Detailed Review of iDrive Online Backup Solution
Overview and History iDrive is a product of Pro Softnet Corporation, an ASP and Internet Solutions Provider based in Woodland Hills, CA.
Since its incorporation in 1995, Pro Softnet Corp.
has been harnessing the power of IT by supplying online-based solutions and specialized Online Software solutions for lots Fortune 100 corps..
Pro Softnet also own iBackup which is designed squarely at the business market.
Feature Set Security The web portal is password protected and encoded with 128bit SSL encryption during transfer to and from their data centers.
Once on the servers your information is secured with 256bit AES encryption and there is an function to set a private key.
Physically, the iDrive utility is hosted at data centers in the United States.
The world-class facilities are specifically designed with raised floors, HVAC temperature control systems with separate cooling zones and seismically braced racks.
They give the best range of physical security features, including state-of-the-art smoke detection and fire suppression systems, motion sensors, round-the-clock secured access, video camera surveillance and security breach alarms.
Backup Features iDrive backs up your files utilizing block level incrementation so just the parts of files that are amended get uploaded.
Continuous backup is also used to confirm your information is archived as soon as it changes.
Additionally, you can setup backups for specific times if you want.
Unusually for online backup solutions, both network drives and removable media can be included in the backup set.
However, open and locked files cannot be backed up on network and removable drives.
Files and folders can be added to the backup set using right-click on windows PCs and there are status notifications and progress indicators to inform you which files are being archived and which are still awaiting backup.
Support is provided for as many as thirty editions of every file archived which is great if you need to revert to an earlier version of a document.
If you have a lot of files to archive, iDrive offers a 'Rapid Serve' service for a one-off charge of $69.
95 + Tax.
If you sign up for this service, iDrive will send you an external USB hard drive to plug into your computer.
You then copy all your essential files onto the supplied drive and ship it back to them.
They will upload it to your account, reducing the initial backup time from weeks to just a few days.
Restore Features Files can be recovered from the local client by right-clicking on the file or directory you need to restore or from the internet site by navigating to the file you wish restored and picking the edition you wish to restore.
Control and Analysis There is no processor management however there are bandwidth controls.
Logging and reporting is available from both the net site and the client program.
Support for socks and https proxy servers is also provided.
Interface There is a admin portal in the basic, Pro and family versions and a far more expansive administration portal in the SME version.
Multi-account management is available in the Family and corporate versions.
All versions utilize the client software.
Device Support Windows and MAC client computers as well as server PCs are supported as well as any internet enabled machines via the online portal.
There are specific applications for iPhone, Blackberry and Android.
There is also a plugin for WordPress to enable you to archive your blog website! Limitations The Basic, Pro and Family versions cannot be used commercially.
The Basic and Pro versions allow backup of 1 device; the family edition lets up to five machines per account and the SME edition lets upto 100 accounts.
File Sharing and Collaboration iDrive is an archiving program, not a collaboration or file sharing service.
Synchronization Devices are synchronized with the web portal but not directly with each other.
Synchronization of more than on device is only an option in the Family and SME versions.
Web 2.
0 Integration None.
Customer Support Telephone support is offered during business hours only.
Live Chat and email support are available.
Self-help is available via user guides, white papers, data sheets, FAQs, testimonials, case studies and a demo.
There is no forum but there is a blog.
There is no free trial but there is a free version which supplies two GigaBytes of storage.
Ease of Use The client program takes minutes to download and setup.
In less than 5 minutes you could be starting your first backup.
Both the portal and client interfaces are simple and with the windows explorer extension installed you can right-click on any file and either back it up instantly or append it to the scheduled backup.
Restores are also straightforward, if there are lots of versions of a file, then you can pick any version you want via date stamp.
There is also a very nifty search ability for all backed up files.
Cost
The pricing is good and the family and corp.
versions have useful and appropriate additional features to allow the control of many accounts / machines.
The interface is simple and clear, the client software does not use many resources and the encryption of your files both in transit and when on their servers is equivalent to any bank.
Since its incorporation in 1995, Pro Softnet Corp.
has been harnessing the power of IT by supplying online-based solutions and specialized Online Software solutions for lots Fortune 100 corps..
Pro Softnet also own iBackup which is designed squarely at the business market.
