He focuses on support and Microsoft topics but is an expert in all areas of tech. Free backup software is exactly what you think it is: completely free programs that can be used to manually or automatically back up the important data on your computer hard drive to somewhere safe like a flash drive , disc, network drive , etc. Commercial backup programs used to be the best way to go because they were the only way to get features like advanced scheduling, disk and partition cloning, incremental backup, and more.

Not so anymore! Some of the best free software tools do everything expensive programs do We also keep an updated list of online backup services , which are companies that, for a fee, allow you to back up to their secure servers online. We’re big fans of backing up this way, so be sure to check that out, too. In addition to particular, custom content, the program can also back up an entire disk, partition, or system drive. While scheduling a backup, or once one has completed, you can run an incremental, differential, or full backup on the same data.

More specifically, you can double-click the backup file to open it in EaseUS Todo Backup, where it looks like Windows Explorer and is just as easy to use, but you have to have the program installed in order to open the backup.

A timeline of backups is shown so it’s really easy to choose a particular time from which to restore files. EaseUS Todo Backup also allows changing the file compression of a backup, limiting the backup speed and priority, wiping a disk , backing up an Android device, preserving security settings during a backup, splitting an archive into a smaller section, password protecting a backup, and scheduling a backup on a one-time, daily, weekly, or monthly basis.

The program is compatible with Windows 10 down through Windows XP. All backed up data, no matter the type, is held in one single file, which can be saved to a local or external drive as well as a shared network folder. AOMEI Backupper supports encrypting a backup with a password, setting a custom compression level, receiving email notifications once backups have completed, splitting a backup into pieces of a custom size like for CDs and DVDs , and choosing between an exact backup copies used and unused space or an intelligent sector backup just backs up used space.

Scheduling is supported with AOMEI Backupper so you can choose to run a backup on one occasion only or every day, week, or month, as well as at a continual interval throughout the day. Advanced settings are available to choose a full, incremental, or differential backup. You can even copy out individual files and folders.

Instead of exploring a backup, you can also restore all the data with just a few clicks. Restoration isn’t an option in the program; you have to manually restore files from the destination folder. Cobian Backup can backup files, drives, and folders to and from all the following locations: local disk, FTP server, network share, external drive, or a manual location.

Any or all of these destinations can be used alongside the others for both the source and backup location. A full, differential, or incremental backup can be used with Cobian Backup. It also supports automatically removing empty folders from a backup and utilizing Volume Shadow Copy. If compressing a backup, you also have the option to configure splitting it into smaller sections, which is useful if using the files on something like a CD.

Scheduling a backup can be very precise. Cobian Backup can run a backup job once, on startup, daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, or on a timer that runs every so many minutes.

Unfortunately, There are no restore options with Cobian Backup short of just browsing the backup folder and pulling out the files. A wizard walks you through the backup process to help you specify what files should be backed up and where they should go. You can encrypt a backup, schedule backups daily or weekly, and optionally run missed ones at startup. Restoring a backup gives you the option to restore to the original location or a new one. Several other programs try to install during setup, and you must manually deselect them if you don’t want them on your computer.

Simple selection lets you choose common files and locations to back up, such as internet browser bookmarks, music, and videos. Data can be included or excluded from a backup by folder or file name as well as by using advanced filtering options with the use of wildcards. Backups made with BackUp Maker can be restricted to run on certain days of the week or month, can launch when you log on or off, can be scheduled to run every so-many minutes, and can even be automatically launched only if a certain USB device is plugged in.

Conditional settings can be set like only running a backup if a particular file or folder is found anywhere on a local, external, or network location. You’re also given the choice to run a backup only if files have changed since a certain date, within the last so-many days, or since the last full backup.

When restoring a backup, you can choose any location on your computer and optionally select to only back up new files. One thing we don’t like about BackUp Maker is that password protection isn’t an included feature. DriveImage XML can back up the system drive or any other attached drive, to just two files that can then be stored on a network folder, local disk, or external drive. A DAT file is made that contains the actual data that’s on the drive while a small XML file is built to keep descriptive information regarding the backup.

If splitting a backup into pieces, you are unable to specify the size of the slices, which is unfortunate. You can restore a backup image onto a hard drive that’s the same size or larger as the original or browse through the backup using DriveImage XML. You’re able to extract out individual files, search through the backup, and even directly launch some files without restoring everything.

