Carbonite

249,576 Files Are Safe from Natural Diaster

Comments: Since it runs in the background and I don't need to do anything with it - my experience is awesome! I love seeing the reports pop on the screen saying my system just backed up XXXXXXX number of files. And at any time, I can open the software and see the files and view my backup on the Cloud. I am using Carbonite Safe CE 22.2 -- I have clients that say they have a backup to Google or other service, and quite frankly they don't understand the complexity they will go through to try to retrieve their data. I highly recommend Carbonite not only for business but also personal home computers.

Pros:

Peace of mind. At any point in time, I know if my hard drive system were to be compromised, by disaster or stolen or other calamity--I could be back in business with all documents and files uploaded into a new computer hard drive system. I have stored in my system at this moment in time 249,577 files - work from over 10 years is compiled here for my marketing clients. My invoices and accounting are backed up. My IRS files are backed up.

Cons:

As I was recommended to Carbonite by my IT guy, he is the one installed the software and also uploaded all of the docs and files when I purchase new hardware. So if I were to lose my data I would need to figure out how to do it and/or pay him to help me. I trust experts when it comes to my data and security, so this is not a huge issue for me.

Information and file redundancy is key

Comments: My experience with Carbonite has been entirely positive. The few times that I have had to restore a file or several files were just a minor inconvenience compare to recreating the information from scratch. I would definitely recommend using this backup platform.

Pros:

After a small learning curve the platform's UI is easy to configure and is intuitive. I can retrieve a backup copy of a lost file through the software's pop up in a matter of minutes and continue on with the project.

Cons:

Unfortunately, any older files which are in my back up must be restored by a Carbonite representative. This involves a phone call and some time with the representative. Not a bad experience, just a minor inconvenience compared to the do-it-yourself newer backed up files.

After being a customer for 15 years, service fails constantly - ultimately a waste of time and money

Comments: After being a customer for fifteen years, I am thoroughly disappointed with Carbonite's product and their complete unwillingness to refund anything for the time my PC spent not being backed up last year.

Pros:

It backs up my files some of the time. It's relatively easy to get your files back, the files it actually backs up.

Cons:

* It rarely backs up my files. The backup is usually more than 60 days old.* Service fails constantly* A tool that is supposed to save me time and money is now costing me hours and hours of troubleshooting and support calls

Great tool for backing up your computer files

Comments: You can choose which files/folders I want to include. A few times, I have needed to do either a file restore or a complete system restore and you are happy you have Carbonite since restoring is also easy.

Pros:

It works automatically in the background.. I have mine set up auto-backup daily at 4pm. Nice that it does its thing in the background and you don't have to manage it.

Cons:

Nothing really bad to say.. the interface is basic and pretty easy to understand. There is nothing I would chance.

Industry standard tool, with good encryption options

Pros:

Able to encrypt with higher-level encryption keys than alternatives like Backblaze, which was a requirement for the business. Continuous background tool is one of the smoothest-operating I've worked with - files backup on a regular basis without user interaction, and tracks version history for easy rollback for 30 days.

Cons:

The online portal is very slow, and doesn't add much value to the tool.

Carbonite backup solution

Comments: Overall this software runs well. Again after a few adjustments with the policy, the backup solution runs at full throttle uploading data based on your specifications. The restore options are also wonderful and take less time than other backup solutions.

Pros:

Carbonite endpoint backup solution has ease of deployment and policy settings. Once you set it up correctly based on your companies values, carbonite does the rest.

Cons:

Coming off of the trial and into production it seemed that policy settings where missed. It would have been beneficial for carbonite to explain more in depth about restrictions within their policy settings. After a few phone calls back and forth everything seems to be running well. Communication to the customer is key

Always on backup with Carbonite

Pros:

- Recover files instantly - Can easily restore files even when infected with viruses - Mobile-enabled

Cons:

More expensive as compare to its counterparts

Reliable Software that provides piece of mind

Comments: I really liked it until they implemented the HUGE price increase. Perhaps it was a problem with just that one employee but they definitely need to get better at communicating changes to their customers. I'll be switching to a more cost effective product once our subscription is up.

Pros:

Ease of install - It is extremely easy to deploy Carbonite. I have installed it on our Windows 10 workstations as well as our server VMs running Windows Server 2012. Each time the process is quick and simple. I also like the custom updates it provides on backup status. It also lets you customize backup policies for each individual device to optimize utilization.

