Jul. 16 2004 /Ziff-Davis, PC Magazine/ --
Company:
Officeware Systems, www.filesanywhere.com
Price:
$29.95 per month for 2GB, unlimited bandwidth
Update -- since the time of this
writing, the 2GB plan price has dropped to only $8.95/month.
Pros:
Well-designed, highly responsive Web interface. Competitively priced with
unlimited bandwidth. Supports file sharing, versioning, photo sharing,
and private sites.
Cons:
PC-based backup Setup Daily, Weekly or Monthly scheduled jobs. Synchronize folders between multiple locations, or create automated file transfer jobs. Jobs run automatically as a background service. Simple, wizard-based software is included with the WebAdvanced The WebAdvanced plan is ideal for data backup, for uploading a large amount of files to your remote storage space, for synchronizing folders between locations, and for drive-letter mapping with drag-and-drop and direct file open/save. WebAdvanced plans come with all of the features of the Individual Plan, plus the following capabilities: Automated, Scheduled Backups, Synchronization Local and Remote Folders, Resume Interrupted Transfers, Drag-and-Drop local files/folders into Backup Job Definition, Map a Network Drive Letter to your Account, Open/edit/save files directly from office applications, Drag-and-Drop files/folders to and from your Account, Direct FTP and SecureFTP (secure shell) Access to your Account using any standard, SFTP Application, Blowfish 128-bit Encryption, encrypting all files at the client computer, Workgroup SubAccounts (add any number of SubAccounts, starting with one). plan. utility is cumbersome to configure and a slow performer.
Bottom Line:
FilesAnywhere delivers many useful backup Setup Daily, Weekly or Monthly scheduled jobs. Synchronize folders between multiple locations, or create automated file transfer jobs. Jobs run automatically as a background service. Simple, wizard-based software is included with the WebAdvanced plan. and restore features, an excellent
Web interface, the ability to set up private business sites, and basic
photo sharing capabilities. But the PC-based handy backup Setup Daily, Weekly or Monthly scheduled jobs. Synchronize folders between multiple locations, or create automated file transfer jobs. Jobs run automatically as a background service. Simple, wizard-based software is included with the WebAdvanced plan. utility needs
to be simplified and offer better integration.
Review:
Officeware Systems recently enhanced its online file storage service, FilesAnywhere,
to include full-featured online backup Setup Daily, Weekly or Monthly scheduled jobs. Synchronize folders between multiple locations, or create automated file transfer jobs. Jobs run automatically as a background service. Simple, wizard-based software is included with the WebAdvanced plan. and basic photo sharing capabilities
geared for both home users and businesses. A well-designed and highly
responsive Web interface provides easy-to-use file upload and download
operations, file management, and data sharing.
Online backup Setup Daily, Weekly or Monthly scheduled jobs. Synchronize folders between multiple locations, or create automated file transfer jobs. Jobs run automatically as a background service. Simple, wizard-based software is included with the WebAdvanced plan. services are best suited for those
with fast broadband connections and, depending on your storage needs,
deep pockets. Many users will opt for sub-10GB storage plans, backing
up important files only, because costs escalate quickly with larger storage
capacities. Case in point, a 40GB FilesAnywhere backup Setup Daily, Weekly or Monthly scheduled jobs. Synchronize folders between multiple locations, or create automated file transfer jobs. Jobs run automatically as a background service. Simple, wizard-based software is included with the WebAdvanced plan. plan costs $2,950
annually. (Storage plans are priced competitively with the online
backup services we reviewed in our recent Utility
Guide. Many businesses employ online file sharing and backup Setup Daily, Weekly or Monthly scheduled jobs. Synchronize folders between multiple locations, or create automated file transfer jobs. Jobs run automatically as a background service. Simple, wizard-based software is included with the WebAdvanced plan. services
because of their 24/7 availability, high security, and broad accessibility
using a Web connection.
FilesAnywhere includes a feature-packed
Web interface for managing backup Setup Daily, Weekly or Monthly scheduled jobs. Synchronize folders between multiple locations, or create automated file transfer jobs. Jobs run automatically as a background service. Simple, wizard-based software is included with the WebAdvanced plan., restore, and data sharing operations
for single or multiple files. Users can explicitly select multiple directories
and files to be backed up or restored, or simply drag-and-drop Login and click the "Multi-Upload" tab in to reveal the "Upload Drop Pad". Simply drag and drop anything you want onto this box, and it will start uploading immediately to your account. This tool is fast, reliable, "firewall-friendly", and works in all web browsers, using Windows, Mac or Linux. Another method available for drag-and-drop Uploads and Downloads is the WebFolder feature. Refer to the WebFolder User Guide in Help Contents. files from
Windows Explorer (backup Setup Daily, Weekly or Monthly scheduled jobs. Synchronize folders between multiple locations, or create automated file transfer jobs. Jobs run automatically as a background service. Simple, wizard-based software is included with the WebAdvanced plan. operations only). Standard file management and
search Search File/Folder Names, Text in Files, Metatag Keywords or Comments. Instantly search files in folders or account-wide. An available Index feature (included with all multi-user accounts) rapidly indexes all readable file content in the account, making word searches lightning-fast, even over thousands of files! Create your own keywords, then "tag" files to search by keyword. operations are merely a right click away. Users can copy selected
files and directories to specific locations on the server, or the local
directory structure can be mirrored at the server. Files may be zipped
for upload and download to improve speed (in most cases), though zipped
uploads do not maintain the source system's directory structure, and zip
file restores are limited to 50MB per session.