Scheduling a backup is supported but it’s done only with command line parameters, which is useful if using Task Scheduler to automate a backup. DriveImage XML can also back up, or clone, one drive to another without creating an image file. This method, as well as a regular backup and restore as described above, can also be launched before Windows boots, using the Live CD. The program will start a backup during the wizard when you seemingly least expect it, so ensure you’re ready to start the backup when clicking Next on the screen entitled Backup.

It can back up registry files, files and folders, email accounts, particular registry entries, IM conversations, browser data, partitions, or entire disks like the system drive. The scheduling options are very specific, enabling a backup to run manually, at login, once, daily, weekly, monthly, when idle, or every so-many minutes. Missed jobs can even be configured to run in silent mode to suppress all notifications and program windows.

Restoring files with COMODO Backup is really easy because you can mount the image file as a disk and browse through the backed up files as you would in Explorer, copying out anything you wish. Alternatively, you can just restore the whole backup image to the original location. It should run without any problems in Windows 10 down to Windows XP. During setup, COMODO Backup tries to install another program that you must deselect if you wish for it not to be added to your computer.

Redo Rescue doesn’t support backing up individual files and folders. Instead, this program backs up an entire hard drive at once by running from a bootable device like a disc or flash drive. A collection of files backed up with this program can’t be read as regular files.

To restore the data, you must use the program again and then select the drive you wish to restore the files to. The destination drive will be completely overwritten with the backed up data. Redo Rescue is best used in a situation where you wish to be able to restore an entire hard drive. While this type of backup does include all the files and programs on the drive, it’s not meant for individual file and folder restoration.

Back up folders to an FTP server or local, external, or network drive with Yadis! Any number of file versioning is supported and you have the option to keep the original folder structure intact for better organization. The only scheduling option is to run backup jobs automatically or manually. There are no custom options like on a per hour or day basis. If any or all of these events take place, a backup job will run.

Even the settings you’ve modified in Yadis! Backup can be configured to back up to a specified folder when changes are made so that you don’t lose your custom options. You can only choose one folder to back up at a time. Any additional folders need to be created as their own backup job. Something we don’t like is that there are no options for easily restoring backed up files made with Yadis!

To access files that have been backed up is to simply browse through the backup folder, whether it be on an FTP server or a different drive. Backup works with Windows 10 through Windows XP. Everyday Auto Backup is really easy to use. It can backup folders to and from a local disk or network location in just a few clicks. Scheduling can be set for more than one job at a time and supports hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, or manual backups.

There are no password options or encryption settings. While that’s unfortunate, it also means you can use the backed up data as real files; you can open, edit, and view them normally. The MiniTool ShadowMaker free backup program is packed full of some really great features. It works with Windows 10, 8, and 7 and backs up not only files and folders but entire hard drives. You can back up disks, partitions, and files and folders to any local, external, or networked drive.

Backups can run on a set schedule daily, weekly, or monthly, but only incremental backup is supported not full or differential. It’s also your choice if you want to back up every sector or only the used ones.

With this program, you can set a custom file size for the backup so that it fits on CDs, etc. Custom compression, email alerts, hibernation file exclusion, password protection, and backup verification are supported, too. You’d think the features would end by now, but MiniTool ShadowMaker also has a tool you can utilize to restore a backup even if your computer won’t start.

Some features are excluded in the free version and only available if you pay for Pro, Pro Ultimate, Business, or Business Deluxe. However, what you get with the free edition is still much better than what some free backup tools supply. Iperius Backup backs up files from a local folder to a network or local drive.

The program interface for Iperius Backup looks really nice, is clean, and isn’t at all hard to use. The menus are displayed side by side in separate tabs, so it’s simple to move through the settings. Files can be added to a backup job one at a time or in bulk through a folder, and a backup job can be saved locally or on a network, using one of three backup types. You can also choose the number of backups to store.

Aside from ZIP compression, email notifications, and password protection, Iperius Backup has some other custom options as well. You can include hidden files and system files in the backup, shut down the computer after completing the backup, favor compression speed over high compression, and run backups on a schedule.

