Automatic backup to the cloud. Cloud backup - backup to the cloud

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Special project with Acronis

We all sooner or later face the need for backup. And believe me: better early than late. Once upon a time, in 2009, I lost all my data. Back then I made backups on DVD-R/RW, which was not very convenient, so they were rarely made. Some of the data was sent by colleagues (it’s good that they kept it), but a lot of it was lost. It was from that time that I regularly make backups, and today we will talk about finding the ideal product for the family budget.

Where will we store backups?

Before choosing software, we need to decide where we will store the backup. You understand that DVD-R is of little use for backup. Firstly, it is small, secondly, it is slow, and thirdly, it is noisy. And since I switched to laptops a long time ago and don’t recognize stationary devices at all (although I have them on the farm), I had to buy several external drives. First 250 GB, then larger.

I did not consider the cloud for one simple reason - there is not enough space:

You understand that even 15 GB is not enough, especially if the minimum size of the external screw available on the farm is 250 GB. Extra space? You could, of course, pay $2 a month for 100 GB on Google Drive or $10 for an additional 1 TB, but 100 GB won’t save me, and 1 TB is a little expensive. Ideally, 500 GB would be suitable for 2-3 dollars per month :)

Later, the family acquired two Android smartphones and one tablet, from which they also made backups to an external screw from time to time, the old fashioned way (after all, I was used to just such a process). Here one could safely use the cloud, but habit is a strong thing.

Search for backup software

Now we come to the most interesting part. How to make a backup?

In principle, you can use the free Clonezilla. The capabilities of this program, if not impressive, are at least quite good. Here are some of them that I consider the most important:

support for Linux/macOS/Windows file systems: from ext2 to ext4, xfs, jfs, FAT16, FAT32, NTFS, HFS (macOS);
MBR and GPT support;
support for data encryption (AES 256);
the ability to deploy one image to several local devices;
support for SSH, Samba, WebDAV and NFS.

If you need to make a backup of a server in a corporate environment, and even on a shared server, there is no better option. For cloning systems in the case of deploying one operating system on many machines with the same configuration, that’s it: they brought in a fleet of computers, installed an axis on one of them, configured everything, made an image of it and deployed it to other computers. An admin's dream!

I have also been familiar with Acronis products for a long time, but mainly with server versions. I won’t compare them with Clonezilla now, since we are talking about home backup: after all, you have one or two computers and several Android devices at home, and you don’t need to constantly create images of all these devices. In general, CloneZilla is not suitable for home use. Once, I remember, I made a backup at home with it, when I changed the system disk to a larger disk and was too lazy to reinstall all the systems. Then this program, of course, saved me.

CloneZilla is a good program, but it’s 2016 and I want something more modern, but it’s stuck in the past. I want some kind of automation, management of backups from all devices, including mobile ones, I want to copy photos from my profile on social networks, I want to search inside the backup copy in order to find the file I need. I want a lot of things. Sometimes I even think about buying a NAS specifically for storing backups.

Actually, I started searching for the ideal software for myself. I came across the “File History” function in Windows 8/10. I somehow missed “Eight”, and “Ten” is installed on only one computer. Although “File History” was created in the image and likeness of Apple Time Machine and should be convenient, in practice it turned out to be not very convenient to use, and besides, it is not compatible with computers running “Seven” and Android smartphones.

If anyone is interested, while I was looking for the necessary software, all this time I was making backups using Total Commander by simply copying files. But this is very inconvenient. Firstly, no automation: you need to go to each computer with an external screw and make a backup. Secondly, irrational use of space. I didn't use compression. Why? Yes, because I periodically need to search for information on a backup. Have you tried searching for something in an archive of several GB in size?

Quite by accident, I remembered Acronis True Image and discovered that version 2017 had been released. Let's see what it can do now:

It looks like the perfect backup software exists! However, it’s not very ideal, but I’ll talk about the shortcomings later, but for now I’ll boast about the capabilities: Acronis True Image 2017 is a completely modern backup program, and unlike ancient software like CloneZilla, it has everything a modern person might need. This is what I personally really liked...

Firstly, saving space on the screws that are used for backup. The backup is made in compressed form, but Acronis allows you to search inside the backup.

