Online backup storage are very popular backup solutions. They have many good features. Your files are available from anywhere (if there is a web access) and the files are secured from floods, fire disasters or robbery in your house. Web operating systems are interested projects which brings the complete desktop to your web browser. Now you can use them as a specific online backup storage.
If you are interested in a more detailed overview of a few web operating systems currently available, check my article Web operating systems: are they usable already? at Maxiorel.com. I selected FanBox Desktop because of its nice user interface and file upload tool. And it is free.
How to backup files to FanBox Desktop
At first, you have to sign up to using this web operating system. Then Sign In with your credentials. As soon as you are logged in, click the Profile link at the top of the web page. Then you will see your web operating system's desktop. It could look like this:
Double click the My Files icon. You will see a file manager window with some folders. Navigate to them and click the Upload a File link on the left. You will see a dialog with the Browse button (sorry, my screenshot is in Czech). Select a file from your computer and Upload it.
Manual file upload using the Upload tool is not very comfortable. That's the reason why FanBox Desktop provides a special tool for automatically importing the files to the system. Click its link and click the Download Now button.
FanBox Auto-Importer installer will be downloaded and after you run it you will be prompted with this tool's installation. It will create a systray and desktop icons for you.
FanBox Auto-Importer
Run the Auto-Importer tool and log in with your FanBox's credentials. You will be prompted with selection for which files you would like to synchronize. I recommend to select the second options for scanning only Documents folder.
As soon as you will click the Start Sync button, the synchronization process will start. The Auto-Importer will search for your documents, pictures and song and will upload them to your own 2GB FanBox Desktop space.
I have found a few cons:
- You can not setup only one concrete folder for the sync process
- There is no information about uploading
- This tool don't remembers your login
- It works only in Windows
So the FanBox Desktop itself is very interested project. Sharing the uploaded files is a good idea and access to your files from anywhere could be critical.
Updated December 7, 2008: You should be extremely careful what kind of files (passwords, e-mails) you upload to the FanBox or similar services. It is up to you if you trust to this services. Check Google and FanBox spam search.
Fanbox had spammed me bigtime back then.I never tried it though it kept sending me regular mail, then it just stopped.I guess they realized I wasn't interested.Still After reading this post I think I should give this a try.Thanks for posting.
This does look like a really easy to use remote backup system. Too often a remote system requires users to have file transfer skills which they do not have and so they fail to use them and lose their data.
This is great stuff!! FanBox is the bomb!!!
This is a awesome system, I recently lost the hard drive on my laptop which had about $2000 worth of articles and programs. I have learned my lesson :) I am going to check this place out I may just give them a try.
Wish I would have had this last week when our whole server got destroyed by either a hacker or a virus! I lost just about 4 months worth of students information which I will have to manually reenter by hand. Geeze, sometimes I don't think I'm getting paid enough.
Anyone who uses fanbox to backup files has to be an idiot. Fanbox.com is the ultimate in spam.
Thanks for pointing out this service, I'm currently looking for a way to stay synced up between multiple computers. I have several documents that I like to keep constantly updated but seem to always forget to do it. Google Doc's isn't an option as they are very extensive Excel doc's that don't seem to play well with Google Docs.. This may just be the answer I was looking for.
read this first.
http://blogs.technet.com/steriley/archive/2008/01/07/faxbox-the-latest-i...
Nice post! Thank for the info!
I honestly cannot describe the importance of doing this! GET A BACKUP PROGRAM NOW! I have had literally two harddrives die on me in the past two months, my external backup and my main internal. This is not user error but instead crappy harddrives or something. I cannot even explain what its like to lose EVERYTHING due to faulty and crappy harddrives.
1. Not being able to setup one concrete folder for sync is a serious limitation.
2. A lack of information about uploading shows a pre issue limitation. This is likely to be compounded post issue. A disinclination to provide general support information is often a prelude to zero assistance when it is really needed.
3. The tool not remembering your log in is possibly a good thing. Allowing people to use cookies as a link to confidential information can be very dangerous from a data privacy perspective.
4. The windows limitation is a serious issue for circa 15% of desktops. The increase in non windows OS users makes this a big one.
Helen
Online backup blog