When building a backup job, you can also exclude files, particular folders, all subfolders, and particular extensions from the backup. You can even include or exclude files that are less than, equal to, or greater than a specific file size to ensure you’re backup up exactly what you want.

Iperius Backup is said to run on Windows 10, Windows 8, and Windows Server , but it will likely run on earlier versions of Windows, too.

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Back up files on a daily basis, without having to install complicated and costly agents on source servers or worry about affecting client performance and agent compatibility.

File server backup supports flexible schedule options from hourly to daily on the days you wish to back up to fit with specific protection policies. It is your responsibility to protect your data being created on Google Workspace services, as they are not backed up or saved for long-term need. Offers multiple recovery points by creating a new version for each backup run, allowing you to easily recover files from any previous point in time. Suitable for users that need only the most updated version of their files, as it overwrites the backup on the target based on the changes made on the source.

It can be used for archival purposes, as the backup will be overwritten by the newly added and modified files, while keeping the deleted files on the target. Leveraging the maturity of DSM technologies and supporting encryption as well as Btrfs, Active Backup for Business can greatly enhance data security and storage efficiency.

The encryption feature ensures that the data stored in shared folders are strictly confidential as no users can access the content without your private key. For data stored in Btrfs volumes, compression can minimize storage consumption, while data scrubbing can correct major memory and storage errors.

In addition to file backup, Windows ACL can also be backed up, letting you easily restore files and access control at the same time. The rsync protocol is used to transfer files from servers to your Synology NAS. Taking advantage of rsync, you can enable block-level transfer, encryption, compression, and bandwidth control, enjoying safe and efficient transfers.

This guide will walk you through the process of deploying and managing backup tasks, and restoring data with Active Backup for Business. Let us help you find the best Synology NAS for your environment. License-free for unlimited backups.

In the event of disaster or service downtime, you can instantly restore a virtual machine to a production site or Synology Virtual Machine Manager VMM. Easily connect to your vSphere host without installing an agent and start creating backup tasks with ease. Greatly reduce the space needed across devices and platforms by saving duplicate files only once. Learn more from success stories.

Migrate physical servers or virtual machines to Synology VMM when unexpected interruptions occur or in upgrade testing environments. When original hypervisors are back online, you can restore the virtual machines back to the original hypervisors. Administrators and authorized users can browse through backups and perform file-level granular recovery. Fast and reliable recovery also ensures business continuity. Active Backup for Business.

Specifications Applied models. DiskStation Manager. Active Backup for Business Centralize backup tasks for physical and virtual environments to keep your data and services always available. Back up your business, not just your data Protect all your digital assets through unlimited backups for Windows and Linux devices, VMware and Hyper-V virtual machines, and file servers. Data protection made easy Keep your services always up and running through simple-to-manage and efficient data protection.

Minimize service downtime. Maximize backup efficiency. Simplify deployment. Have no fear and gain peace of mind Avoid hurting your business’ revenue and reputation by ensuring the availability of data, applications, and services at any time. Hassle-free efficiency Reduce backup time and improve storage usage efficiency by relying on incremental backups and data deduplication. Work faster with light-touch deployment Have all your data and services protected behind the scenes by setting things up only once through an intuitive process.

Achieve full protection with the backup rule Replicate your backups offsite to another Synology NAS and restore your data quickly when the production site is down.

Secure your backups Encrypt your backup destinations with AES encryption to protect them against data breaches or physical theft. Simplify backup management Stay on top of your data protection plan.

One console Set up and monitor all backup tasks from a centralized dashboard. If you are using Dropbox and Synology NAS at the same time, you may want to run Dropbox backup to Synology in the following situations:. Strengthen data security.

Manage data centrally. NAS provides a place for users to manage files from different platforms. Change cloud service. If you want to use other cloud services instead of Dropbox, you may transfer files from Dropbox to Synology as a transition.

When it comes to backing up Dropbox files to Synology NAS, you may first think of an official program. You are allowed to perform Synology bidirectional sync or one-way sync based on your needs. Follow the steps below to download files from Dropbox to Synology only:. Choose Dropbox and click Next. You can also click on the folder icon to specify the folders you want to sync. If needed, click Advanced settings to prevent certain files from being synced.

Then, click Apply to start syncing after confirmation. Although it is not difficult to operate Synology Cloud Sync, users feel frustrated when they find Synology Cloud Sync not syncing all files. At this time, a reliable Cloud Sync alternative can cheer you up.