Secondly, now I don’t have to worry about data on mobile devices. Over the past two years, two microSD cards have failed: one on my wife’s phone, the other on her tablet. One photograph was at least partially saved, but the second was not, it “died” completely. Acronis True Image 2017 allows you to backup an unlimited number of Android/iOS mobile devices to your local computer.

Thirdly, you can (as I already noted) remotely control the backup on all home devices. Using the web panel, you can check the status of backups and configure data protection in real time.

Fourthly, there is support for copying Facebook profile content. A lot of information is now published on social networks: photos, videos, comments. A backup of this data will protect against page hacking or accidental deletion.

Finally, cloud orientation. I couldn’t even imagine that Acronis now has such powerful cloud support: by purchasing a subscription, you get 500 GB of cloud space! This volume is quite enough for me for home purposes (unless, of course, I upload entire hard drive images to the cloud, although Acronis allows this too).

About the disadvantages

Everything has its drawbacks. I hope the Acronis developers will listen to the criticism. Personally, I didn’t like two things about the program.

The first is the lack of Linux support. Data stored in Linux will have to be done the old fashioned way: either by copying, or using Clonezilla by creating an image of the partition with the data (fortunately, I have /home on a separate partition, out of habit).

The second is the lack of support for other social networks other than Facebook. I think, however, that over time it will appear. But whether Linux support will appear is a question. Of course, Acronis has a Linux Server product, but I don’t want to use it for several reasons: firstly, using the server version for home use is tantamount to shooting sparrows with a cannon, and secondly, I don’t want to pay for another product (and this is the minimum 792 rubles per month), and thirdly, I want everything to be managed from one product.

About the price

We all know that Acronis has never been free. However, the prices also pleasantly surprised me: on the official website there is a calculator that allows you to find out how much Acronis will cost you.

A one-time license for 1 computer (the number of mobile devices is unlimited) will cost 1,700 rubles (approximately $27 at the current exchange rate). But it’s more profitable to buy a subscription: in this case, you will get both the program itself and 500 GB of cloud storage. The cost of a subscription for a year will cost 1400 rubles. (~22$), for two years - only 2000 rubles (~32$), which is approximately 1.83$ or 1.33$ per month. For that kind of money you can only buy 100 GB of Google Drive! And here I got an excellent backup tool + 500 GB in the cloud.

If we calculate a more realistic configuration: 3 computers and 1 TB in the cloud, then a subscription for a year will cost 2400 rubles, and for 2 years - 3600 rubles. Only 150 rubles per month compared to 600 rubles for 1 TB on Google Drive! To me, the conclusion was obvious. 150 rubles is an amount quite affordable for a home user and will not put a strain on the family budget.

To exchange files between computers and mobile gadgets, cables and flash drives are no longer needed. If devices have Internet access, files can “fly” between them “on the cloud.” More precisely, they can “settle” in cloud storage, which is a collection of servers scattered around the world (united into one virtual - cloud server), where users place their data for a fee or for free. In the cloud, files are stored in the same way as on a computer’s hard drive, but are accessible not from one, but from different devices that are able to connect to it.

Every second or third Internet user has already adopted cloud data storage technology and uses it with pleasure, but some still resort to flash drives. After all, not everyone knows about this opportunity, and some simply cannot decide which service to choose and how to use it. Well, let's figure it out together.

What are cloud storages from a user's point of view and how do they work?

If you look through the eyes of an inexperienced user, cloud storage is an ordinary application. All it does is create a folder on the computer under its own name. But not simple. Everything you put into it is simultaneously copied to the same cloud Internet server and becomes accessible from other devices. The size of this folder is limited and can grow within the limits of the disk space allocated to you (on average from 2 GB).

If the cloud storage application is running and the computer (mobile gadget) is connected to the global network, the data on the hard drive and in the cloud are synchronized in real time. When working offline, as well as when the application is not running, all changes are saved only in the local folder. When the machine is connected to the Internet, access to the storage becomes possible, including through a browser.

Files and folders uploaded to the cloud are full-fledged web objects, the same as any content on Internet sites and FTP storages. You can link to them and share links with other people, even those who do not use this service. But only those to whom you have authorized it will be able to download or see an object from your storage. In the cloud, your data is hidden from prying eyes and is securely password protected.