Backup Setup Daily, Weekly or Monthly scheduled jobs. Synchronize folders between multiple locations, or create automated file transfer jobs. Jobs run automatically as a background service. Simple, wizard-based software is included with the WebAdvanced plan. and restores are protected with SSL "Secure Socket Layer". SSL encrypts every packet to and from your computer using an SSL Web Login, WebDA No software to install, since WebDAV is built into most operating systems. Using this feature, you can Open, Edit and Save remote files directly from your applications. Also Copy/Paste or Drag-n-Drop between your local computer and the mapped FilesAnywhere folder.V or SFTP Backups. VeriSign Certificates with 1024-bit RSA key are so strong, it would take 3 Million years to break using a $10M super computer! For more information on FilesAnywhere security, please click Introduction in the Help Contents and then Security. encryption,
and users can view informative real-time progress indicators. File sharing
permits granular file permission settings for individuals and Workgroups.
Users can send files quickly to other FilesAnywhere members using an e-send Send any files from your account to any other user using E-SEND. If the user is not a paying member (free trial member) they can still receivefiles, however be aware that their download limit is 2MB per day. E-SEND will delivera copy of your selected files in milliseconds, since the entire transfer takes placeon our servers. The recipient can then Login using their regular account name toretrieve the files instantly from their File Inbox.
feature, or send actual files (or links to files) to non members via an
e-mail feature. Versioning is supported for change tracking, managing
simultaneous file edits, notification of file access/modifications, and
reverting to prior file versions. Excellent context sensitive help provides
guidance if needed. A basic photo viewer rounds out the Web interface,
with thumbnails, zooms, slideshows, and auto creation of photo albums.
Photos can be shared with other members and non-members freely.
FilesAnywhere includes Novosoft's Handy
Backup Setup Daily, Weekly or Monthly scheduled jobs. Synchronize folders between multiple locations, or create automated file transfer jobs. Jobs run automatically as a background service. Simple, wizard-based software is included with the WebAdvanced plan. 4.1 PC-based utility which provides backup Setup Daily, Weekly or Monthly scheduled jobs. Synchronize folders between multiple locations, or create automated file transfer jobs. Jobs run automatically as a background service. Simple, wizard-based software is included with the WebAdvanced plan. scheduling, full or
incremental backups, 128-bit Blowfish encryption (for files stored on
the remote server), and file synchronization capabilities. Unfortunately,
we weren't thrilled with Handy Backup Setup Daily, Weekly or Monthly scheduled jobs. Synchronize folders between multiple locations, or create automated file transfer jobs. Jobs run automatically as a background service. Simple, wizard-based software is included with the WebAdvanced plan.'s interface, which required entry
of low-level FTP parameters for all backup Setup Daily, Weekly or Monthly scheduled jobs. Synchronize folders between multiple locations, or create automated file transfer jobs. Jobs run automatically as a background service. Simple, wizard-based software is included with the WebAdvanced plan. set descriptions. And the utility's
progress indicators appeared to be inaccurate in our testing. Neither
is a big problem since most Handy Backup Setup Daily, Weekly or Monthly scheduled jobs. Synchronize folders between multiple locations, or create automated file transfer jobs. Jobs run automatically as a background service. Simple, wizard-based software is included with the WebAdvanced plan. sessions would only be set up
once and scheduled to run automatically over time. Adhoc backup Setup Daily, Weekly or Monthly scheduled jobs. Synchronize folders between multiple locations, or create automated file transfer jobs. Jobs run automatically as a background service. Simple, wizard-based software is included with the WebAdvanced plan. tasks
are easier with the Web interface.
FilesAnywhere provides private backup Setup Daily, Weekly or Monthly scheduled jobs. Synchronize folders between multiple locations, or create automated file transfer jobs. Jobs run automatically as a background service. Simple, wizard-based software is included with the WebAdvanced plan.
sites for businesses, with customizable portals, Web folders (drive letter
mapping to server directories), and dedicated administration features.
Several levels of redundant data storage and security exist at its telco-class
data center.
Running Handy Backup Setup Daily, Weekly or Monthly scheduled jobs. Synchronize folders between multiple locations, or create automated file transfer jobs. Jobs run automatically as a background service. Simple, wizard-based software is included with the WebAdvanced plan. with FTP, zip file
compression, and Blowfish encryption enabled, we backed up 68 digital
photos and a 10.8MB thumbnail file in 9 minutes, 35 seconds. We then restored
all files in 96 seconds over a Comcast cable modem link (3.3Mbps downlink
and 256Kbps uplink rated speeds). Without compression or encryption, backups
were about a minute faster. While a bit slower than other products we've
tested, this is still reasonable performance. Backing up via the Web interface
with SSL enabled, no file compression, and no Blowfish encryption was
substantially faster at roughly 5 minutes, 30 seconds.
FilesAnywhere is a well-designed, feature-rich, easy-to-use online backup Setup Daily, Weekly or Monthly scheduled jobs. Synchronize folders between multiple locations, or create automated file transfer jobs. Jobs run automatically as a background service. Simple, wizard-based software is included with the WebAdvanced plan. service that may well be your answer to painless system backups.