Time Magazine Lists Mozy.com in Top 50 Websites

I have written before about Mozy.com. It is an excellent off-site backup service for Windows XP and Macintosh OS X computers. Of course, frequent backups are critical to all genealogists, as well as to most other computer users. Everyone needs to make backups, and off-site backups are even better than something stored beside your computer.

Mozy.com is one of the best bargains around, storing up to two gigabytes of files free of charge. That's enough for a GEDCOM file of a few million individuals or for a few thousand scanned images, depending upon the compression method used. If you need more space, Mozy.com offers unlimited storage space for $4.95 a month. All backups are made across the Internet whenever your computer is online. You can read my earlier articles about Mozy at http://tinyurl.com/3bgre5.

I depend on Mozy.com to protect my files on both Windows and Macintosh systems. What I like best about Mozy is that it is automatic: I don't have to remember to make backups. Whenever my system is connected online, Mozy automatically backs up all new or newly-changed files every couple of hours without human intervention.

Apparently, I am not the only one who likes this backup service. Now Time magazine has selected Mozy.com as one of the top 50 most useful websites of 2007. You can read Time's (brief) description at http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1633488_1633608_1633639,00.html.

You can read my (longer) previous articles about Mozy.com for Windows at http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2006/12/unlimited_onlin.html and for Mozy for Macintosh at http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2007/03/macmozy.html.

Comments

[Happy Dae]

Thank you, Mr. Eastman!

I've tried X-drive and it just didn't meet my needs or my budget. This looks like what the doctor ordered. I'm going to "mozy" over there right now and sign up. I've scanned images, home videos, and many, many large files that I've been backing up to DVD for fear of loss. That I can access such files easily from a remote location, for instance, my mother's house, is excellent.

This is wonderful!

Happy Dae.
http://www.ShoeStringGenealogy.com/ssg1.htm

[George Painter]

Hi, I have been using MOZY for several months. It is not limited to just MS Windows XP as I have been using it on my Vista Ultimate computer. Thanks for such an imformative newsletter. George

[Terry Mulcahy]

Hi Dick,
I've been using Mozy sice I first read about it in your newsletter a few months ago. Only problem with it is that I have to disable my firewall for it to work. So everyrtime my computer shuts down, I have to remember to disable the firewall when I restart, otherwise, something just might not get backed up.
Terry Mulcahy

[Dick Eastman]

There should be a setting in your firewall to always allow the Mozy software to connect to Mozy's servers. That will make it automatic every time so that you do not need to get involved. I know there is such setting in the ZoneAlarm firewall software on my laptop. I am not familiar with other software firewalls. At home, I prefer to use a hardware firewall.

- Dick Eastman

[Dallan Quass]

Not only are they listed in the top 50, but if you click on the "Poll Results" tab in the upper right-hand corner of the page you see that they're ranked # 1!

[Al Stoffel]

The famous Time Magazine V-J Day Times Square photograph of the sailor kissing the nurse is very curious. The one hanging in my office was taken at a slightly different angle than the one which is published. And yet the sailor in the white uniform is in the exact same position in both photos, his right leg bent identically. These are clearly two separate photographs -- since they appear to have been taken simultaneously, there must have been a second photographer. Alfred Eisenstadt couldn't possibly have taken two separate photos at the exact same moment. Anyone else know about this?

[Dick Eastman]

According to Wikipedia, the famous Life Magazine photograph was taken by Alfred Eisenstaedt while Lt. Victor Jorgenson was standing nearby and snapped a similar picture at almost the same instant. More information is available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victory_over_Japan_Day#Famous_photograph

[Linda Lowrey]

I'm just checking to see that there is no charge for back up of files to Mozy for home use (mainly data).

Thanks from Canada

[Dick Eastman]

The charges are listed on the Mozy web site: up to two gigabytes of data: free. Unlimited data storage is available for $4.95 per month. There are no other charges for home use although there is a professional service for office use.

- Dick Eastman