Feature Set Security The web portal is password protected and encoded with 128bit SSL encryption during transfer to and from their data centers.
Once on the servers your information is secured with 256bit AES encryption and there is an function to set a private key.
Physically, the iDrive utility is hosted at data centers in the United States.
The world-class facilities are specifically designed with raised floors, HVAC temperature control systems with separate cooling zones and seismically braced racks.
They give the best range of physical security features, including state-of-the-art smoke detection and fire suppression systems, motion sensors, round-the-clock secured access, video camera surveillance and security breach alarms.
Backup Features iDrive backs up your files utilizing block level incrementation so just the parts of files that are amended get uploaded.
Continuous backup is also used to confirm your information is archived as soon as it changes.
Additionally, you can setup backups for specific times if you want.
Unusually for online backup solutions, both network drives and removable media can be included in the backup set.
However, open and locked files cannot be backed up on network and removable drives.
Files and folders can be added to the backup set using right-click on windows PCs and there are status notifications and progress indicators to inform you which files are being archived and which are still awaiting backup.
Support is provided for as many as thirty editions of every file archived which is great if you need to revert to an earlier version of a document.
If you have a lot of files to archive, iDrive offers a 'Rapid Serve' service for a one-off charge of $69.
95 + Tax.
If you sign up for this service, iDrive will send you an external USB hard drive to plug into your computer.
You then copy all your essential files onto the supplied drive and ship it back to them.
They will upload it to your account, reducing the initial backup time from weeks to just a few days.
Restore Features Files can be recovered from the local client by right-clicking on the file or directory you need to restore or from the internet site by navigating to the file you wish restored and picking the edition you wish to restore.
Control and Analysis There is no processor management however there are bandwidth controls.
Logging and reporting is available from both the net site and the client program.
Support for socks and https proxy servers is also provided.
Interface There is a admin portal in the basic, Pro and family versions and a far more expansive administration portal in the SME version.
Multi-account management is available in the Family and corporate versions.
All versions utilize the client software.
Device Support Windows and MAC client computers as well as server PCs are supported as well as any internet enabled machines via the online portal.
There are specific applications for iPhone, Blackberry and Android.
There is also a plugin for WordPress to enable you to archive your blog website! Limitations The Basic, Pro and Family versions cannot be used commercially.
The Basic and Pro versions allow backup of 1 device; the family edition lets up to five machines per account and the SME edition lets upto 100 accounts.
File Sharing and Collaboration iDrive is an archiving program, not a collaboration or file sharing service.
Synchronization Devices are synchronized with the web portal but not directly with each other.
Synchronization of more than on device is only an option in the Family and SME versions.
Web 2.
0 Integration None.
Customer Support Telephone support is offered during business hours only.
Live Chat and email support are available.
Self-help is available via user guides, white papers, data sheets, FAQs, testimonials, case studies and a demo.
There is no forum but there is a blog.
There is no free trial but there is a free version which supplies two GigaBytes of storage.
Ease of Use The client program takes minutes to download and setup.
In less than 5 minutes you could be starting your first backup.
Both the portal and client interfaces are simple and with the windows explorer extension installed you can right-click on any file and either back it up instantly or append it to the scheduled backup.
Restores are also straightforward, if there are lots of versions of a file, then you can pick any version you want via date stamp.
There is also a very nifty search ability for all backed up files.
Cost
- Initial setup cost: free Monthly Cost: Basic - free; Pro - $4.
95/mth; Family - $14.
95/mth; SME - from $9.
95/mth to $49.
95/mth - Yearly Cost: Basic - free; Pro - $49.
50/yr; Family - $149.
50/yr; SME - from $99.
50/yr to $499.
50/yr - Initial allowed storage amount: Basic - 2Gb; Pro - 150Gb; Family - 500Gb; SME - from 50Gb to 500Gb+
- Cost of additional storage: SME - $0.
50/gb/mth - Cost of additional devices / PCs / users: n/a
- E-billing facility: Yes
The pricing is good and the family and corp.
versions have useful and appropriate additional features to allow the control of many accounts / machines.
The interface is simple and clear, the client software does not use many resources and the encryption of your files both in transit and when on their servers is equivalent to any bank.
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