How to backup your files online - for free

This post could also be titled “an introduction to Mozy”, because that’s really what it is. Mozy is a service that allows you to securely backup your files. As of this writing the service is in beta, however it is a fully functional one. For a complete description of the service, please visit their overview page.

This is also where I’d write out easy-to-follow instructions for using the service, but Mozy beat me to it with their excellent user guide - which provides detailed instructions (with screenshots) on how to use the service. Instead, I’ll just offer some thoughts and suggestions on using Mozy..

Mozy works for people using Windows XP, Windows 2000 and Vista. And there’s also a beta version for Mac users (which is what I use, and it works perfectly).

Also, by signing up for a free account you will receive a weekly newsletter that is paid for by advertisers, from Mozy. I’m of the opinion that this is a very small “price” to pay for what you get. And you get a fair bit -

After signing up (which was 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 IE favorites, Firefox bookmarks, Outlook Express emails and Address Book, photos and images 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.

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One of the most useful features is the scheduler. You can opt to backup your files on a specific schedule (daily or weekly) or to automatically perform backups when your computer isn’t in use. The time it takes to backup your files varies (your connection speed, size and number of files), though it hasn’t taken longer than a couple of hours for me to perform a full 2GB backup and restore.

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One of the limitations to the free service is that you can only perform a few “restores” a month, though to be fair (and credit Mozy) - if you need to restore your files more than a few times a month, you may want to find out what’s wrong with your computer.

I have yet to run into any problems using the service, but as I mentioned previously, the user guide and support center are both very helpful.

Mozy also offers a referral program - for everyone that you refer to their service, you get an extra 256MB of storage space - and so do they.