Free Carbonite 2 GB Online Backup?

hopefire · 10-17-08, 01:34 AM

I logged into OPS and noticed some new links, one of which is an offer exclusive to Powweb members for "free" 2 GB online backup with Carbonite.

Now, is this actually "free" or is this trial software that expires after 30 days? Will there be any charges on my credit card? In other words, whats the catch?

**Croc Hunter** · 10-17-08, 08:05 AM

Click the link to find out.

mjandreau · 10-17-08, 09:01 AM

It's free, free free, free. There's an upgradable option that gives you more features, and storage. But the 2GB version is absolutely free.

entrecon · 10-17-08, 10:14 AM

Before this was offered I signed up for an account and had found a coupon online for 20% off. This gave me a full year of unlimited storage for about $40. When I received my payment receipt/thank-you they also gave me an offer of 50% off a second machine. I haven't set it up yet, but will be doing that soon for my wife's laptop.

I have a a slow DSL connection at home and it took about 4 full days for it to back-up 11GB of storage from my machine. It runs in the back-ground and I did not notice much decrease in performance, but I don't do any intensive processing on my machine anyway. I had signed up with the service bacause I had been having trouble, and sure enough about 15 days later I had a hard-drive crash. The new hard-drive got ordered and installed and then I started the recovery. This too took about 4 days, but it did recover all 11GB.

One thing to keep in mind, Carbonite looks at the standard locations If you have items outside of this area you will need to make sure that they are added to the carbonite settings. I have not fully dug throught he back-up file but I believe I have lost some music files, my Quickbooks datafile, and my Outlook contacts. I didn't have a major music collection, the quickbooks file was small and I didn't have a ton of information in it, and my outlook contacts are backed up to my Palm Pilot. I may find some other files, but all of the files that would have driven me to commit suicide if they were lost, are all recovered.

One last note, I dohave other back-ups of data that i burn to DVD, but those are incremental and are only done when I think "Gee, it has been while". Carbonite is constantly running in the background backing the data up. Files I modified/added the day before the crash were all recovered.

Doc C · 10-17-08, 01:24 PM

Carbonite is good but I prefer to back up my entire system once a week. It takes a couple of hours but I've got it on a USB drive that I can grab in the event of an emergency.

entrecon · 10-17-08, 01:33 PM

Quote:

It takes a couple of hours but I've got it on a USB drive that I can grab in the event of an emergency.

I am just not that disciplined! I am lazy..Carbonite let's me be Lazy

mjandreau · 10-17-08, 02:04 PM

I use a program called HandyBackup. It not only backs up my PC files, but also my web files, and MySQL databases, all to an external hard drive.

Then, I run another back up twice a week, to back that up to yet another drive, just in case of a huge cluster-F* failure on all parts.

hopefire · 10-17-08, 04:24 PM

entrecon, with the carbonite software, do you have any control when the backup process takes place or is it always running in the backround? I would prefer to have the carbonite running only when the computer is idle.

I run weekly backups, and have backups to the backups, but if I have catastrophic event such as a fire, all my backups and pc’s would be destroyed. I have been interested in offsite backups and have heard the advertisements for Carbonite, just wonder if its worth the money or hassle?

entrecon · 10-17-08, 04:34 PM

I have it running all of the time and don't notice a drain in resources. Keep in mind it is only uploading those files that are new/changed. There is a "low priority" option. Since I have not seen a resource drain, I have played with the settings much.

Aside from the 2GB offer here, they do offer a Free 15-day full offer on their site and if you get a code from somewhere you can extend that to a 30-day. I heard an add on XM radio and used that code. I just can't remember it right now, do Google and you will find it. You can try it and see just how much drain there is.

Doc C · 10-17-08, 06:43 PM

hopefire, why not just take a copy of your backup to work (unless you work from home) and/or send a montly backup to a relative living in another section of the country?

YvetteKuhns · 10-17-08, 06:50 PM

One of my clients chose to use the online backup after receiving an email from PowWeb for the free service. She downloaded the software and installed it. She was about to upload her files to the Internet when I called her about something else. I asked her if she had anything private on her computer and that was when she realized she did NOT want ONLINE backups of her computer files! She removed the software immediately!

I make backups onto another hard drive that can be used in any computer. I have tax files and other files I would not want shared with the public. This service may be okay for some people but not anyone who stores personal documents on his/her computer.

Doc C · 10-17-08, 07:05 PM

The files are DUAL encrypted before they are even sent from your PC to Carbonite. Carbonite does not have your encryption key.

hopefire, it will run when the PC is idle.

