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Backblaze vs. CrashPlan

John Tucker — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:30:49 +0000

Two of the hottest online backup services, and our current number one and two picks, are Backblaze and CrashPlan. Both companies offer online backup but beyond that they have very different philosophies on how that backup should be done.

Backblaze

For Backblaze, as I have mentioned before, they simply backup everything. Instead of making the user choose what to backup the user decides what not to backup. This is great for a large majority of people, who wants to sit and think about where all their files are and what if you miss a folder that contained some important files. With Backblaze it is all backed up unless you tell it not to or is program files.

CrashPlan

In many ways CrashPlan is the exact opposite of Backblaze with many options that allow a user to fine tune their backup to include exactly what they want to where they want. With the ability to choose backup destinations, add multiple computers and backup to local computers and drive CrashPlan gives users lots of choice and control over their backup.

Backblaze vs. CrashPlan Comparison Table

	Backblaze	CrashPlan
Founded	2007	2007
Price Month Year 2 Year 3 Year	$5.00 / Month $50.00 / Year $95.00 / Two Years NA	$5.00 / Month $49.99 / Year $89.99 / Two Years $119.99 / Three Years $139.99 / Four Years
Supported Platforms	Windows & Mac	Windows, Mac & Linux
Free Trial	Yes	Yes
Storage Size	Unlimited	Unlimited
File Sharing	No	No
Lock File Support	Yes	Yes
Local Backup	No	Yes
External Hard Drive	Yes	Yes
Network Drives	No	No
Multiple Computer Account	No	Yes with Family Plan
Web Access / Restore	Yes	Yes
Locate Computer Feature	Yes	No
Encryption	Yes	Yes
Internet Transmission with SSL	Yes	Yes
Private Encryption keys	Yes	Yes
Support	Email	Email
Restore	Client, Web, USB Flash Drive, USB HD	Client, Web, DVD, USB HD
Mobile Access	No	Yes (iPhone, iPad, Android)
File Size Limit	Unlimited	Unlimited
File Sync	No	No
Bandwidth Throttling	No	No
Backup Scheduling	Yes	Yes
Backup Continuously	Yes	Yes
File Versioning	30 Days of Revisions	User defined
File Archiving	30 Days	Unlimited

Overall

Both services offer excellent backup protection for people and deciding what service to use can be a difficult decision. Which service you choose really depends on whether you want ease and simplicity or total control.

Backblaze offers simplicity. It just works backing up everything. You don’t need to worry if you forgot to select that folder for backup because if you did not tell it to exclude it Backblaze would have backed it up. If you don’t want to spend hours checking settings, tweaking configurations and checking your backup Backblaze is perfect.

CrashPlan on the other hand offers you total control over your backup. Have multiple computers in the house you can backup files between them as well as online. Backup only selected folders and files to different places plus backing them up online. CrashPlan is perfect for those people that want to know exactly what is going on with their backup.

For people that do not want to fuss or worry about their backup Backblaze is perfect. For those people that have multiple computers, use Linux and/or want to control exactly how their backup is done CrashPlan it perfect. In many ways comparing the two is like comparing Apples and Oranges. Both services offer backup but how they do it and who should use either one are very different. If it was possible for me to choose both as number one I would but in the end one needs to be number one and for the majority of people the ease and simplicity of Backblaze wins out.
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Backblaze Offering USB Flash Drive Restores

John Tucker — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 20:09:33 +0000

Backblaze is one of only a few companies that offer restores via an external medium like an external hard drive. They used to offer a DVD restore option for $99 but have just removed the DVD option and in its place are not offering a restore by a 28GB USB flash drive. The best part is you can get the new flash drive restore up to 28GB for the same price that the DVD restore was.

The new USB flash drive restore holds the same as 7 DVD restores would have held and once you are done restoring your data you get to keep the USB flash drive. While it might cost more than downloading your data it can save a considerable amount of frustration trying to download a large restore from the Internet. The restore is shipped to you via FedEx and will have you up and running again with all of your data before you know it.

This is also a great way to restore if your computer has been lost in some kind of disaster. All you need to do is login to the Backblaze web admin and order your restore from another computer that you have available to you. You might even get the restore before you replace your computer.

Want to know more about Backblaze? Read our complete Backblaze review for more information.

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Online Backup Gift Giving

John Tucker — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 20:03:30 +0000

With only a few days left until Christmas you don’t have much time left to get out there and buy your Christmas presents. If you want to avoid the crowds and the craziness of the stores an option that you do still have is to buy a years subscription to an online backup service for your friends and family. Thankfully there are some excellent options for giving online backup this holiday season.