Missed jobs can even be configured to run in silent mode to suppress all notifications and program windows. Restoring files with COMODO Backup is really easy because you can mount the image file as a disk and browse through the backed up files as you would in Explorer, copying out anything you wish.

Alternatively, you can just restore the whole backup image to the original location. It should run without any problems in Windows 10 down to Windows XP. During setup, COMODO Backup tries to install another program that you must deselect if you wish for it not to be added to your computer. Redo Rescue doesn’t support backing up individual files and folders. Instead, this program backs up an entire hard drive at once by running from a bootable device like a disc or flash drive. A collection of files backed up with this program can’t be read as regular files.

To restore the data, you must use the program again and then select the drive you wish to restore the files to. The destination drive will be completely overwritten with the backed up data. Redo Rescue is best used in a situation where you wish to be able to restore an entire hard drive. While this type of backup does include all the files and programs on the drive, it’s not meant for individual file and folder restoration.

Back up folders to an FTP server or local, external, or network drive with Yadis! Any number of file versioning is supported and you have the option to keep the original folder structure intact for better organization. The only scheduling option is to run backup jobs automatically or manually. There are no custom options like on a per hour or day basis. If any or all of these events take place, a backup job will run.

Even the settings you’ve modified in Yadis! Backup can be configured to back up to a specified folder when changes are made so that you don’t lose your custom options.

You can only choose one folder to back up at a time. Any additional folders need to be created as their own backup job. Something we don’t like is that there are no options for easily restoring backed up files made with Yadis! To access files that have been backed up is to simply browse through the backup folder, whether it be on an FTP server or a different drive.

Backup works with Windows 10 through Windows XP. Everyday Auto Backup is really easy to use. It can backup folders to and from a local disk or network location in just a few clicks. Scheduling can be set for more than one job at a time and supports hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, or manual backups. There are no password options or encryption settings. While that’s unfortunate, it also means you can use the backed up data as real files; you can open, edit, and view them normally.

The MiniTool ShadowMaker free backup program is packed full of some really great features. It works with Windows 10, 8, and 7 and backs up not only files and folders but entire hard drives. You can back up disks, partitions, and files and folders to any local, external, or networked drive. Backups can run on a set schedule daily, weekly, or monthly, but only incremental backup is supported not full or differential. It’s also your choice if you want to back up every sector or only the used ones.

With this program, you can set a custom file size for the backup so that it fits on CDs, etc. Custom compression, email alerts, hibernation file exclusion, password protection, and backup verification are supported, too. You’d think the features would end by now, but MiniTool ShadowMaker also has a tool you can utilize to restore a backup even if your computer won’t start.

Some features are excluded in the free version and only available if you pay for Pro, Pro Ultimate, Business, or Business Deluxe. However, what you get with the free edition is still much better than what some free backup tools supply.

Iperius Backup backs up files from a local folder to a network or local drive. The program interface for Iperius Backup looks really nice, is clean, and isn’t at all hard to use.

The menus are displayed side by side in separate tabs, so it’s simple to move through the settings. Files can be added to a backup job one at a time or in bulk through a folder, and a backup job can be saved locally or on a network, using one of three backup types.

You can also choose the number of backups to store. Aside from ZIP compression, email notifications, and password protection, Iperius Backup has some other custom options as well. You can include hidden files and system files in the backup, shut down the computer after completing the backup, favor compression speed over high compression, and run backups on a schedule.

When building a backup job, you can also exclude files, particular folders, all subfolders, and particular extensions from the backup.

You can even include or exclude files that are less than, equal to, or greater than a specific file size to ensure you’re backup up exactly what you want. Iperius Backup is said to run on Windows 10, Windows 8, and Windows Server , but it will likely run on earlier versions of Windows, too. Several of the options you may find in this free version of Iperius Backup actually only work in the paid, full version , such as backing up to Google Drive.

You’ll be told which features aren’t usable when you try to use them. MutalBackup is an interesting free backup solution because instead of storing the backup on a flash drive or other device attached to your computer, this one copies the files over a network.

The program lets you store copies of your files on a friend’s computer, no matter where it’s at. It’s a bit like an online backup service but instead of paying for storage space on a server somewhere, you and a friend can exchange free space on your own hard drives to store the other person’s backups.