YvetteKuhns · 10-17-08, 07:19 PM

Quote:

The files are DUAL encrypted before they are even sent from your PC to Carbonite. Carbonite does not have your encryption key.

Judy recently had to reformat her hard drive. I can see her losing the encryption key and not being able to retrieve her files! I guess she would have to save it to a disk and put it in a fireproof box or safety deposit box.

tpoynton · 10-18-08, 09:19 AM

excuse my ignorance...I've looked in OPS and cant seem to find it (carbonite)!

**IanS** · 10-18-08, 11:43 AM

I've looked on my two accounts - either we've gone blind or it's not there for everyone.

hopefire · 10-18-08, 12:04 PM

I found the Carbonite link in my Main OPS page under the "Scripting and Add-Ons" section.

**IanS** · 10-18-08, 12:28 PM

Found it - it was in one of the few places I hadn't looked. I'd expanded most of the 'more' and 'add-on' sections and must have missed that one.

entrecon · 10-18-08, 01:49 PM

Quote:

I can see her losing the encryption key and not being able to retrieve her files!

I am not sure how the key is generated, but it wasn't something I had to find. You install teh software on your machine and run the back-up. You can access individual files anytime you want. If you need to do a complete recover, you re-install the software on teh new machine/hard drive and tell it to restore. The only problem I had was that I mis-typed my password and got locked out. To recover it they wanted the serial number, which was only on the crashed drive. I had to call and talk to a representative to verify it was me, and then they reset it for me. (I could do it by submitting a form to support as well, but I did not want to wait for the response.)

tpoynton · 10-19-08, 07:26 AM

Thanks for the help with finding it! it is the only thing under 'more tools'. it should say 'another tool'.

10-17-08, 01:34 AM	#1
hopefire Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 102 Reputation: 14	Free Carbonite 2 GB Online Backup? I logged into OPS and noticed some new links, one of which is an offer exclusive to Powweb members for "free" 2 GB online backup with Carbonite. Now, is this actually "free" or is this trial software that expires after 30 days? Will there be any charges on my credit card? In other words, whats the catch? __________________ ....Thou I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil...

10-17-08, 08:05 AM	#2
Croc Hunter Mod.. with bite.. Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Australia Posts: 7,295 Reputation: 442	Click the link to find out. __________________ Croc Hunter MSC :

10-17-08, 10:14 AM	#4
entrecon Custom User Title Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Michigan Posts: 2,669 Reputation: 337	Before this was offered I signed up for an account and had found a coupon online for 20% off. This gave me a full year of unlimited storage for about $40. When I received my payment receipt/thank-you they also gave me an offer of 50% off a second machine. I haven't set it up yet, but will be doing that soon for my wife's laptop. I have a a slow DSL connection at home and it took about 4 full days for it to back-up 11GB of storage from my machine. It runs in the back-ground and I did not notice much decrease in performance, but I don't do any intensive processing on my machine anyway. I had signed up with the service bacause I had been having trouble, and sure enough about 15 days later I had a hard-drive crash. The new hard-drive got ordered and installed and then I started the recovery. This too took about 4 days, but it did recover all 11GB. One thing to keep in mind, Carbonite looks at the standard locations If you have items outside of this area you will need to make sure that they are added to the carbonite settings. I have not fully dug throught he back-up file but I believe I have lost some music files, my Quickbooks datafile, and my Outlook contacts. I didn't have a major music collection, the quickbooks file was small and I didn't have a ton of information in it, and my outlook contacts are backed up to my Palm Pilot. I may find some other files, but all of the files that would have driven me to commit suicide if they were lost, are all recovered. One last note, I dohave other back-ups of data that i burn to DVD, but those are incremental and are only done when I think "Gee, it has been while". Carbonite is constantly running in the background backing the data up. Files I modified/added the day before the crash were all recovered. __________________ ________________________________ Find me on twitter: @entrecon

10-17-08, 01:24 PM	#5
Doc C Just another mook Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Southern CA Posts: 5,100 Reputation: 310	Carbonite is good but I prefer to back up my entire system once a week. It takes a couple of hours but I've got it on a USB drive that I can grab in the event of an emergency. __________________ "You don't really understand human nature unless you know why a child on a merry-go-round will wave at his parents every time around -- and why his parents will always wave back." -William D. Tammeus

10-17-08, 04:24 PM	#8
hopefire Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 102 Reputation: 14	entrecon, with the carbonite software, do you have any control when the backup process takes place or is it always running in the backround? I would prefer to have the carbonite running only when the computer is idle. I run weekly backups, and have backups to the backups, but if I have catastrophic event such as a fire, all my backups and pc’s would be destroyed. I have been interested in offsite backups and have heard the advertisements for Carbonite, just wonder if its worth the money or hassle? __________________ ....Thou I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil...

