Online data backup

I am thinking of using an online data back up service and have been looking at my broadband supplier as they are offering me unlimited storage for £1 for the first year, i am going to use up around 250GB max limit do you think this will be sufficent http://titan-adsl.co.uk/home-broadband/online-backup/

there are many competing products for this, free for small amounts of data,
see dropbox or skydrive for instance
250gb is large though

edit noticed gb not mb

Edited by ggremlin (Wed 20-Jun-12 21:06:12)

250GB? Free?

noticed gb not mb too late...

I would always, always, be very sceptical of any offer of "unlimited" anything.

Offering you the bandwidth and disk space (as well as the management, configuration, and maintenance of the required systems) you want will cost money. A cost that will rise the more bandwidth and disk space you need. Quite apart from the fact that on the entire planet there is not an unlimited amount of storage space available (and so the claim is quite impossible), there will come a point where the price they offer is impractical, unprofitable, and unsustainable.

If I were you I would read the fine print very carefully.

By "unlimited" what they actually mean is "more than we think you'll ever want" and so by taking the offer you are gambling that they think people are at least as greedy as they actually are and/or they have enough overhead built in to cover for the particularly greedy. If they are wrong and/or have scrimped on the overhead, you may find the service fails to offer what it claims to.

And it's all done and stored on your home network? Amazing!

That is a confusing advert.

It does not make clear whether the files are also served from your own network.

If all they do is backup your own files on their own disks but serve the files from your home network I'd steer well clear.

They presumably add their own Titan software to your home network as well. No way Jos�.

Personally I'd never store sensitive data with a third party, however secure they think they are.

Trading standards?

In reply to a post by john2007:

Personally I'd never store sensitive data with a third party, however secure they think they are.

Personally I would NEVER be without a secure off-site backup of data on my PCs!

You only find out what is really important to use and others when you lose it!

The product being offered does seem "confusing" though!

The problem I see is in the "£1 for the first year". I always find these headline prices unhelpful. Online storage gives you access to your data wherever you are, and protects you from theft, fire and flood (but possibly not prying eyes). Valuable data should be copied offsite. Have you considered using an external drive for holding backups? These can be taken with you when you leave the house. These are a pain to use as you need to remember to copy your files. If you are feeling flush you could buy a Home Server. These will automatically backup daily all your computers allowing you to recover individual files or restore a complete system from over a reasonable period.

In reply to a post by CutieCakes:

I am thinking of using an online data back up service and have been looking at my broadband supplier as they are offering me unlimited storage for £1 for the first year, i am going to use up around 250GB max limit do you think this will be sufficent http://titan-adsl.co.uk/home-broadband/online-backup/

I see that you have signed up this morning.
Good to have you on board on our data backup package.

Our first year deal is £1 providing you use the promo code, however all we ask is that if you use the promo code you stay with us for the 2nd year at the full price of £24.

So essentially it is £12.50 a year? Not keen on these advertising ploys as it is not a special £1 to start if you require a 2 year contract at £1 first year and £24 second year - that is £12.50 a year no matter what way you look at it.

Not saying that is bad if providing what is suggested in this thread but these promotional deals are always misleading in my opinion.

you could look at it that way, or if you didn't want to use the special promo code then each year would be £24.

As an example some ISP's advertise in this way offering users 3 or 6 months half price broadband then full price thereafter that and putting users into an 18 month contract.

Again either way the promo is exactly that if you want to choose that option or not.

Edited by deleted (Thu 21-Jun-12 13:38:49)

It is the fact that often the "2 year minimum" or whatever is hidden in the small print - it may not be with yours. I have just upgraded sky under an offer of a special price for 3 months - in the small print it confirms it is a 12 month minimum term. However, one of their other deals is a reduced price for 3 months with a 1 month minimum term - it is the small print that gives the details and if people aren't wary they may sign up for a year at £1 without realising they have to pay £24 for the 2nd year even if they only want a 12 month service.

EDIT : Just looked on the product pages for the special offer. Nowhere I can see does it state that you have to sign up for 2 years. It may do at the end of the checkout process but as I can't get there without creating a user id then I haven't gone that far.

Edited by ian72 (Thu 21-Jun-12 13:46:52)

Yes i have signed up, so far have backed up 75GB since the morning.
I can access all files anywhere on the go so i am a happy chappy.

In reply to a post by john2007:

..... Personally I'd never store sensitive data with a third party, however secure they think they are.....

At least as secure as LinkedIn or eHarmony I would hope.

Seriously though, I'm with you on this in that I would need to be desperate to trust my personal data to a third party's whims. A few passwords and some throwaway addies is one thing - Personal files is quite another.

Edited by Deadbeat (Thu 21-Jun-12 22:41:59)

A reputable supplier uses software which encrypts the data on your PC using a key known only to you so that it is safe from prying eyes while on their servers ...... that is the theory anyway.

If they use data de-duplication then this approach clearly doesnt work.

The automatic corporate backup on our PCs at work does use de-duplication but the company has its own backup servers. For domestic use encryption is a key requirement so de-duplication cannot be used and no reputable supplier advertises it.

At the end of the data the data MUST be backup up somewhere safe off-site on a regular basis. This means it must be automared.

In reply to a post by greenglide:

....... uses software which encrypts the data on your PC using a key known only to you so that it is safe from prying eyes while on their servers .......

I know how it's supposed to work.... I've set up several SME's locallly in the past with reputable backup systems from accredited suppliers.