The problem with online backup is that it’s actually quite expensive: the cost of a year’s backup is the same as buying another external hard drive, which should last you three to five times as long. The major drawback with adding another hard drive to your backup arsenal is that it means all your precious files and settings continue to be stored in one physical location, which begs the question of what happens should your home catch fire or your house burgled?
The main advantage of online backup is that it’s kept in a secure, remote location. But with free online accounts offering a stingy 2GB of space, what alternatives do you have? If your hard drive has plenty of free space you can trade it in return for free space on other people’s drives.
There are two options here: you can opt to share drive space with trusted friends and family using a free program called BuddyBackup, or you can opt to trade with renowned hard drive manufacturer Lacie via its Wuala service. There are pros and cons to both approaches: for starters, BuddyBackup relies on your buddies being switched on and connected when you need to either update or restore your backup (although it also allows you to back up to a USB drive too, giving you the best of both worlds). Wuala will only trade a certain amount of space based on the time your computer is switched on and connected, although you can also gain additional space by getting friends to sign up. The latest beta release of Wuala also supports file synchronising, enabling you to keep selected folders synced across all your PCs.