Backup Your Computer: SpiderOak Review
I’ll be honest, when I first heard about SpiderOak, I wasn’t sure what to think. I certainly do not like spiders, and I’m terrified of oaks, so I was a little worried about what I had gotten myself in to.
Luckily, SpiderOak has nothing to do with either spiders or oaks. SpiderOak is a simple to use backup system that allows you to backup your computer on-the-go and in the cloud.
What is SpiderOak?
If you’re familiar with backup and file sharing services like DropBox, then you probably have a good idea of what SpiderOak does.
At its core, SpiderOak allows you to backup, share, and synchronize your files across Windows, Mac and Linux platforms.
Whether you need to access a document you have stored on a remote server, synchronize data between a Mac, Windows or Linux device, share important business documents with your clients, or just rest easy knowing all of your data is safely, securely, and automatically backed up – SpiderOak’s free online backup, online sync and online sharing solution can handle all your needs!
What can I do with SpiderOak?
- Secure Backup – Sure every backup service provides encrypted backup, but SpiderOak takes things one step further with their zero-knowledge privacy policy. That means that your files are even encrypted from staff at SpiderOak.
- Backup in Place – I’m not sure of the technical term for this, but I like the fact that you can backup your files from where they are located on your hard drive. That means no cutting a pasting files into separate backup folders like you have to do with DropBox.
- Fast Sync – From the testing I’ve done, syncing seemed pretty quick. Once you have the file uploaded, the sync process runs quietly in the background and goes into action when it notices that the file has been changed.
- Sync From Multiple Drives – You can backup from network, removable and external hard drives. Yay.
- File Compression – What makes the sync so quick is the file compression that SpiderOak runs on your files. That means quicker upload time as well as more space to play with. On top of this, only changes to the file are uploaded. That means only the differences are backed up, not the whole file.
- No File Size Limit – SpiderOak lets you upload individual files of any size (DropBox limits you to 300MB through their website application). That’s the sound of video freelancers rejoicing from around the globe.
- Multiple OS Functionality – SpiderOak plays nice with Windows, Mac and Linux platforms. Work done on your home PC will sync with your Mac in the office and vice versa. It’s something I wish more software developers would include.
- Version History – Pretty much a must have feature for backup services. It means that SpiderOak will keep complete version history of every file – accessible by date-stamp – just in case you accidentally save over a file or would like to go back in time. In addition, you can restore files from your SpiderOak recycle bin in case you’ve had second thoughts about deleting them.
- Backup Scheduling – It may not seem like a major feature, but for those using ISP’s that have download and upload caps, backup scheduling is manna from heaven. That means I can schedule my backups to run after midnight when there are no caps on my satellite Internet service.
- Backup Without Sync – If you have certain files, like account backups, that you need to backup but they don’t need to be synced; you can set SpiderOak to only store them and not track them for changes.
- Share Rooms – SpiderOak allows you to create share rooms where you can share files with clients and friends. Each room is protected with a unique RoomKey that can be entered from the SpiderOak webpage. Notification via RSS can also be used to tell users when a file has been changed.
- 2GB Free – Similar to DropBox, SpiderOak gives you a free 2GB of backup space to play with. For more heavy users you can buy 100 GB increments for $10 a month each. That means 300 GB will cost you $30/month. There is also a referral system in place that will allow you to increase your free 2 GB allotment by recommending the service to others.
Conclusion
SpiderOak is what you would expect out of a backup system with some extra muscle under its shirt. While PDA support is in the works, there is already an iPhone app available.
The standout feature has to be the ability to sync multiple operating systems. It is something that I’m sure will come in handy for freelancers everywhere. Add the fact that you can sync folders between multiple computers and you have a road warrior’s dream come true.
While the added functionality may make the service a little less user friendly, I think additions of things like backup scheduling as well as keeping backup and syncing separate are well worth the added complexity.
You can give the service a spin by going to the SpiderOak website.
Leave a Comment
I’ve been using SpiderOak for at least a year now and it’s saved me on multiple occasions. I have it setup to do a backup every 5 minutes of any changed file. So, when I accidentally overwrote a file then posted it to a client’s website and brought down the whole site, I was able to go to my spider oak application, grab the latest version of the file it had backed up (it keeps multple versions so I could have grabbed a version from a few weeks back as well), with one click downloaded it to my computer, and fixed the problem. Phew!