The majority of cloud services have additional functionality - a file viewer, built-in document editors, tools for creating screenshots, etc. This, plus the amount of space provided, creates the main differences between them.

is a cloud data storage service that needs no introduction to Windows users. Of course, in the latest releases of this OS (in the top ten), it actually climbs on top of everything on the screen, since it is configured to autorun by default.

For Windows users, the advantage of the Microsoft OneDrive service over its analogues is perhaps only one - it does not need to be installed. You also don’t need to create a separate account for it—to log into the cloud, you just need to enter your Microsoft account information.

The owner of one Microsoft OneDrive account provides 5 GB of free disk space to store any information. To get additional volume, you will have to pay extra. The maximum is 5 TB and costs 3,399 rubles per year, but this package includes not only disk space, but also the Office 365 application (home edition). More affordable tariff plans are 1 TB (2,699 rubles per year - storage and Office 365 personal) and 50 GB (140 rubles per month - storage only).

Additional features of all tariffs:

Support for other operating systems - Mac OS X, iOS and Android.
View and edit documents using built-in Office applications.
Remote access to the entire contents of the computer (not just the OneDrive folder) on which the service is installed and your Microsoft account is used.
Creation of photo albums.
Built-in messenger (Skype).
Creation and storage of text notes.
Search.

Paid versions only:

Creating links with a limited validity period.
Offline folders.
Multi-page scanning and saving documents to a PDF file.

In general, the service is not bad, but sometimes there are problems logging into your account. If you are going to work with the web version of the storage (via a browser) and log into it under a different IP address than you used before, Microsoft sometimes runs a check that the account belongs to you, which takes a lot of time.

There have also been complaints about user content being removed from OneDrive when Microsoft suspected it was unlicensed.

is one of the oldest cross-platform cloud storage services. Unlike the previous one, it supports all major operating systems, as well as some less commonly used ones, such as Symbian and MeeGo. The service is very easy to use, works quickly and stably.

A DropBox user is provided with only 2 GB of disk space for free to store personal files, but this volume can be doubled by creating and attaching another account to your account - a work account (which can actually be personal). Together you get 4 GB.

Switching between personal and work disk space on the DropBox website and in the application is carried out without logging out of your account (no need to enter your username and password each time). A separate folder is created on the computer for both accounts - 2 GB each.

DropBox, as expected, also has several pricing plans. About free it was said above, Paid ones are “Plus” (1 TB, $8.25 per month, intended for personal use), “Standard” (2 TB, $12.50 per month, for business), “Advanced” (unlimited volume, $20 per month for 1 user) and “Enterprise” (unlimited volume, individually set price). The differences between the last two are in the set of additional options.

In addition to storage, free users have access to:

Document collaboration service DropBox Paper.
Ability to share links and create public folders.
Log of file changes with the ability to restore them to the previous version (up to 30 days).
Commenting on files - both your own and other users, if the file is available for viewing.
Search function.
Receiving notifications about events (customizable individually).
Automatic uploading of photos from the camera (by the way, DropBox provided users with additional space for enabling this option some time ago).
Select full or selective synchronization.
Encryption of data during storage and transmission.

The possibilities of paid tariffs can be listed for a very long time, so we will only note the main ones:

Remotely destroy data from DropBox on a lost or stolen device.
Limit the link's validity period.
Two-factor account authentication.
Setting access levels to different data.
Enhanced HIPAA/HITECH class information protection (secure storage of medical records).
24/7 technical support.

DropBox, if not the best, is a very worthy service. Despite the small amount of free space by today's standards, it is used by millions of people around the world.

Mega (Megasync)

As is clear from the description, Amazon Web Services is aimed only at the corporate sector and is not intended for storing albums with photographs of cats, although it is possible that someone uses it for this too. After all, cloud file storage - Amazon Glacier, like Yandex disk, provides users with 10 free GB. The cost of additional volume is $0.004 per 1 GB per month.

