A replacement for Crashplan

[Photostat]

I used to use Crashplan and I liked it. It cost five dollars a month and it ran seamlessly in the background. It updated every minute to send out any changes on my computer to the offsite back up. But then it ended for personal use.

I am looking for recommendations for something similar. Something in which my data will be secure. Thanks.

 

[jdogg836]

I'm assuming Backblaze would be the other super common personal backup.

 

[Photostat]

Are they reliable and secure?

 

[Michael Scrip]

Are they reliable and secure?

Backblaze encrypts your files before they are uploaded. Then a private encryption key is generated from your username and password.

But if you want even more security... check this out:

You have the option with Backblaze to add an additional layer of privacy via a user-selected passphrase. This passphrase will be used to encrypt your private key. This passphrase is your responsibility to remember and safeguard. This is important: if you forget or lose this passphrase there is no way that anyone, including Backblaze, can decrypt, and thus restore, your data. When you choose to add your own passphrase there is no “forgot passphrase” mechanism as Backblaze does not know your passphrase.

This is pretty standard stuff. I would expect all big-name backup services to offer this type of protection.

 

[Photostat]

Ok, that sounds good. I don't think I need that higher level of protection, I mainly want the backup for my small business documents like receipts and invoices. I just don't want to use a company that we later find are reading all our documents for marketing purposes.

 

[DavidDoyle]

Also consider ARQ (https://www.arqbackup.com) which is excellent. Encrypt all files, incremental backups and lots of configuration options. Open encryption standard so can decrypt without using ARQ if you needed to.

Can use huge range of storage including S3, Amazon, OneDrive, Google Cloud etc. I use it with Wasabi which is S3 compatible.

 

[posguy99]

Ok, that sounds good. I don't think I need that higher level of protection, I mainly want the backup for my small business documents like receipts and invoices. I just don't want to use a company that we later find are reading all our documents for marketing purposes.

Then you turn on the encryption so they can't. It's seamless, set it and forget it. Just record the key somewhere.

 

[Fuchal]

I've used Backblaze for years and years and I highly recommend it.

 

[Everything_Apple]

You could consider iDrive. Its relatively inexpensive (£79 for 2TB of backup space), supports MACOS and IOS (and other OSes) and has no limit on the number of devices you can backup. Oh and its fast and unobtrusive.

 

[Weaselboy]

Also consider ARQ (https://www.arqbackup.com) which is excellent. Encrypt all files, incremental backups and lots of configuration options. Open encryption standard so can decrypt without using ARQ if you needed to.

Can use huge range of storage including S3, Amazon, OneDrive, Google Cloud etc. I use it with Wasabi which is S3 compatible.

Another happy Arq user here. I use Arq to backup to Backblaze B2 servers. I have about 60GB up there and it costs me less than one dollar a month.

There is a long thread here with some Arq users discussing the app. Might be helpful for you.

 

[collin_]

I use iDrive. Works great

 

[Photostat]

I appreciate all the replies.

I am into the "set it and forget it" type of thing, so BackBlaze looks like it would be the easiest for me.

 

[Jeffois]

I use iDrive. Works great

In the past, I had iDrive, (after Crashplan dumped me) and found that it would use tons of CPU. Really hurt overall performance. How have you avoided this? Like their plans, like their set-it-and-forget-it process, similar to how Crashplan was in that way...

 

[hobowankenobi]

In the past, I had iDrive, (after Crashplan dumped me) and found that it would use tons of CPU. Really hurt overall performance. How have you avoided this? Like their plans, like their set-it-and-forget-it process, similar to how Crashplan was in that way...

The last time I used iDrive (probably two years ago) the client had great features I wanted (including locally backups and file syncing)...but it was also pretty bad: a resource hog and stability problems. Sounds like that may not be the case anymore? Still skeptical to recommend it.

Not sure I would trust them with my data, but that is just based on gut feeling about the company.

I Don't use BackBlaze but know folks who do, and no complaints.

I too miss the CrashPlan personal product. I wish they sold the app as a retail product.

 

[Naaaaak]

Then you turn on the encryption so they can't. It's seamless, set it and forget it. Just record the key somewhere.

Talk more about Arq encryption. Their latest docs are missing and the v5 docs don't say much about it (from what I could see).

Is it creating an encrypted disk image at the destination and syncing into that?
Is it encrypting each file individually?
128 bit or 256 bit? Something else?
etc.

 

[HDFan]

But then it ended for personal use.

I was on Crashplans' personal service and just switched to their business product when it ended. Maybe a slight cost increase, but not much. Same $ ballpark as backblaze. Not sure I understand the issue ...

 

[Photostat]

I was on Crashplans' personal service and just switched to their business product when it ended. Maybe a slight cost increase, but not much. Same $ ballpark as backblaze. Not sure I understand the issue ...

Nothing that they said when they were ditching us made it seem like they were offering a service that would work for personal use. It made it seem like they wanted to get rid of us and offered no options.

 

[DrBrush]

Another vote for iDrive. Good value, and plenty of features. I have had no problem with use of resources or stability over the last couple of years.

 

[Weaselboy]

Talk more about Arq encryption. Their latest docs are missing and the v5 docs don't say much about it (from what I could see).

