Software: FBACKUP 4.4

In May I mentioned a software solution for easy backup-and-restore operations, entitled FBACKUP.

Well, I've decided to flesh it out a bit and offer a little bit more of a detailed review about it:

Welcome to a detailed view into an entry on my essential and useful software list, FBackup v4.4!

You can go to the homepage here. It is relatively basic but it does the job it sets out to do and is a great tool for people that aren't that comfortable with computers. 

What I like about this software:

• User-friendly (big buttons to click)
• Can create a shortcut to the desktop to automate a backup (ideal for novice users once you've set them up with the software)
• Supports all sorts of locations (you can hard-code in a network backup point)
• Supports encryption and also basic mirror transfers (so you don't copy the same data over and over again)
• Schedule integrates into MS Windows SCHEDULED TASKS
• Supports plug-ins for the typical MS Windows packages that require frequent backups
• It's FREE
• SIMPLE and QUICK to set up a job
• I can't get over how straightforward it is to use!

Main Features

It’s free for personal and commercial purposes.
FBackup is a backup software free for both commercial and personal use. This means that you can save some money by not having to buy another backup program.

Automatic backups.
You define a backup job, set it to run automatically, and forget about it. FBackup will automatically run the backup at the scheduled date, so you have the benefits not only of having your data protected, but you'll also save precious time.

Backup with standard zip compression.
When using "full backup", the sources will be archived using standard zip compression. FBackup uses ZIP64 compression, which means that it can create zip files over 2GB in size. Also, you can password protect your backup zip files.

Exact copies of files.
If you don't want to have the files stored in one zip file, FBackup can make exact copies of the backup sources using "mirror backup". Since FBackup will also back up empty folders, you can use this backup type to create in the destination a "mirror" copy of the original files. So it's not only a file backup software.

Run actions before/after backup.
For each backup job, you can define an action to execute before or after the backup. For example, you can select "Clear backup" before the backup runs, so that all the previous backed up files will be cleared before loading the new ones. As an after-backup action, you can set it to stand by, log off, hibernate or even shut down the computer once the backup has successfully finished.

Easy to use.
The two main functions of a backup program are the backup and restore operations. FBackup makes them easy for you by offering friendly wizards. You start a new backup wizard, select "what," "where," "how," and "when" to backup, and the backup is ready to run. If you have to restore files, you'll open a restore wizard and it will ask you "where" you want the files to be restored.

Automatic updates.
FBackup automatically checks for updates weekly, so you'll know when a new version is released. The option to check for updates can be disabled, but we recommend that it is enabled so that FBackup will be up-to-date.

Multiple backup destinations. By default, your backups will be stored on the local Windows partition. To be sure you have a secure backup, we highly recommend you to store the backups on other destinations supported by FBackup (such as an external USB/Firewire drive, or on a mapped network drive). This way, if your computer suffers a hardware failure, you'll have your data safe on an external location.

Backup plugins.
You can load plugins for backing up or restoring specific program settings or other custom data (like game saves, email data, etc.). Once loaded in FBackup, these plugins will list the sources needed to be backed up for that particular program in "Predefined Backups." You can see a list of all the available backup plugins here: Free Backup Plugins.

Backup open files.
If a file is in use by another program at the time of the backup, FBackup will still be able to back up that file, because it uses the Volume Shadow Service that Windows provides. So, as long as you're using Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 2003 Server, Windows 2008 Server or Windows 7, FBackup will back up those open files. As an example, you will be able to back up your Outlook emails and settings without closing the program first.

Multi-language.
You can choose a language for the user interface from the languages currently supported. If you want to help us translate the website or its interface into another language, you can do so by visiting theLanguages page.

FBackup is a free data backup software, it is not recommended for full system backup (disk image backups).