There are three services that offer gift subscriptions that I know of, amazingly they are also our top three services:

Backblaze – If you need the easiest way to backup a computer for your friends or family member it does not get any easier than Backblaze. Perfect for those that might not be around their friends or family members computer to often.

Click here give Backblaze!

CrashPlan – If your friend or family member knows a lot about computers, runs Linux, has multiple computers or is the one that is often fixing your computer CrashPlan could be the perfect gift for them. With lots of control over backup they can make sure they backup exactly what they want to where they want. You can even save 20% on your purchase of a gift subscription making it perhaps the best deal of the three right now.

Click here to give CrashPlan!

Carbonite – With the new features recently released by Carbonite it is a great option for those friends and family members that land somewhere between the simplicity of Backblaze and the total control of CrashPlan. Unfortunately it is an option only available to existing users of Carbonite since you have to purchase it through your account.

Click here to sign up with Carbonite and gift it!

So if you need to get a gift and want to help make sure their computer files stay safe better go buy them an online backup gift subscription today! They will thank you if and when their hard drive dies.
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Backblaze Black Friday / Cyber Monday Deal

John Tucker — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 20:15:03 +0000

Tomorrow is what has become know as Black Friday and the Black Friday / Cyber Monday deals are starting to roll out for many of the online backup services. I have seen a sneak peek of some of the deals this year and there are some good savings to be found for online backup. Backblaze has already let out their latest Black Friday / Cyber Monday deal on the Backblaze blog and it is an interesting one.

Instead of giving a discount on the service Backblaze is giving people that buy a gift subscription of the service a chance to win!

Every gift license purchased between now and midnight this Cyber Monday, automatically enters you into a drawing for your choice of hotel or flight ($250 gift card) for a little extra peace of mind of your own.

If you can’t decide who to give a gift subscription to you can get in on the drawing simply by following Backblaze on Twitter or Facebook as well.

Of course if you do give a gift subscription of Backblaze away you could try to use the Backify offer code to save since that code should work until November 28th. That could save you a nice 10% and enter you to win the $250.00 gift card!

Your browser needs to support iframes to view the Backblaze offer code.

Pretty nice offer from Backblaze, so go and give the gift that keeps peoples files safe!

Want to know more about Backblaze? Read our complete Backblaze review for more information.

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Backblaze Review Updated

John Tucker — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 20:57:34 +0000

Backblaze released version 2 of their backup client not long ago and since then I have been trying out the new version. The new unlimited file size and improved large file backup are nice new features to have. No longer do you have to worry about files being missed because they were over the 4GB initial file size limit or the 9GB limit that you could set it to.

To reflect many of the new changes in version 2 of Backblaze I have updated the original Backblaze review page. There are still some new images to be added that I should get up in the next couple of days.

I am also working on a short video of how to install Backblaze on a Windows 7 computer. From initial sign up to beginning backup the video is only 3.5 minutes long! Does not take long to be able to start protecting your files. Hopefully I will get that posted in a couple days as well. I am not so efficient with video as I wish I was so it takes a little longer to get then to look the way I want.

The Backblaze review is one of the most popular reviews on the site so if you notice any corrections, errors or other information that is incorrect I would appreciate a comment to help correct it.

Want to know more about Backblaze? Read our complete Backblaze review for more information.

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Backblaze Welcomes Backify Customers

John Tucker — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 04:06:38 +0000

While the drama between Backify and Livedrive seems to have ended with Backify finally closing its doors there is some good news to come out of all of this. Backblaze has come to the rescue of Backify users with a great offer.

This is a great chance to save 10% on your initial purchase of Backblaze. You just need to enter the Backblaze offer code to take advantage of the savings, but you will need to act quick the code is only good until November 28, 2011.

Your browser needs to support iframes to view the Backblaze offer code.

This is a great offer from our number one rated online backup service, and one that Backify users should take advantage of. Of course even if you were not a Backify customer you can still save as well with this Backblaze offer code.

Want to know more about Backblaze? Read our complete Backblaze review for more information.

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Backblaze Version 2.0 Released

John Tucker — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 16:17:56 +0000

Backblaze just announced that version two of their backup software has been released. This release is mostly a release to improve performance of their client software but it offers some significant improvements with their service. While Backblaze offered unlimited storage they did have limits on file size (of 9GB) and what types of files would be backed up. This is no longer the case. Backblaze not only offers unlimited storage but also unlimited file size and file types!

