Way back in August of 2006, I wrote what was essentially an “introduction to Mozy“, the terrific online backup service. Previously they only had a version for Windows. Well Mac users, our time has come. They’ve recently released a version (in beta) for OS X.

Some highlights of the Mozy service include:

2GB of free, secure storage

Open/locked file support

Block-level differential backup

128-bit SSL support (to secure your data during transport)

448-bit Blowfish encryption (to secure your data on (their) server)

Continuous or scheduled backup options

Rather than provide you with a step-by-step tutorial on how to perform your first backup, I’ll point you to their outstanding user manual for OS X. Inside the .dmg file, there’s a Tools folder. Inside that folder, there’s a PDF titled Quick Start Guide. I could not have created a better guide myself (so I won’t even try).

After signing up (which is a fairly pain-free process) and downloading the required software, the ‘wizard’ will walk you through your first backup.

By default, Mozy has a series of “sets” that you can choose from. These sets consist of things like your Firefox bookmarks, Thunderbird emails, Address Book, iPhoto Library, Keychains etc. You can opt to use these sets, create your own custom set, or a combination of both. Creating your own set is as easy as selecting the files and folders that you want to back up, and clicking OK.

You can add, edit or remove the files/folders you want to backup at any time, simply select the Mozy icon from your Apple Menu, and choose Configure Mozy…

I’ve been using the Windows client for ages now, and I can’t recommend this service enough. One last tip - for very person you referto Mozy, you’ll be given an additional 256MB of storage space. Disclaimer: I’ve included my own referral code in the links above. If you don’t want to me to benefit from your signup, just visit www.mozy.com and sign up that way