Cons:

They wanted to increase our yearly cost by more than 50% with minimal account upgrades. Our account was set to renew automatically at this increased price with no warning. An account rep reached out to me a 6-8 weeks ahead of our renewal date but wouldn't respond until we were about 2 weeks out. At that time he informed me our price was going up. The strange thing was that under billing it still showed the price we had been paying for the past six years, and showed we would be charged the same amount again on our renewal date. If he hadn't mentioned it on the call they would have charged us the new price without informing us until we received the receipt. I really did not like that their system was showing one price but they planned to spring another on us.

Do Not Use

Comments: Carbonite worked but their business philosophy is seriously lacking. I prepaid for for years, but when they changed the service package by discontinuing boot disk and application software mirroring, they refused to refund the payment for the prepaid year.

Pros:

Carbonite was easy to install and use, but over the years required re-installation on several occasions to resume back up.

Cons:

When Carbonite discontinued their mirroring back-up, I cancelled my many years' subscription with a year of service remaining. Carbonite refused to refund the prepaid year. So not only did they change the services I paid for, they refused to refund the payment for the mirroring service I pay for. I strongly discourage anyone from using Carbonite.

Set it and forget it while having peace of mind

Comments: I've had them for over 10 years in my personal computer and I've been very happy. I didn't care for the business version so chose not to use it for my business as there are other products that offer a better value.

Pros:

Once you configure your initial backup, Carbonite will take care of everything for you on auto pilot. New files and changed files will automatically be backed up without you having to remember to. Restoring files after a catastrophic hard drive failure took a while due to the size of the backup but worked well.

Cons:

Price has been increasing steadily over the years without adding value, other providers are now more competitive price wise.

Carbonite

Comments: If a document was accidently deleted, you could go into your account online and retrieve it for a short period of time.

Pros:

Once you have it installed on your computer/laptop, you don't have to worry about it, the back up is automatic. Besides my work computer, I have also purchased it for my personal computer because it is so convenient, the auto backup and the availability of your files from anywhere.

Cons:

So far our company has been very happy with this safety net.

Carbonite works well - until you want to restore a large file

Pros:

Carbonite is pretty easy to set up, and it will capture changes in files pretty quickly. It's a set-it-and-forget-it backup utility. You simply choose which folders you want to be backed up, and it will monitor for changes and get the files into the cloud.

Cons:

Carbonite owns your encryption key, meaning that when it does encrypt, the employees of Carbonite could theoretically gain access to your data. It's better to use a service that allows you to create an encryption key (there are many alternatives). Also, the biggest con to this is restoring. When you are restoring from the web interface (because, say, your server/PC is dead), then what happens is that the page will time out during the download. When this happens the download is canceled and you have to start over. For restores of large files, I've had to sit in front of the computer to click within the window every few minutes so I wouldn't get disconnected. Also, they are not HIPAA compliant, they do not encrypt the data prior to transmission, and I don't trust their security.

Reliable Choice

Comments: I have used Carbonite with the exception of one short period for over 10 years. It has gotten me back up through crashes and new computers flawlessly.

Pros:

I have tried another "famous" product and found it extremely difficult to get everything backed up. With Carbonite I can see the status immediately and change settings as needed without having to go through a number of pages.

Cons:

Not anything. Having used this product for over 10 years I have never had a complaint or recommendation for improvement. This software performs exactly as advertised and as I need.

Love that Backup, Hate the Slowdown

Pros:

Carbonite has saved my butt a few times when I've lost files. You used to be able to also see files on your iPhone but that feature was discontinued. I do like that you can choose what specifically to back up.

Cons:

It slows down my computer A LOT. I've talked with tech support and they've tried to help but no matter what, it's slow. I set Carbonite to only run while in the middle of the night and that helps.

Buyer beware !!!

Comments: Last year I dumped my external backup drive to have a "more secure" off site backup alternative. (BIG MISTAKE) I saw many promotions on their service, everything made sense. Cost was reasonable and all that. So I enrolled. Made sure that all my files were backed up through their app and all of that.
One day My hard drive crashed... OMG,,, well no worries, Carbonite has my files backed up. I proceeded to restore my files. Surprisingly I noticed that my restore was going WAY SLOOOOOW. I diagnosed my network, new hard drive and internet connection. I have 400 mbps internet service... Well I found our that after all my download was not exceeding 3 mbps. I proceeded to call tech support and after many attempts and escalations the told me that that was the maximum throughput I will ever need. That no matter which plan I enrolled their technology will not allow for greater speed because they do one file at the time,,, they encrypt and then decrypt,,,, they cant do it any faster.
So, be prepared to wait weeks for your download to complete. Just don't expose yourself to this scam... It will NOT save you when you really need it.

