Cloud based backup recommendation needed.

I've been using rclone (rclone.org) for many years and works flawlessly, plus it's free. I have cron job that runs every night to upload any new/changed files in my documents/photo folders to my Google Drive account. Rclone also works with most any other cloud-based storage systems. Lots of youtube videos explain how to install.
 
I'm happy with Dropbox for cloud-based backup of select folders that I care about - photos, documents, etc, etc.
 
I've been using rclone (rclone.org) for many years and works flawlessly, plus it's free. I have cron job that runs every night to upload any new/changed files in my documents/photo folders to my Google Drive account. Rclone also works with most any other cloud-based storage systems. Lots of youtube videos explain how to install.
Rclone tutorial...

How to Properly Use Cloud Storage | Rsync Encrypt Tutorial
 
Thanks for the suggestions so far. I'll look into Hasleo for sure.
I did use Clonezilla to image my boot drive a while back when an older version of Acronis failed to work after a Windows update.

On a similar note, we did set up Windows File History on her PC months ago. All backups were to go to an external drive. Only after she lost her photo files, we found that it failed to actually do backups due to some internal error. (Yes, it was setup correctly.) A quick Google search found many others had the same problem so I'll not depend on it again.

I guess I'm looking for the unicorn of backups.
I want simple and easy. Nothing complicated. Just backup files on a single drive.
I want set and forget, so it gets done automatically. No reminders or scheduled inputs needed.
I want backup data to be external to our house just in case of thief, fire etc.
I haven't been able to get Windows File History to work on Windows 11 either.
Here's a detailed review of Hasleo - I may try it for a local backup of my documents.
 
This discussion has me quite interested in Hasleo as a possible alternative to Macrium for me in the future.

I've never heard about Hasleo until this thread. Macrium had been trying to get to me to upgrade from v6 for a long time, but v6 still works fine for me for now. But don't know if v6 will run into trouble with Win 11 when I get to that point. Plus, I'm disappointed the Macrium went the subscription route.
 
I've been using rclone (rclone.org) for many years and works flawlessly, plus it's free. I have cron job that runs every night to upload any new/changed files in my documents/photo folders to my Google Drive account. Rclone also works with most any other cloud-based storage systems. Lots of youtube videos explain how to install.
One of the nice things about rclone is that you can mount remote cloud storage as a local drive or directory. Then backup to the cloud storage is a simple as copying the desired backup files/folders into the mounted drive/directory. I use it with my in-home (minio) and remote (IDrive e2) cloud storage platforms, it supports mounting via the s3 object storage API. It definitely makes the automated backup process easier.
 
One of the nice things about rclone is that you can mount remote cloud storage as a local drive or directory.
I have done some testing with rclone backups (to google drive) using commands and an encrypted store, but I plan to specifically avoid using mapped drives because they create a vulnerability for ransomeware and malware to access. I also password protect my configuration file.
 
I have done some testing with rclone backups (to google drive) using commands and an encrypted store, but I plan to specifically avoid using mapped drives because they create a vulnerability for ransomeware and malware to access. I also password protect my configuration file.
I have enough security and antivirus measures in place where this is not a concern for me. My automation mounts the drives only during the actual backup action.
 
Linux commands to combine and encrypt a folder into 10 gigabyte chucks for uploading...

Tar (combine) and encrypt folder named documents with conventional encryption with passphrase in file '/dev/shm/password.txt' to filename documents.tar.gpg.

gpgtar -e -c -v -o documents.tar.gpg --gpg-args="--passphrase-file '/dev/shm/password.txt' --batch" documents

Split a file into 10G chunks. Creates files xaa, xab, xac...

split -b10G documents.tar.gpg --verbose

Recombine split files and name it: documents.tar.gpg

cat xa* > documents.tar.gpg
 
I have been happy with dropbox for over a decade. It's seemless and has been reliable. I have Microsoft 365 which theoretically duplicates it for free but I find the dropbox interface MUCH better even though I have to pay $100 per year. It's so good that if I get a new PC I just install the Dropbox app, login, wait a couple of hours and I'm bac to where I was on my old PC. I can't say it is the best but it is the most seamless I have found.
 
We as a family of four are happy with Backblaze. We have also had to do three data recoveries, and they can ship you a drive with your data on it for just the cost of return postage.
 
I’m in the Apple ecosystem and have an Apple One Premium subscription, which gives me 2TB. I also use Apple Photos, which automatically backs up all my photos to the cloud.

But if I wasn’t an Apple user, I’d pay for storage at either Google or Microsoft - one of the bigger players.

For documents, I occasionally back-up to an external drive.
 
2 TB external drive costs about $65. Just make a copy of your photo’s once a month, unplug and store the drive on a shelf.
You should have more than one backup (ideally 3, using at least two different media, like SSD and regular HD), and (IMPORTANT) one copy should be kept offsite. (Google about 321 backup strategy.)
 
I back my computer files and photos up to Google Drive. It has worked very well, and I have switched computers since I started backing up to Google Drive. I also back photos up to Dropbox and save them on my computer so I have 2 photo backups. I do pay $99 a year for Google Drive extra space.
 
