GFI Backup Home Edition

Description

Having reviewed literally dozens of backup programs, we are not easy to impress. However, we were impressed with GFI Backup. This completely free backup utility doesn't have disk imaging capability but it has just about everything else you could wish for in a backup program. The interface is also one of the best we've seen - an intuitive combination of tabbed dialog and set-by-step wizard.

GFI Backup's performance and abilities were pretty much on par with other second-tier backup programs. You can opt for plain file backup, backup to a zip file, or backup to an executable zip . Options include 256-bit AES encryption, the ability to run other programs before and after the backup, backup program settings for various applications, numerous backup storage options, and username/password entry for backing up to protected network locations.

Other features include notification emails (with account settings), syncing of folders, a comprehensive scheduler, backing up an open file, e.g., a word processing document you're working on as the backup takes place, command line execution and some very nicely written help files.