Five good apps for backing up your data to the cloud

Introduction

Cloud backup continues to grow in popularity, offering an\r\naffordable, flexible, and convenient way to safeguard your data. But which cloud backup solution is right for\r\nyou? Here are five reliable tools for you to consider.

Note: This gallery is also available as an article.

SpiderOak

This isn’t nearly as cheap as, say, Google Drive, but it\r\noffers a few more features. With SpiderOak you get unlimited devices, easy\r\nfile/folder sharing, and the ability to add files to your “Hive.” The\r\nHive is a particularly nice feature that allows you to drag and drop files and\r\nfolders to the Hive folder and automatically sync across all your devices — no\r\nneed to configure anything. Another outstanding feature is Share Rooms. Here,\r\nyou can create rooms with files and folders and share the room out to other\r\nusers. Any time you add a folder or file to the room, those who have the key to\r\nthe room can gain access (without your having to re-share).

Carbonite

All Carbonite plans (Basic, Plus, and Prime) include\r\nunlimited cloud storage, support seven days a week, and automatic sync between\r\ndevices. The plans start at $59.99/year. If you’re looking for one of the most\r\ntrusted names in cloud storage, you can’t go wrong with Carbonite.

Backblaze

You get little control over what is backed up with\r\nBackblaze, but you can configure exclusions, add an encryption key, and\r\nschedule your backup. For these ease-of-use cloud backups, you’ll pay\r\n$5.00/month for unlimited (both file-size and backup storage size) cloud backups.\r\nIf you’re looking for one of the easiest cloud backup solutions for your desktop\r\nor laptop, Backblaze might be the one.

CrashPlan

This is another set-it-and-forget-it tool, but it offers more\r\noptions and is smart enough to do only differential and incremental backups.\r\nCrashPlan also makes restoring data incredibly simple. Just a few clicks and\r\nyour data is back where it belongs. Pricing for CrashPlan is also simple: The\r\nFree plan backs up only locally (such as to an external drive). To get to the\r\ncloud you must purchase a cloud account for Individual ($4.00/month), Family\r\n($9.00/month for two to 10 computers), or Business ($10.00/month per computer).\r\nThe full feature/price matrix is here.