I also love that I uploaded my files once, told SpiderOak what to backup regularly, and then I just keep it running in the background. I don’t have to do anything, it manages all the backups for me. And, it’s offsite, so I don’t have to worry about fire or theft ruining my files.
BTW, I’m running Snow Leopard on a Mac…works great.
This is a great news for me. Will check the application and compare this with DropBox.
Thanks.
SpiderOak does have a very nice backup & sync service; my only complaint is that they don’t have an unlimited option, but if you use an “unlimited” service like Mozy or Backblaze for your backups, and SpiderOak to sync between computers, it’s a robust combination!
I’ve been using SpiderOak for a couple of years now. It’s a godsend! When my data drive went down six months ago (as any mechanical device will eventually do), not a single file was lost. I was back to work with the click of a button!
SpiderOak is an excellent online backup service especially for those that run multiple computers with different operating systems. While it does cost a little more than some other services the cross platform and zero knowledge privacy policy make it very useful.
What is best to me is their zero knowledge security and overall security approach, they also post a lot of useful/fun stuff on their blog at spideroak.com/blog
I’m looking at solutions to back up my data and if some of the advanced features of Spideroak isn’t what you’re needing then Crashplan is much cheaper (less than $10 a month). Has anyone got any experience with Crashplan?
Great information.There are really indeed very many online backup solution available now days.And am glad i also use one and the one i use is called Safecopy backup.It works well for and i love there costs because now for only 50bucks a year one can use 200GB and with a free unlimited 3GB trial version.I will have to try out SpiderOak too.Thanks once again.
This looks like something I will have to investigate, thanks for the information!
After testing this program all morning I have decided to start using it as my main backup tool.
What I REALLY love about this program is that it lets you pick individual files and folders to backup instead of giving you one folder that you must put everything in. This is great for me as I keep every project I work on in a portable TrueCrypt (http://www.truecrypt.org) volume on a portable USB drive. With SpiderOak’s ability to sync folders and files on different machines and operating systems I can go from my laptop to my pc and never have to worry about backing up anything manually.
Thank you soooo much for pointing this out to all of us Mr. King. ~thumbs up~
Glad to help
From the comments that follow the article, it feels like this is one app a freelancer shouldn’t miss! Will try!
I started using SpiderOak a two days ago immediately after reading this article and have fallen in love with it. I am using the free version now and only backing up my business and finance related files. I have an external that has all my photos and music so need to back up those at the moment.
I am planning on getting a desktop to do most of my “work” at and keeping my MacBook Pro for bumming around the house and also to take with me when I work from the road. At which point I’ll upgrade to one of the paid plans. I’m super excited about using SpiderOak to easily have access to all my work files while I’m on the road with my laptop. This
It seems that SpiderOak truly does not like removable USB drives or drives that get unmounted often. Every time that I dismount and then remount a drive SpiderOak seems to forget what folders and files I had marked on that drive. I will be sending that info to them so hopefully it can be addressed in a later release.
All and all though this is still the best backup solution I have found by far.
Great to see all the happy commenters here, I just wanted to add that SpiderOak today launched our Android app (free of course) so head on over to our blog and read more and download the client!
https://spideroak.com/blog/20101004214544-finally-here-spideroak-android-10-application-released
Best,
Daniel @ SpiderOak Inc
Please stay clear of spideroak.
They messed up our file system making unusable. This is only after 1 day of use. Their tech support took 1 week to get back to us and they couldn’t fix the issue. This is well reported on their forums, but unless you are a customer, you cannot access them.
Still they refused to refund us for the year prepayment. After insisting they said that they need to charge us for our use of their system + data = a minimum of 2 months.
Only because their software does not work.
Why would you risk your valuable data with them? It is way too valuable to place with someone who don’t even value their clients.
I am a real customer, unlike other people reporting here.
First, in response to awka, I assure you that I have no relationship to Spideroak besides using their software.
Anyway, I’ll keep this brief. I’ve used them for about 1.5 years and have been very pleased with them. I actually got very helpful technical support from them even while on the free service. Their software is resource-friendly and the uploads are quick. I highly recommend them.
FWIT, I use Windows 7 64-bit.
Thx for the detailed review. One Q – Security on Spideroak vs. Mozy… how does it rate?
SpiderOak lets me easily backup, sync, share, remotely access and store all my data. I can add as many different computers and drives to a single account so all my data can live in a central location. The application has been working for me very nicely.