First Look: Online Backup for a Penny a Megabyte

Rex Farrance, PC World

Protecting what's in your PC demands a two-pronged backup strategy: regular local backups, plus off-site storage of a second copy of your critical data. Affordable external hard drives have made local backups easy, but for many home and small-business users, off-site backups are still tricky and expensive. Acpana Business Systems' new Data Deposit Box service makes things easier, offering a Web-based backup solution with a simple interface and an affordable pricing plan.

The problem with most Web-based backup service plans is they tend to lack flexibility: They offer large chunks of storage space and charge you the full rate whether you use all the space or not. If you exceed your allotment, they charge you for an even larger chunk of storage. Acpana takes a new approach, charging you a penny per megabyte each month for just the storage you use.

For example, backing up about 900MB of data will cost about $9 a month. That same data, stored using one of the two major competitors, Connected and NovaStor Online Backup Services, would cost, respectively, $14.95 per month (for up to 2GB) and $37.85 per month (for up to 1GB).

Obviously, Acpana's prorated plan doesn't always work out to be the best deal--if you have close to 2GB to back up, Connected's price beats Data Depot Box, despite a quantity discount of 10 percent that Acpana offers at the 2GB level. And if you're looking to store up to 5GB, it's hard to beat XDrive.com's $10 deal for that amount. But for those who have a more-typical 500MB-or-less of critical data, the Data Deposit Box model is the most affordable.

Easy Installation, Backup

To use Data Deposit Box you first must install the software, downloadable through the company's Web site. Setup was easy and the application automatically selects its best-guess document folders--in my case going several layers deep to get all my work documents and spreadsheets. It wisely omitted my storage-heavy photo and music folders (its better to back those up on optical media). It's easy to tweak the selection changes if needed, and overall I found the app easier to use than others I've tested.

Actual backup times will vary by connection (broadband is preferred), but my results over a T1 line were consistent with my other upload and download times. Once the initial backup is complete, an icon appears in your system tray and an applet monitors file changes. The applet backs up files in the background soon after changes occur, rather than on a set schedule as most apps do. The app is designed to detect activity, so it avoids interfering with your work by delaying the backup just long enough for you to finish what you're doing.

Restoration of backup data is reasonably easy, although the software asks you to specify a parent folder name rather than just creating one automatically. That was my only quibble, and Acpana says it plans to address that issue in an imminent update (which downloads and installs to your PC automatically).

Data Deposit Box offers easy access to your files from any browser, and it provides password-protected access you can share with family members or coworkers. All in all, Data Deposit Box offers an easy and penny-wise added layer of safety--with no foolishness.