Fri, 24 Apr 2009 Carbonite Online Backup for Macs review

We recently reviewed Syncplicity, a program that integrates cosily with your Mac, providing backup and synchronisation via an online service. At the time we compared the product favourably to Carbonite, a PC backup tool that performs similar functions in a similar way. Now Carbonite is fighting back with the full launch of a Mac version of the service. It means business, with a price point on a level with newer rivals.

To install the software, you must sign up for an account at www.carbonite.com. The application integrates into your Mac file system without the need for a restart. During installation, you’ll be prompted to back up your document files. You can skip this stage if you like – adding them manually later. With the software installed, it’s easy. You just control/right-click on a folder or file in the Finder, select More and go to Carbonite to add it to your backup. The intitial backup will take some time, but after that the software only adds changes and new files.

While rival Syncplicity markets machine synchronisation as its main selling point, Carbonite is a disaster recovery solution. Should the worst happen and your hard drive crashes irrevocably, you can start again, restoring your old files from Carbonite’s online backup. The client can only be installed on one machine at a time – but you can access your backup from any machine, PC or Mac, via a web browser.