Comparing Amazon Glacier with the web resources described above is perhaps incorrect, since they have slightly different purposes. The functionality and capabilities of this service are determined by business objectives, including:

Uninterrupted operation, increased reliability.
Compliance with enhanced data protection standards.
Multilingual interface.
Unlimited volume (expansion for an additional fee).
Ease of use and flexible settings.
Integration with other Amazon Web Services.

Those who are interested in Amazon's capabilities can read the complete documentation for AWS products, which is located on the official website.

Mail.ru

It ranks second or third in the popularity rating of file web storage among Russian-speaking audiences. In terms of its range of capabilities, it is comparable to Google Drive and Yandex Drive: like them, it contains web applications for creating and editing documents (texts, tables, presentations) and a screenshoter (a utility for taking screenshots). It is also integrated with other Mail.ru projects - mail, social networks “My World” and “Odnoklassniki”, the “Mail. Dating”, etc., has a convenient file viewer with a flash player and is also very affordable (for those for whom the allocated volume is not enough).

The size of the free disk space of the Mail cloud is 8 GB (previously this figure has changed several times). The premium tariff for 64 GB costs 690 rubles per year. For 128 GB you will have to pay 1,490 rubles per year, for 256 GB - 2,290 rubles per year. The maximum volume is 512 GB, which will cost 3,790 rubles per year.

Other functions of the service are not much different from similar ones. This:

Shared folders.
Synchronization.
Built-in search.
Ability to share links.

The Mail.ru client application works on Windows, OS X, iOS and Android.

Cloud storage is a proprietary web service for owners of smartphones and tablets of the same manufacturer. Designed to store backup copies of data from mobile devices - multimedia content, OS files and other things at the user's discretion.

The Samsung Cloud client application is pre-installed on phones and tablets released after the second half of 2016 (more precisely, after the release of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7). Registering an account on the service is only possible through it, apparently to weed out outsiders.

The free storage capacity is 15 GB. An additional 50GB costs $0.99 per month, and 200GB costs $2.99.

iCloud (Apple)

- a favorite among cloud data storage users of Apple products. Of course, it’s free (though not very spacious) and integrated with other Apple services. The service is designed to store backup copies of data from iPhone, iPad and iPod, as well as user media files, mail and documents (the latter are automatically synchronized with the contents of iCloud Drive).

Free iCloud storage capacity is 5 GB. Additional storage retails for $0.99 for 50GB, $2.99 for 200GB, and $9.99 for 2TB.

The iCloud client app supports Mac OS X, iOS, and Windows operating systems. There is no official application for Android, but owners of devices based on this OS can view mail from the Apple cloud on their device.

The top parade of cloud storages is completed by a Chinese service. As you can see from the screenshot, it is clearly not adapted for you and me. Why is it needed then, if there are domestic, European and American analogues that are more familiar to Russian-speaking people? The fact is that Baidu provides users with a whole terabyte of free disk space. For this reason, it is worth overcoming translation difficulties and other obstacles.

Registration on Baidu Cloud is significantly more labor-intensive than competitors. It requires confirmation with a code sent via SMS, but SMS from the Chinese server does not arrive to Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian numbers. Our fellow citizens have to get by by renting a virtual phone number, but that’s not all. The second difficulty is that an account cannot be registered with some email addresses. In particular, on the services gmail (Google is blocked in China), fastmail and Yandex. And the third difficulty is the need to install the Baidu Cloud mobile application on your phone or tablet, since this is what 1 TB is given for (when registering on a computer, you will receive only 5 GB). And it, as you understand, is entirely in Chinese.

Aren't you scared? Dare - and you will be rewarded. Information on how to create an account on Baidu yourself is available on the Internet.

Cloud services are increasingly used as a personal archive of photo and video content, the quality of which increases in proportion to the resolution of cameras in smartphones. Since device memory is limited, it is easier to store all data in the cloud and have constant access to it. Vacations and travel are ahead, so it's time to worry about the safe storage of memorable photographs. We have reviewed the most popular cloud services so that you can choose the most convenient one.

Yandex.Disk

Photo storage capacity: unlimited if downloaded from a smartphone
Basic storage capacity for other files: 10 GB
10 GB for 30 rub./month, 100 GB for 80 rub./month, 1 TB - 200 rub./month.