Pros:

Price and easy to configure. Customer support was very courteous and professional

Cons:

It doesn't perform as advertised and/or expected. Restore function takes forever no matter how much bandwidth you have available.

Ok until it isn’t.

Comments: Quit working and customer service was unable to help me get it working again.

Pros:

Once set up it is very easy to use. It will continue working in the background.

Cons:

Can have errors or quit working and the user not be aware. The bing that makes it nice, automatic hands off backup, also makes it a danger. You need to verify frequently that the software is doing its job.

Good experience with Home version, poor experience with Business version

Comments: I purchased two separate licenses at the same time. One was for my home and another for my business. I have been satisfied with the home version, but ended up cancelling my business license after a year. I just kept getting error after error. Each time I called customer support, they had me uninstall then reinstall the software. It never fixed the problem. Eventually, I gave up calling customer support because they didn't try anything new. I don't really know that the difference is between the two, but I had nothing but trouble with the version installed on my work server. The home version, on the other hand, has worked great. It runs quietly in the background. I gave my parents a license for Christmas one year, and they have enjoyed the piece of mind knowing their files are being backed up.

Pros:

The home version works great. I like the ability to access my files remotely from any computer with internet connection.

Cons:

When running, this Carbonite slows down my computer a little. However, I understand this is a problem with all cloud based backup storage.

Can access all your laptop files remotely

Pros:

With the Carbonite Mobile app, you can easily synchronize all your laptop desktop files to your smartphone. As such, your desktop appears on your phone. I love how I can easily access all my files, including send new files from my phone without having to take my computer with me.

Cons:

There is a lag in time when you create new files on your desktop and when they finally appear as a new file on your smartphone.

Full featured Backup and Recovery software

Comments: Overall, dispite the cons listed above, its pretty much a hands free product and easy to use. it does everything that you might want it to do.

Pros:

several levels of backing up and recovering methods, imaging, file and folder, excellent bandwidth throttling tables. local backups and online. easy to use interface

Cons:

Seed drives. I wish they offered seed drives to speed up implementation of backup initial installation. many small offices dont have large connections to upload, so it creates a giant 3 month long backlog of incremental. They recently changed the local app to a more "windows 10" feel. I dont care for it at all. I like the classic layout. The cloud website isnt synced very well with the local cllints as far as backup reporting goes. many times its out of sync.

Carbonite keeps your information safe

Comments: Carbonite is a great product that's very reasonably priced and does an excellent job backing up your information. We have personally relied on them more than once to backup information that was lost in a computer crash and we have never been disappointed.

Pros:

Carbonite makes keeping a record of your valuable information extremely easy and reliable. In the past when we have had a computer crash and vital information was lost from the unit we were able to easily find and backup the information from Carbonite.

Cons:

We really have not had any negative experience with using Carbonite. It is easy to set up and to download your lost information.

Carbonite is perfect for our needs.

Comments: Excellent - service, features and support.

Pros:

Easy to use, easy to schedule backups. Easy to restore files or groups of files.

Cons:

None that I can think of. It works great.

Great Choice for Cloud Backup

Pros:

Economical. Easy to set up and configure. Backs up files automatically in near real time. User-friendly interface.

Cons:

Can get costly when adding multiple computers and devices.

SUPER EASY back up for financial services firms. easy set up

Comments: Being a financial services firm we have to have a specific back up system for our industry. this one is great, meets all the needs of our compliance department and We can customize the backups.

Pros:

I had been using an onsite back up system and tried the 30 day free trial with Carbonite. super easy to set up and they had great follow up to get us going

Cons:

I haven't really had any problems with Carbonite yet. it runs in the back ground constantly and i never even notice it's there. everything I want is backed up!

Save your files with confidence with Carbonite!

Comments: Overall we have been pleased with using Carbonite. Being able to pay ahead has been great!

Pros:

We love that we can count on Carbonite to have our files/data backed up when we need it. The application is easy to use and Carbonite has great features when logged in to change the way you back up your data!

Cons:

Using Carbonite is safe and easy, the toughest part of backing up data is knowing how much space we need to have. The great news is that Carbonite will help you with what kind of space you need!

Carbonite

Comments: It has been a life savor for me. Our owner had lost his laptop and I was able to fully recover his data to restore on new laptop. He was extremely great full that we had this software installed.

Pros:

Users love being able to login on phone/pad and view files that have been synced from their workstation/laptop. Also, gives them security that their files are backed up if something went wrong with their workstation/laptop.

Cons:

Not really con but depending on amount of data, syncing it up and recovery can take sometime to complete.