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Review of IDrive Online Backup Service
Upon first glance, the IDrive program sounded a lot like Mozy. In other words, a full-service program that performs automatic backups of your computer and stores them remotely, without any storage space limits (except for a 2 GB limit on the free version.) Not to mention advanced data encryption, mapped drive support, and archived file versions.
Let's take a look at the basic version and then move on to the pro version...
The basic version offers easy, automated backups up to 2 GB, absolutely free. That is a great deal if you only have a few important files to backup. (And even though I already use no less than five backup services, I signed-up for this. Better safe than sorry!)
The pro version offers the same easy, automated backups, but there is no storage limit. Unless you are edited feature-length films, you could probably backup your entire computer onto their remote servers! (Realistically though, your storage will be capped at 150 GB.)
Aside from the basics, if you look at their comparison chart, you will see they beat Carbonite and Mozy in many categories. For example, IDrive never deletes old backups, even if you delete the original from your computer. That's a good thing because you might delete something you rarely use and not notice until six months later; if you use IDrive, though, you'll have a backup. They also offer free telephone support.
Don't get too carried away based on their comparison chart though. It seems to be out of date, because Carbonite and Mozy have added new features that aren't reflected on this chart. The true comparison between these three services is much closer than IDrive makes it appear. (At least it was the last time I checked.)
In the end, the price comes to $49.50 per year, which is on par with its competitors.
So let's try it out:
Once you install IDrive, you get to work in a familiar interface. It's just like other Windows interfaces (pictured below is the "Backup" interface):
And here is the very similar "Restore" interface:
The Restore screen is great. You see a list of files, just like browsing folders on your hard drive, but there are new options. For example, you see version numbers, and you can choose which date of backup you would like to see.
The fact that IDrive backs up and stores multiple versions is probably my favorite feature. Even if I make a dumb mistake and save it, I can pull a previous copy from IDrive. If you want to "clean up" your IDrive, you can click "Sync" and it will sync the drive to your current files, allowing you to remove redundant data.
You can also restore via the "IDrive Explorer" window, which makes your IDrive look like another hard drive in "My Computer." You just need to install the IDriveExplorer Plugin, then you'll have the ability to drag and drop files to restore them.
Next up, more options. There is the bandwidth throttle. Set how much of your internet connection's bandwidth to use for IDrive.
You can also set which files types you need to backup by checking some boxes.
Overall it was very simple to backup and restore, and remained easy to understand the file versions and other advanced features.
Worried about security? Don't be, because IDrive uses enhanced security features with 128-bit SSL encryption on transfers and 256-bit AES encryption on storage with a user defined key that is not stored anywhere on IDrive servers.
The only significant downside I noticed was the performance issue. IDrive always seemed to lag, and if I tried to pause or cancel a backup, it would just freeze up. To be fair, this could be because I have other processes that run in the background and use memory. But still, IDrive was annoying sometimes.
Overall, IDrive is a worthy competitor in the automatic, online backup field. Take a look at IDrive if you are in need of a backup provider, and sign-up for a free trial to test it out.
Official site: www.IDrive.com
[Hot tip: If you sign-up for free, you get 2 GB... But if you then refer your friends to sign-up for free, your account will get bumped to 10 GB, for free!]