I get an annual Microsoft 365 subscription, family plan, provides 6 accounts each with 1TB of cloud storage per account. I can then share with my family, each of us with 1TB cloud storage.

I wait for a deal to pop-up and buy and subscription. You can have up to 5 years prepaid - I have 3 years prepaid currently. In addition to the huge storage I get the latest versions of Microsoft Office apps (Word, Excel, etc).

There's a deal currently, $60 for 1 year subscription, it's part of a combo deal that also includes McAfee Safe Connect 2025 VPN (1 year). Cheapest option I've found for cloud storage and easy access with about any device.

I'm a fan of OneDrive 365. Have been using it for years. Too bad this deal doesn't exist anymore. How did you learn of the deal? Is this one of those BF deals that appears on NewEgg every year?
 
Right now, pCloud.com extended its "Cyber Monday" sale for 50% off Lifetime access. I just purchased 1 TB for $199. There are larger storage options if that's not enough for you.

Imagine other companies, ~$10/month. It pays for itself quickly and received good reviews online.

YMMV, research it. I just signed up for it and cannot speak pros/cons yet.
 
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Guess I am in the camp about keeping data local. Pretty simple to clone the PC to an SSD and then put that in a remote location. Samsung EVO 870 500GB is $53.
 
One Drive and Google Drive work without any effort and sync files to the cloud. Both have a good amount of free space. OneDrive comes with 5G and while Google Drive has 15G spread across various services. Once you install their apps you don''t have to do a thing.
 
Right now, pCloud.com extended its "Cyber Monday" sale for 50% off Lifetime access. I just purchased 1 TB for $199. There are larger storage options if that's not enough for you.

Imagine other companies, ~$10/month. It pays for itself quickly and received good reviews online.

YMMV, research it. I just signed up for it and cannot speak pros/cons yet.
I've been using pcloud for most of a year now and for the most part am happy with it. I also got their 'crypto' add-on, and switched my password manager to pcloud pass, so I guess I'm 'all in' now.

Some caveats to be aware of however.

One thing I liked about pcloud is that they're swiss-based, where there are very good privacy laws, and my recollection is that a U.S. based customer can opt to be treated by them according to either U.S. or European privacy laws. Guess which one I picked?

OTOH, they're not really a swiss company at all, and I felt a bit tricked when I found they're actually based in Bulgaria. Bulgaria, however, is at least somewhat integrated into the EU FWIW.

A couple of technical issues. They did a fine job on the whole of responding to questions --- except that the first answer I got wasn't very good (somewhat wrong). This had to do with collisions. Say that you and your spouse share files via the pcloud, er, cloud. You open a document to edit it and s/he opens the same document. There is no notification of this. Whoever saves last 'wins', flushing any changes that the other person just made. They claimed that a copy is made in this case and I actually did see such a copy show up at one point, but when I explicitly tested this to understand the situation, there was no copy, the next-to-last person's work was just lost. So not so happy about that, though I acknowledge that it's not an easy problem to solve. Then I was told by their support person that they have a solution for that, but that it's in the more expensive business plan. Meh.

And I very recently tried to get to my cryto folder from an Android tablet that has pcloud installed. Didn't accept the (correct) password. Works fine on my windows computer. That wasn't so great. Not a killer, just --- sort of a head-shaker.

Pcloud pass does a decent job as a password manager. It doesn't allow me to store images associated with entries as my previous password manager (keeper) did, but OTOH it's a little less annoyingly aggressive in trying to fill in stuff for me that I don't want it to fill in, so somewhat of a wash overall. And this is another monthly recurring bill that I don't have to pay as I went in for lifetime service for that too.

Overall I'm happy with this product, I will perhaps continue to find little issues and figure out how to live with them, but --- no regrets, just do your best to know what you're signing up for when you send them a lump sum for lifetime service.
 
My opinion is you should never trust cloud storage and never rely on privacy laws, just encrypt it before it goes up and the trust problem disappears.
 
We pay for Amazon Prime and use their unlimited storage for photos. I also have the basic version of Drop Box but don't use it much. Looking into Google One since I use their email but access it through Thunderbird on my PC. I have Ashampoo Backup Pro 25 but it looks like their Backup Pro 26 is subscription based. So, I'll be looking using Hasleo as an eventual alternative. I'm most concerned about drive failures which I think most of us are likely to experience at some point. Still, this thread has made me think about physical off site storage too which I could do at a relative's home I suppose. I certainly have some perfectly good drives around that I could repurpose! I guess it depends on how much off-site and/or cloud storage I need. I'd have to see how much in the way of home videos I've made over the years. After all, photos and videos are typically the largest files and the ones that are mostly irreplaceable.
 
I use I drive. It works in the background. I do external HD backups as well.
 
My opinion is you should never trust cloud storage and never rely on privacy laws, just encrypt it before it goes up and the trust problem disappears.
As far as I know all the major backup providers encrypt before uploading. Are you suggesting encrypting before their encryption? Is that what you do?
 
As far as I know all the major backup providers encrypt before uploading. Are you suggesting encrypting before their encryption? Is that what you do?
Yes, you can't trust it if you don't do it yourself.
 
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