Last year, Yandex.Disk announced free, unlimited downloads of photo and video content from mobile devices, and in March of this year it expanded the functionality of the mobile gallery by updating the Android application. Now users can use the application as the main gallery in gadgets, which allows them to work with all files on the device - both those in the cloud and those on the phone. For other files, a base volume of 10 GB is provided, which is enough to upload work documents, presentations and scans.

Google Photo

Photo storage capacity: unlimited (there are quality restrictions)
Basic storage capacity for other files: 15 GB
Volume expansion options: 100 GB for 139 RUR/month, 1 TB for 699 RUR/month, 2 TB for 1,399 RUR/month.

The service offers unlimited photo uploads, but with a possible loss of quality - pictures are compressed to 16 megapixels. 15 GB of free space is available for downloading sources; additional space must be paid for. Owners of smartphones on the Android platform receive additional bonuses from the service. For example, Asus customers are given 100GB of data for a year, after which the storage is reduced to 15GB.

Cloud Mail.ru

Basic storage capacity(for all file types): 8 GB
Volume expansion options: 512 GB for 379 rub./month, 1 TB for 699 rub./month, 2 TB - 1,390 rub./month, 4 TB - 2,790 rub./month.

The standard cloud volume from Mail.ru is only 8 GB. There are no unlimited limits even when uploading photos from a mobile phone. A few years ago it was possible to get 1 TB of cloud storage for free, and those who managed to do so still use this service. You can enable auto-download of captured photos and videos on your smartphone or tablet. Automatic syncing also allows you to delete files from your device and make room for new photos and videos.

Microsoft One Drive

Basic storage capacity(for all file types): 5 GB
Volume expansion options: 50 GB for 150 rub./month, 1 TB + MS Office 365 for 269 rub./month, 5 TB + MS Office 365 for 339 rub./month.

The basic free volume of the service is only 5 GB. The volume can be expanded by inviting friends, as well as with the help of temporary promotions. In case you are using Office 365, then 1TB of data is provided and you can use it as per your convenience. The service allows you to set up automatic uploading of new pictures and videos to your personal storage.

Dropbox

Basic storage capacity(for all file types): 2 GB
Volume expansion options: 1 TB for $9.99/month, 2 TB for $19.99/month.

The free volume in Dropbox is exactly 2 GB. Of course, there is not enough space for a photo archive, so in any case you will have to purchase additional space. But you can get bonus gigabytes for performing various actions - inviting friends, connecting social network accounts and devices. For example, by inviting a friend, users receive from 500 MB to 1 GB, depending on the subscription, for each invitation accepted by a friend. You can set Dropbox to automatically upload photos and videos from your mobile device using the camera upload feature.

Due to the low download speed, the data array must be limited to only important documents or use this method only for those files that need to be shared.

At the same time, we must not forget about protecting privacy - many providers, for example, Microsoft and Google, automatically analyze downloaded files. Encryption, carried out locally, even before downloading, will come to the rescue. We will describe the principle of operation based on the BoxCryptor utility (boxcryptor.com/ru).

Create a BoxCryptor account

Since BoxCryptor is integrated into Windows as a separate disk, the Setup Wizard installs the driver. The user must agree to this operation, otherwise the software will not work.

This makes sense when using paid features, such as encrypting folders and file names. The files themselves are encrypted without any problems by the free version.

The same applies to integrating multiple cloud services - only a commercial solution can do this.

For simple periodic backups of important personal documents, these functions are generally not needed.

But for extreme cases, there is a free alternative, the open source utility Cryptomator (cryptomator.org). Despite the fact that it is currently only available in beta version, there are no complaints about its performance.

If you don’t need all this, local access to BoxCryptor will suffice, bypassing online services: during initial setup, click on “…” in the lower right corner to open a window with the “Local Account | Setup account".

Create a password-protected key file and save it locally on your computer. In the next window, select the “Free” option for the BoxCryptor program, after which the service will be installed on your computer under a standard account [email protected]. Here, enter the password you set earlier to configure BoxCryptor.

