30 Best Data Backup, Restore and Synchronization Software Programs
Which is the best backup software program? Well, every computer user should know how important data backup is because we never know when our computer goes down due to hardware failure or virus attack. Without having your data backed up, you are like putting your school assignments, memorable photos, or work projects at risk. All these important data could vanish in the next hour if your computer hard disk is suddenly corrupted.
To avoid the risk of losing your computer data, you should make it a habit to back up all your important files, document, photos, emails and work in progress on a regular basis. Below are 30 popular data backup, restore and synchronization tools for your computer hard disk and external storage devices. Most of these software programs are free for use, and they can help you backup your files in a more efficient and simple way!
GFI BackUp
This freeware enables you to back up your important documents, photos, music, emails and program settings using a simple but smart wizard-driven interface to most popular storage devices (including local and external disk drives, LAN, CD/DVD, removable devices, remote FTP servers, etc.).
Allway Sync
Allway Sync uses innovative synchronization algorithms to synchronize your data between desktop PCs, laptops, USB drives, remote FTP/SFTP servers, different online data storages and more. Encrypted archives are supported.
Genie Timeline
Genie Timeline allows you to back up the stuff you want it to save and make it easy to retrieve it. The backup tool archives documents, pictures, music, videos and more. It’s a set-and-forget solution for safeguarding your system.
Clonezilla
Clonezilla allows you to do bare metal backup and recovery. Two types of Clonezilla are available, Clonezilla live and Clonezilla SE (server edition). Clonezilla live is suitable for single machine backup and restore. While Clonezilla SE is for massive deployment, it can clone many (40+) computers simultaneously.
Acronis True Image Home
Acronis gives you flexible, user-friendly ways to back up your data on a regular basis. It not only recovers all your data but it can put everything back exactly where it was. That means all the same files in the same folders.
Paragon Backup & Recovery
Paragon Backup & Recovery allows you to take complete control of your PC’s safety. Based on solid commercial backup and recovery software from Paragon, it has a rich set of features that you can trust.
FreeFileSync
FreeFileSync is a folder comparison and synchronization tool providing highly optimized performance and usability without needless user interface complexity.
Comodo Backup
Comodo Backup reliably copies your files to a safe place and keeps track of all changes to those files. It’s an easy to use desktop application that helps home and business users protect their valuable data against damage or loss.
Rsync
Rsync is a file transfer program for Unix systems. It uses the “rsync algorithm” which provides a very fast method for bringing remote files into sync. It does this by sending just the differences in the files across the link, without requiring that both sets of files are present at one of the ends of the link beforehand.
EaseUS Todo Backup
EaseUS Todo Backup performs complete backup and recovery with multi-ways, such as one-click backup system, incremental disk and file backup, network shared file backup, dynamic volume backup, and automated schedule backup, etc.
SyncBack
SyncBack is a freeware program that helps you easily backup and synchronize your files to: the same drive; a different drive or medium (CDRW, CompactFlash, etc); an FTP server; a Network; or a Zip archive.
Toucan
Toucan is a small utility allowing you to synchronise, backup and secure your data with more options than the built in suite utilities. It is split up into 7 tabs, allowing you to easily find the function that you want.
Cobian Backup
Cobian Backup is a multi-threaded program that can be used to schedule and backup your files and directories from their original location to other directories/drives in the same computer or other computer in your network. FTP backup is also supported in both directions (download and upload).
Windows Home Server
Windows Home Server is designed to help families keep their files and data automatically backed up, organized, and accessible. Affordable and easy to use, it’s available as a preinstalled solution. Use it to recover lost files, restore your PC, help keep your devices running smoothly and safely, and stream media files across your home network.
Bacula
Bacula is a set of open source, computer programs that permit you to manage backup, recovery, and verification of computer data across a network of computers of different kinds. It is easy to use and efficient, while offering many advanced storage management features that make it easy to find and recover lost or damaged files.
FBackup
FBackup is a free backup software for both personal and commercial use. It protects your important data by backing it up automatically to any USB/Firewire device, local or network location. The backed up data can be either compressed (using standard zip compression) or an exact copy of the original files.
DeltaCopy
DeltaCopy is an open source, fast incremental backup program. Let’s say you have to backup one file that is 500 MB every night. A normal file copy would copy the entire file even if a few bytes have changed. DeltaCopy, on the other hand, would only copy the part of file that has actually been modified. This reduces the data transfer to just a small fraction of 500 MB saving time and network bandwidth.
PureSync
PureSync is a Windows program to synchronize files and folders, and to do backups e.g. automatically in the background.
AceBackup
AceBackup is a powerful freeware tool to create completely secure backups of your data. Store your data on any local storage device, on CD, DVD or on your remote FTP server.
LuckyBackup
LuckyBackup is a reliable free backup application. The tool can efficiently backup huge directories to another destination.
Areca Backup
Areca Backup basically allows you to select a set of files / directories to back-up, choose where and how they will be stored, and configure post-backup actions (like sending backup reports by email or launching custom shell scripts).
JaBack
JaBack automatically backups your important files and folders. The backup set is created in standard ZIP format. This allows flexibility in restoring the data using any zip software to unzip the backup set.
SyncToy
A free application that synchronizes files and folders between locations. Typical uses include sharing files, such as photos, with other computers and creating backup copies of files and folders.
Synkron
Synkron is an application that helps you keep your files and folders always updated. You can easily sync your documents, music or pictures to have their latest versions everywhere.
Amanda Network Backup
Amanda is a backup solution that allows the IT administrator to set up a single master backup server to back up multiple hosts over network to tape drives/changers or disks or optical media. It uses native utilities and formats and can back up a large number of servers and workstations running multiple versions of Linux or Unix.
Redo Backup and Recovery
Redo Backup and Recovery is an easy and complete disaster recovery solution available. It allows bare-metal restore. Bare metal restore means that even if your hard drive melts or gets completely erased by a virus, you can have a completely-functional system back up and running in as little as 10 minutes.
DirSync Pro
DirSync Pro (Directory Synchronize Pro) is a small, but powerful utility for file and folder synchronization. It can be used to synchronize the content of one or many folders recursively.
Create Synchronicity
Create Synchronicity is a powerful and lightweight open source backup and synchronization program, available in many languages. It makes backing up your files extremely easy, while remaining fully customizable.
Personal Backup
Personal Backup is a program for saving personal data to any destination folder. This folder may be located on a local fixed or removable drive, on a Windows network server or on an FTP server.
Autobackup
Autobackup is not a replacement for normal tape/CD backup systems. This program is an addition to it – at the end (or start) of each day/week it looks in the list of directories you specify and makes a backup copy of any files modified in that week to a separate directory.
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