The complete list of Backblaze improvements in this new release include:

Unlimited file size (up from 9 GB)
Backup any file type
Restore to 1TB external drive (up from 500 GB)
Added Automatic Throttle to maximize the efficiency of uploading of your connection
Backup VMware and Virtual Machines
Backup ISO filetypes
Real-time bandwidth speed test
Web downloads are unlimited as always. FedEx restore hard drives now available up to 1TB.
Silent mode
Reduced RAM usage
Don’t backup on battery mode
2x faster restore browsing
Quick access restore menu
Speedier external drive detection
External USB and Firewire drives appear almost instantly in the restore view.
Improved large file backup
SSL hardware acceleration
Customize temporary data location

If I missed something let me know in the comments. I will be upgrading my Backblaze install and testing the new version as soon as possible. I will also be updating the Backblaze review as soon as I can to reflect the new changes to the service.

The easiest online backup service just got easier and better!

Want to know more about Backblaze? Read our complete Backblaze review for more information.

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Backblaze vs. Carbonite

John Tucker — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 05:05:00 +0000

Backblaze and Carbonite are two of the easiest online backup services you can use at the moment and are two of our more popular services that we have reviewed. In many ways the services are similar but they are very different in how they perform their backups.

Backblaze takes the approach to backup everything on your computer with the exception of your operating system, applications, and temporary files. Unless otherwise excluded Backblaze will back it up. A default Backblaze install will protect the majority or peoples files on their computer.

Carbonite offers a more traditional folder and selection process but it will not backup your computer system files such as .EXE and .DLL files, temporary files ,operating system files, files in hidden system folders, files over 4gb in size and video files. You can however manually select files over 4gb and video files. This can take a little longer to setup and configure but with a little tweaking will protect the majority of peoples files.

	Backblaze	Carbonite
Founded	2007	2005
Price Month Year 2 Year 3 Year	$5.00 / Month $50.00 / Year $95.00 / Two Years NA	NA $59.00 / Year $109.00 / Two Years $139.00 / Three Years
Supported Platforms	Windows & Mac	Windows & Mac
Free Trial	Yes	Yes
Storage Size	Unlimited	Unlimited
File Sharing	No	No
Lock File Support	Yes	Yes
Local Backup	No	Yes HomePlus and HomePremier plans support local backup.
External Hard Drive	Yes	Yes HomePlus and HomePremier plans support external hard drives.
Network Drives	No	No
Web Access / Restore	Yes	Yes
Locate Computer Feature	Yes	No
Encryption	Yes	Yes
Internet Transmission with SSL	Yes	Yes
Private Encryption keys	Yes	Yes (Windows Only)
Support	Email	Email, Chat, Phone
Restore	Client, Web, USB Flash Drive, USB HD	Client, Web, USB HD (HomePremier account only)
Mobile Access	No	Yes (iPhone, iPad, Android, Blackberry)
File Size Limit	Unlimited	4GB (By default, larger files can be manually selected)
Bandwidth Throttling	No	Yes
Backup Scheduling	Yes	Yes
Backup Continuously	Yes	Yes
File Versioning	30 Days of Revisions	12 Versions
File Archiving	30 Days	30 Days

If there is anything else you would like added to the Backblaze versus Carbonite comparison table please leave a comment.

Whether your choose Backblaze or Carbonite to backup your files both services do a good job of keeping your files safe in the event your computer hard drive dies, your computer is stolen or some other disaster happens.Similar Posts:

Backblaze Launches “Locate My Computer”

John Tucker — Tue, 24 May 2011 20:38:53 +0000

Losing your laptop or worse having your laptop or home computer stolen is a common cause of people losing all of their data. Backblaze has helped people in the past that have had their laptops stolen by helping track down the people that stole them. Now they are taking it to a whole new level by launching the “Locate My Computer” feature. This new feature is available for free to all exisiting Backblaze customers and all new customers. The service will help you get the information you need to get your data and hopefully your computer back.

People will be able to:

Accurately locate their computer on a map
Get the ISP their computer is accessing
See the IP address it is using
and easily view new files being backed up

To use the “Locate My Computer” service users can simply login to the Backblaze website and visit the Locate My Computer page.

A fantastic new feature from Backblaze. Perhaps we will see more of this type of feature from other services as well. The only thing missing is the security decal to put on your computer.

Want to know more about Backblaze? Read our complete Backblaze review for more information.

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Backblaze Offers New Restore in Date Range

John Tucker — Wed, 18 May 2011 17:08:30 +0000

You never know when disaster is going to strike. Everything could be working great before lunch, come back from lunch and your computer hard drive might have died. Of course in a perfect world you will have a local backup to restore from the day before. That will restore all of your files except for the files you were working on that morning. All is not lost though because Backblaze runs continuously in the background the files from the morning should be backed up online. Previously it was not really possible to select the most recently files from your Backblaze backup to restore, but they have recently announced that you can select files from within a date range to restore. With this feature you can easily select all the most recent files that were backed up that morning from our example. A great new feature to see added to Backblaze.

Want to know more about Backblaze? Read our complete Backblaze review for more information.

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