The Best Way To Backup Multiple Computers
The days of backing up your files on a USB drive, or for those of us from generation X, on a CD or disk (does anyone remember the 5 1/4″ floppy disk?) are over. While it has taken a sometimes rocky path with reliability and security issues, cloud storage has taken center stage and has become an essential part of the way we store and share files.
Last year my three year old Dell desktop finally died on me. Actually, it was the hard drive that crashed.
I had three years of personal and business files stored on that computer. I also had about two thousand photos on there, almost all of them of my three children. In most cases, I would have cried (internally at least), and shuttered at the thought of explaining this colossal mishap to to wife (I am the designated IT guru of the family).
But luckily, I had everything backed up. I installed a nifty service called Sugar Sync about a year earlier that automatically backed up all of my files to their server. It took me approximately thirty minutes to download all of the files from my former hard drive onto my new computer. I'm writing this article to say thanks to Sugar Sync for saving my butt and to let others know about this extremely useful service.
What is Sugar Sync?
Sugar Sync makes it really easy to backup, share and access your files, anytime, anywhere. It's an online cloud storage solution where you can store, and share your documents, images, video and audio files with virtually no work on your part. The backing up and syncing of your files is fully automated!
A quick list of features for Sugar Sync:
- Sync your files automatically between multiple computers and on other devices such as your smart phone
- Choose which folders you want to backup and sync. Sugar Sync will save your five most recent copies of a file in case you need to backtrack
- Mobile apps. Sugar Sync has a mobile app for every platform. You can carry around and instantly access every file on every one of your computers
- Easy collaboration. Have multiple people work on a single document and everyone's copy will automatically stay up to date. No more emailing dozens of file versions to each other
- File sharing. Share files and folders with friends and co-workers. Set permissions and even set passwords. You can also make files public and share with the world via a public link
- Your first 5 Gigabytes are totally free. Paid plans available if you require more storage
Getting Started with Sugar Sync
Signing up for Sugar Sync is quick and easy, once you are registered, you will be prompted to download the desktop application. This is the program used to automatically backup the files on your computer.
Sugar Sync Training For First Time Users
The first screen you see upon logging into your account is the welcome page. This page outlines six tasks for you to complete. It's set up as a hands on tutorial to get you familiar with the service and you are rewarded with an extra 125 megabytes of storage for each task completed. I recommend that you take a few minutes and go through each step. Not only will you get extra storage for free, you will become familiar with all of the features available in Sugar Sync.
The six tasks for you to complete are:
- Installing Sugar Sync on your computer
- Installing Sugar Sync on your mobile device
- Sharing a file via a public link
- Sharing a folder
- Uploading a file via email
- Sharing your referral link with friends and on your social networks. This is a way you can earn additional free storage
Select Folders To Backup On Your Computer
Backing up and syncing folders with Sugar Sync is easy. Just right click on the Sugar Sync icon on your computer and select “add folders to Sugar Sync”. The popup will appear where you can select which folders on your computer you would like to sync. Unlike Dropbox, Sugar Sync allows you to select folders that are located anywhere on your computer, allowing you to store folders anywhere you like.
Once you have completed this step with all of your computers, you can login to the Sugar Sync dashboard and see your files stored “in the cloud”.
Sugar Sync Web Dashboard
As you can see, the online dashboard is pretty clean and easy to read. From here you can:
- See how much storage space you have remaining
- See the folders that have been synced from each of your computers and mobile devices
- Upload, share and delete folders and files
- Access and modify your account settings
Sharing Files is Easy with Sugar Sync
When you select the option to share a folder, you will have several options. The options are similar if you only want to share a single file.
- Set permissions to allow the recipient to only read the file, or allow them to add and edit the file from their computer
- Set a password if you like
- Send via email to specific people
- Get the public link to the file and share with everyone. You would use the public link option if you were sharing this file on a website or a social network like Facebook or LinkedIn
Sugar Sync's Magic Briefcase
When you sync files from a computer, those files will be synced to Sugar Sync's servers (the cloud). If you would like to have files synced and saved directly onto all of your computers, you would use the Magic Briefcase folder
Files stored in the Magic Briefcase folder will automatically be synced not only to Sugar Sync, but to all of the computers you have added to Sugar Sync. When you install the Sugar Sync desktop client onto your coputer, Sugar Sync will automatically add the Magic Briefcase folder in your My Documents folder. Simply add files to this folder to have them available and synced across all of your computers.
Share The Love For For Additional Free Storage
Sugar Sync offers the best deal around for earning free storage. For every friend that you refer that joins Sugar Sync, you will both earn an additional 500 Megabytes of free storage. If your friend signs up for one of the paid plans (which start at $4.99 a month for a 30 Gigabyte plan), you will both earn a whopping 10 Gigabytes of storage.
The one thing I forgot to mention is security. While there is always a risk with storing files in the cloud, Sugar Sync offers security levels for transferring and storing files that most of their competitors either don't offer, or only offer with a paid subscription plan.
There are plenty of free and low cost cloud storage solutions out there, offering something for everyone. I find that Sugar Sync offers the most comprehensive set of features, all of which are included with the free plan. Many of their competitors only give you these features with a paid subscription plan.
As you can see, Sugar Sync offers a treasure trove of features beyond just backing up your files. If you aren't currently backing up the files on your computer, be warned, you never know when your hard drive will crash on you. With so many free and low cost options available to backup your files, there is no excuse not to.
What system do you use for backing up your important files?
Gary
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