This also works on your own network, so if you want to keep your videos backed up to the computer downstairs, you can do that, too. All files are encrypted and compressed before transport, so someone on the other computer can’t see what you’re backing up.

Restoring is as easy as choosing which files you want to download back to your computer, and you can, at any time, delete the remote backup from your own computer. If you’re connecting with a friend outside of your network, they’ll have to set up port forwarding and you’ll need to know their public IP address. The great thing about this tool is that you can back up the primary hard drive you’re using as you use it. This means you don’t need to boot to a disc or avoid backing up your primary hard drive.

Also, only the used space is backed up, meaning a 40 GB drive with 2 GB of used space will only produce a 2 GB backup file. If backing up the drive you’re currently using, ensure “Use Volume Shadow Copy” is enabled so Disk2vhd can copy files that are currently being used. It’s ideal to save the backup image to a drive other than the one you’re backing up to avoid performance degradation.

There’s also support for creating a backup file using the command line. Disk2vhd works with Windows XP operating systems and newer, as well as Windows Server and higher.

If any larger, other virtualization software might be more suitable. It’s really easy to add more than one file or folder to GFI Backup to be included in a backup job. The folder structure looks just like it does in Explorer, letting you place a check next to anything you want to be included.

A backup can be encrypted with a password, compressed, split into small chunks, and even built into a self-extracting archive. You can choose to restore certain files or select entire folders at once to be copied back to the original backup location or saved elsewhere.

GFI Backup also includes a sync feature, detailed scheduled tasks, and incremental and differential backups. GFI Backup should be able to run on all versions of Windows. Free Easis Drive Cloning is extremely easy to use. You’ll walk through a wizard with any option you choose. The first will ask you to choose the drive you wish to back up and where to save the IMG file.

The Restore Image option is just the opposite of the first, and the last selection lets you clone a drive to another without having to first create an image.

The bad thing about Free Easis Drive Cloning is that it backs up everything , even the unused, free space of the drive. This software is said to work with Windows 7 through Windows We tested it in Windows 10 and Windows 8 without running into any problems. Be sure to choose the link on the right of the download page to avoid getting a trial of the full version. Ashampoo Backup is another free backup tool that lets you back up entire hard drives at once.

It’s super easy to install because there aren’t any confusing questions or tricky buttons, and simple to use since there aren’t annoying ads or unnecessary options. You can enable incremental auto-backups and easily restore anything you’ve backed up. Your data can be saved to another local drive, an external drive, a network folder, or any other folder accessible through Windows, such as the folder associated with your Dropbox or Google Drive account.

Backups can be set to run manually or scheduled to run daily, weekly, or monthly, as many times as you want. The program can keep as many old versions of your files as you want so that you can always revert to previous versions. If a restore won’t work from within the operating system, you can use Ashampoo Backup to make a bootable restore utility to get all your data back on a new drive. It works on USB drives and discs. Before you can use this program, you must enter your email address and then confirm your account.

Afterward, it’s totally and completely free to use forever. Ocster Backup permits backing up files and folders to any local or external hard drive. When adding content to back up, you must browse for each file and folder you want to be added. While you are able to select multiple files at once, you can’t quickly add numerous folders like some of the other backup programs from this list are able to do.

You can encrypt a backup with Ocster Backup, set up a daily or weekly schedule, and exclude content by name, extension, or folder. Also, another plus is that the original directory structure is still present when you restore the files, which makes it rather simple to navigate through them.

Ocster Backup is limited in that it doesn’t support backing up to a network drive, and restoring files is an all or nothing deal where you must restore everything at once. The official list of supported operating systems include Windows 7, Vista, and XP, but it also works for me in Windows Ashampoo’s backup programs have replaced Ocster Backup, but you can still get the last released version through the link above.

You can optionally save to more than one location if you want multiple places to store your files. Backups can be compressed using one of three modes: password-protected, encrypted, and set up to use a schedule. The log files made with AceBackup can optionally be emailed on the event of an error or chosen to be sent even on successful backups. Something we don’t like is that some of the options in AceBackup aren’t described, which can leave you wondering what certain settings will do when they are enabled.

AceBackup should work with all versions of Windows.