only backup files that are on “fixed” drives. For those of you who don’t know what fixed drives are, they are drives that can’t be disconnected from your computer (So, your thumb drive is not a fixed drive but your C drive is). This was a very small inconvenience that took only seconds of my time to fix: I simply copied the folders that I wanted to my desktop – and now I can easily back up all my genealogy files!
Link to Dick Eastman’s “Backups: A Testimonial” blog entry: http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2008/12/backups-a-testi.html
Update:
Miriam made a great comment on this blog today. She said that Carbonite charges only $50 a year. Plus, Mozy apparently charges you to send a DVD with all of your data on it, should your computer ever crash. Great point Miriam, and thanks for pointing that out! And as for your question Miriam, I don’t believe that Mozy will backup external hard drives. But please, don’t take my word on it since I am just now trying Mozy out. It might be best to check some of the review sites like CNET to get a better answer.
Update (30 Jul 2010): I have had Mozy for a long time now – and I LOVE it. I’ve since upgraded to the paid version and I back up every picture and database to it. It works great and I’ve never had a problem with it. There are people who are dedicated to both of the major companies, Mozy and Carbonite. I think it is similar to searching for the perfect genealogy program – it comes down to preference.