10-17-08, 09:01 AM	#3
mjandreau powweb staff Join Date: Dec 1969 Location: Burlington, MA Posts: 0 Reputation: 10	It's free, free free, free. There's an upgradable option that gives you more features, and storage. But the 2GB version is absolutely free.

10-17-08, 02:04 PM	#7
mjandreau powweb staff Join Date: Dec 1969 Location: Burlington, MA Posts: 0 Reputation: 10	I use a program called HandyBackup. It not only backs up my PC files, but also my web files, and MySQL databases, all to an external hard drive. Then, I run another back up twice a week, to back that up to yet another drive, just in case of a huge cluster-F* failure on all parts.

10-17-08, 04:34 PM	#9
entrecon Custom User Title Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Michigan Posts: 2,669 Reputation: 337	I have it running all of the time and don't notice a drain in resources. Keep in mind it is only uploading those files that are new/changed. There is a "low priority" option. Since I have not seen a resource drain, I have played with the settings much. Aside from the 2GB offer here, they do offer a Free 15-day full offer on their site and if you get a code from somewhere you can extend that to a 30-day. I heard an add on XM radio and used that code. I just can't remember it right now, do Google and you will find it. You can try it and see just how much drain there is. __________________ ________________________________ Find me on twitter: @entrecon

10-17-08, 06:43 PM	#10
Doc C Just another mook Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Southern CA Posts: 5,100 Reputation: 310	hopefire, why not just take a copy of your backup to work (unless you work from home) and/or send a montly backup to a relative living in another section of the country? __________________ "You don't really understand human nature unless you know why a child on a merry-go-round will wave at his parents every time around -- and why his parents will always wave back." -William D. Tammeus

10-17-08, 06:50 PM	#11
YvetteKuhns Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Allentown, PA USA Posts: 15,215 Reputation: 467	One of my clients chose to use the online backup after receiving an email from PowWeb for the free service. She downloaded the software and installed it. She was about to upload her files to the Internet when I called her about something else. I asked her if she had anything private on her computer and that was when she realized she did NOT want ONLINE backups of her computer files! She removed the software immediately! I make backups onto another hard drive that can be used in any computer. I have tax files and other files I would not want shared with the public. This service may be okay for some people but not anyone who stores personal documents on his/her computer. __________________ Yvette Kuhns Power Pages Web Design Customized Internet Advertising Solutions

10-17-08, 07:05 PM	#12
Doc C Just another mook Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Southern CA Posts: 5,100 Reputation: 310	The files are DUAL encrypted before they are even sent from your PC to Carbonite. Carbonite does not have your encryption key. hopefire, it will run when the PC is idle. __________________ "You don't really understand human nature unless you know why a child on a merry-go-round will wave at his parents every time around -- and why his parents will always wave back." -William D. Tammeus

10-18-08, 09:19 AM	#14
tpoynton Custom User Title Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Mass Posts: 2,119 Reputation: 293	excuse my ignorance...I've looked in OPS and cant seem to find it (carbonite)! __________________ Edit your php.ini Enable CGI Update your stats Domain Pointing Tool Subdomain Pointing Tool CGI Error Log File a ticket

10-18-08, 11:43 AM	#15
IanS Former Spam Filter (EU) Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Washington (THE original UK one!) Posts: 12,806 Reputation: 470	I've looked on my two accounts - either we've gone blind or it's not there for everyone. __________________ This is a Powweb customer helping Powweb customer forum. I am a customer just like you!! Some matters can only be answered by staff or support. Give it a go - ask here first!

10-18-08, 12:04 PM	#16
hopefire Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 102 Reputation: 14	I found the Carbonite link in my Main OPS page under the "Scripting and Add-Ons" section. __________________ ....Thou I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil...

10-18-08, 12:28 PM	#17
IanS Former Spam Filter (EU) Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Washington (THE original UK one!) Posts: 12,806 Reputation: 470	Found it - it was in one of the few places I hadn't looked. I'd expanded most of the 'more' and 'add-on' sections and must have missed that one. __________________ This is a Powweb customer helping Powweb customer forum. I am a customer just like you!! Some matters can only be answered by staff or support. Give it a go - ask here first!

10-19-08, 07:26 AM	#19
tpoynton Custom User Title Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Mass Posts: 2,119 Reputation: 293	Thanks for the help with finding it! it is the only thing under 'more tools'. it should say 'another tool'. __________________ Edit your php.ini Enable CGI Update your stats Domain Pointing Tool Subdomain Pointing Tool CGI Error Log File a ticket