Is it creating an encrypted disk image at the destination and syncing into that?
Is it encrypting each file individually?
128 bit or 256 bit? Something else?
etc.

https://www.arqbackup.com/arq_data_format.txt

This documentation should answer your questions.

It breaks all your data up into "blobs" that are encrypted on your Mac and sent to the server. If I log on to BackBlaze B2 and look in my backup folders on their server, it just shows all these "blob" folders and they are full of gibberish.

 

[HDFan]

It made it seem like they wanted to get rid of us and offered no options.

I was offered two options: Crashplan for business and Carbonite (August 2017):

CrashPlan® for Home Transition Information Here's what you need to know​ Hello, Thank you for being a CrashPlan® for Home customer. We're honored that you’ve trusted us to protect your data. It's because of this trust that we want you to know that we have shifted our business strategy to focus on the enterprise and small business segments. This means that over the next 14 months we will be exiting the consumer market and you must choose another option for data backup before your subscription expires. We are committed to providing you with an easy and efficient transition. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN TO YOU​ We will honor your existing CrashPlan for Home subscription, keeping your data safe, as always, until your current subscription expires. To allow you time to transition to a new backup solution, we've extended your subscription (at no cost to you) by 60 days. Your new subscription expiration date is 02/28/2018. YOUR CHOICES​ Your first step is to consider the options below, available exclusively for CrashPlan for Home customers. Once you make your selection, no further action is required until your new expiration date. We will send you reminders well before your CrashPlan for Home subscription ends. Option 1 Migrate to CrashPlan for Small Business in a Matter of Minutes If you're a small business, freelancer or just getting your side hustle on, quickly move your data* into CrashPlan for Small Business for the remainder of your current subscription for free. After that, enjoy 75% off the regular price for the next 12 consecutive months. Get unlimited backup at an affordable monthly price and access our intuitive administration console for managing multiple users. CLICK TO GET CRASHPLAN FOR SMALL BUSINESS​ Option 2 If You're Backing Up Home Computers, Easily Start Up With Carbonite We've selected Carbonite as our exclusive partner for home users. Like CrashPlan, Carbonite provides automatic and continuous backup for all of your important files. Carbonite is also recognized for its complimentary award-winning customer support. Carbonite is offering a 50% discount on their Home and Core plans, exclusively for CrashPlan for Home users. The Carbonite and CrashPlan for Home support teams are aligned to make your transition to Carbonite quick and easy. GET CARBONITE WITH EXCLUSIVE OFFER!​ If you take no action, we will honor the remainder of your subscription and then securely delete your backup. If you have any additional questions, please refer to our Consumer Information Page. And thank you, again, for being a CrashPlan for Home customer. Sincerely, Joe Payne, President and CEO of Code42 *If you’re currently using CrashPlan for Home to back up to another computer, your computer-to-computer backup will be deleted once you convert. You’ll need to take action to preserve these archives prior to converting to CrashPlan for Small Business. You can migrate your cloud backups up to 5 TB per device. Some restrictions may apply. Click here to learn more. This is a message from CrashPlan, a division of Code42. 100 Washington Avenue South, Suite 2000, Minneapolis, MN 55401 USA © 2017 Code42 Software, Inc. All rights reserved. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, ...

 

[collin_]

In the past, I had iDrive, (after Crashplan dumped me) and found that it would use tons of CPU. Really hurt overall performance. How have you avoided this? Like their plans, like their set-it-and-forget-it process, similar to how Crashplan was in that way...

I have mine set to scan and backup only once a week. Anything more frequent than that seems unnecessary, especially considering that I do most of my work in Google Drive. Even when it does scan and backup, mine barely uses any CPU.

 

[Photostat]

I have mine set to scan and backup only once a week. Anything more frequent than that seems unnecessary, especially considering that I do most of my work in Google Drive. Even when it does scan and backup, mine barely uses any CPU.

If you have yours set to back up on Sunday, then you make a new file on Monday, then you accidentally deleted or corrupt it on Thursday, what’s the point of having the back up in the first place?

I had crashplan set to back up every minute I believe. That seems excessive, but it was completely transparent. Even if you have it set to back up every hour, it’s still not going to cause an issue and might save you.

 

[Jeffois]

If you have yours set to back up on Sunday, then you make a new file on Monday, then you accidentally deleted or corrupt it on Thursday, what’s the point of having the back up in the first place?

I had crashplan set to back up every minute I believe. That seems excessive, but it was completely transparent. Even if you have it set to back up every hour, it’s still not going to cause an issue and might save you.

I just found it to be a horrendous resource hog. It would bring the whole horse down. In Activity Monitor, it was always the "daemon" file that seemed to be kicking my Mac's ass...

 

[deckard666]

I just wondered if anyone had anything to add to this as I am nearing my 2TB storage limit on Dropbox and hesitant to go to 3TB for almost double the price.....

 

[Saturnine]

Another vote for BackBlaze. I used it for a good while and never had any issues whatsoever.

I now use the Synology Drive client to back up (most of) my user folder to a NAS, which then encrypts the data and backs it up to Wasabi, so I have an on-site and off-site copy of my data. If I didn't have the NAS I'd still be using BackBlaze.