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Overview and History iDrive is a utility of Pro Softnet Corporation, an ASP and Internet Solutions Provider based in Woodland Hills, CA. Since its inception in 1995, Pro Softnet Corp. has been harnessing the power of Information Technology by offering Internet-based solutions and niche Online Software solutions for many Fortune 100 companies. Pro Softnet also produce iBackup which is designed squarely at the business market. Security Options The web portal is password protected and encoded with 128bit SSL encryption during transfer to and from the data centers. Once on the servers your information is secured with 256bit AES encryption and the ability to set a private key. Physically, the iDrive service is hosted at data centers in the United States. The world-class facilities are custom designed with raised floors, HVAC temperature control systems with separate cooling zones and seismically braced racks. They offer the widest range of physical security features, including state-of-the-art smoke detection and fire suppression systems, motion detectors, round-the-clock secured access, video camera surveillance and security breach alarms. Backup Features iDrive backs up your files utilizing block level incrementation so only the bits of files that are amended get uploaded. Continuous backup is also used to guarantee your information is backed up as soon as it changes. Optionally, you can configure backups for specific times if you prefer. Unusually for online backup solutions, both network drives and removable media can be included in the archive set. Yet open and locked files cannot be backed up on network and removable drives. Files and folders can be amended to the archive set using right-click on windows PCs and there are status notifications and progress indicators to inform you which files are being backed up 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 offer a 'Rapid Serve' option for a one-off charge of just over $70. When you sign up for this service, iDrive will send you an external USB hard drive to plug into your computer. You can then duplicate all your important files onto the supplied drive and return it back to them. They will upload it to your account, reducing the first backup time from weeks to just a few days. Restore Features Files can be restored from the local client by right-clicking on the file or directory you wish to restore or from the web site by navigating to the file you want recovered and choosing the edition you want to restore. Control and Analysis There is no processor management yet there are bandwidth controls. Logging and reporting is available from both the internet portal and the client program. Support for socks and https proxy servers is also provided. Interface There is a administration portal in the basic, Pro and family editions and a far more expanded admin portal in the corporate version. Multi-account management is available in the Family and SME versions. All editions utilize the client software. Device Support Windows and MAC client PCs as well as server machines are supported as are any net enabled devices via the web portal. There are specific apps for iPhone, Blackberry and Android. There is even a plugin for wordpress to allow you to back up your blog site! Limitations The Basic, Pro and Family versions cannot be used for business. The Basic and Pro editions allow backup of one device; the family version allows upto 5 devices per account and the corp version allows upto 100 accounts. File Sharing and Collaboration iDrive is a backup service, not a collaboration or file sharing service. Synchronization Devices are synchronized with the internet portal but not directly with each other. Synchronization of more than on device is only an option in the Family and business versions. Web 2.0 Integration None. Customer Support Phone support is offered during working hours only. Live Chat and email support are available. Self-help is available by way of 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 install. In less than five minutes you should be starting your first backup. Both the web and client interfaces are straightforward and with the windows explorer extension installed you are able to right-click on any file and either back it up straight away or include it to the scheduled backup. Restores are similarly easy, if there are many versions of a file, then you can pick the version you want via date stamp. There is also a very handy search function for all archived 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 Conclusion If you are searching for a straightforward, no frills web-based backup tool then iDrive is a good choice. The pricing is good and the family and business versions provide useful and appropriate additional features to allow the management of numerous accounts / machines. The interface is simple and crisp, the client software does not use many resources and the encryption of your data both in transit and when on their servers is as good as any bank.
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