Linking a cloud account

If your computer is already configured for compatible cloud access, the program will recognize it automatically. BoxCryptor supports more than a dozen well-known services, from Apple's iCloud to Google Drive, Dropbox, etc. If the utility still does not detect a local cloud folder, manually specify the path to it through “Settings | Locations | Add".

All files that then end up in this folder, after the request, will be automatically encrypted by the BoxCryptor utility and then uploaded to web storage. You can see how successfully the process went by looking at the cloud folder from Explorer. In it, encrypted files will have the extension “.bc” and will not allow themselves to be opened.

To get data from the cloud to your PC again, simply drag and drop the files in Windows Explorer from the BoxCryptor disk into a regular local folder on your computer. BoxCryptor will automatically decrypt them.

Backup for Android smartphones

Helium Backup Copies apps, SMS, WiFi passwords and user data from Android devices to PC.

In order for the utility to work without superuser rights, you need the appropriate ADB drivers from the home page and the Helium desktop client, which is used to connect Windows.

Allows remote access to Android from a PC. Data transfer for backup is also carried out via the Network, subject to the creation of an AirDroid account.

Using the AirMirror feature, the utility on Windows is able to perform actions on an Android device, such as sending SMS.

requires root because it copies any data from a mobile device, including system applications. This is only available with superuser (SU) rights, which gives access to all files. Titanium is ideal for "moving" to another device, as this application is capable of restoring a backup even on another smartphone.

Photo: manufacturing companies

Cloud Backup (BaaS) is a cloud data backup service based on one of the market leading solutions - Veeam Backup & Replication with Cloud Connect technology. The service allows you to backup any physical or virtual servers and save backup copies in the LanCloud cloud. Backups will be located outside your office in a reliable data center certified by TIER-III Facility & Operation. The built-in backup encryption function on the client side allows you to be 100% confident in the confidentiality of information transmitted to the cloud.

Cloud Backup allows you to restore both individual files and entire physical or virtual servers, including the state of the operating system. In addition, the service supports backup and granular recovery of applications such as Active Directory, Exchange, SharePoint, SQL Server and Oracle. In particular, you can restore individual AD users, Exchange mailboxes and individual letters, individual SharePoint items, and database transaction logs at a specific point in time. Restoration can be done either to the original location or to an alternative location.

Key benefits of LanCloud Cloud Backup:

Backup of physical servers running Windows or Linux with the possibility of full recovery to other hardware or to a virtual environment
Backup of any Hyper-V or VMware virtual servers with the ability to completely restore the state of the virtual machine or individual files
Granular application recovery: Active Directory, Exchange, SharePoint, SQL Server and Oracle with the ability to recover individual objects and databases
Ability to encrypt data on the client side before transfer to the cloud
Storage of backup copies outside the office in a reliable TIER-III Facility & Operation data center.
Ability to restore backups to the LanCloud cloud in the event of a complete failure of the local infrastructure
One of the most favorable prices on the market for data volume - 1 rub./month. for 1 GB
The first month of using the service is free.

Rates

Features and Features	Cloud Backup Workstation	Cloud Backup VM Standard	Cloud Backup VM Enterprise	Cloud Backup VM Enterprise Plus	Cloud Backup Server
Price for 1 virtual or physical server per month without VAT	440 ₽	440 ₽	800 ₽	1200 ₽	1200 ₽
VM ( Hyper-V or VMware) whole or individual files
Backup and restore the state of the physical server as a whole or individual files with the ability to restore to the original location or to another hardware
Backup and Restore Active Directory		Recovering single user and computer accounts	Restoring several objects simultaneously, containers, group policy objects, integrated with Active Directory DNS records
Backup and Restore ExchangeServer		Recovering individual objects (letters, mailboxes, notes, contacts) to .pst	Restoring objects to their original location
Backup and Restore SharePoint Server		Restoring individual objects to a file	Restore sites, collections, and objects to their original location
Backup and Restore SQL Server		Recovering an Entire SQL Database	Restore transaction log, databases and SQL objects (tables, stored procedures, views) to the original or another SQL Server
Backup and Restore Oracle
Deduplication and data compression
Ability to exclude individual files and folders from backup
WAN acceleration (acceleration of data transfer to the cloud up to 50 times)
Backup from storage hardware snapshots
Self-service file recovery portal for users