Backup4all is a line of backup and recovery software from the people at Softland.  This review covers the Professional version, which I recommend over the lesser versions if only for the inclusion of incremental backups.  The Professional version also has support for FTP/SFTP, encryption, and a host of other features that make this all-around great backup software.

Pros

• Sleek and easy to understand interface
• Plugins to pick and choose which programs to back up
• Explore feature to look inside backups and recover what you want

Cons

• No full disk imaging
• Freezes occasionally when trying to cancel a running job

The Bottom Line

Backup4all Professional is an easy and powerful solution for users who want to back up their most important files.

Installation and Setup

Choose your language, accept the license agreement.  Choose the typical, custom, or complete installation.  The typical installation is recommended for most users, while the complete installation requires the most disk space.  The install is fairly quick and completed in less than a minute for me.

Backup/Restore

The “Getting Started” screen pops up when you first run the software.  From here you can view how-to’s, video tutorials, and other helpful links.

Two large buttons, “Backup” and “Restore”, are the primary options on the main menu.

The Backup4all main menu is clear and concise.

To back up your files you have to create backup jobs.  The new backup wizard will help guide you through this process.  It will ask you a series of questions such as, where do you want to save your backup?  Available options are: Local, Network, FTP, and SFTP.  What do you want to backup?  You can select files and folders.

Backup4all uses plugins that can backup specific areas of your computer.  Things such as your browser favorites and settings, your email, or even your Backup4all settings.  In this way, these items can be restored without restoring your whole computer.  This puts this software in the same category as Genie Backup Manager, which also uses plugins.

The wizard will ask how you want to back up: full, differential, incremental, or mirror.  The default of incremental will be fine for most users.  Encryption gives you the option to password protect your backup.

The final screen will prompt you to either schedule your backup or run it manually.

The Backup4all properties screen.

To restore a backup, simply click the Restore button.  Choose where you want to restore the files (if not the original location), and which files you want to restore.  That’s all there is to it.

I did notice a bug when trying to cancel a job already in progress.  Sometimes (for no reason) the program would hang and never actually cancel the job.  I had to use the task manager to end the process.  From reading their support forum, it seems I’m not the only one who’s experienced this.  Hopefully they’ll address it in a future version.

Features

Manage multiple backup jobs

Backup4all lets you define multiple backup jobs and save them for future use.  The main menu gives you an overview of all these jobs, as well as the option to narrow them down by active jobs, scheduled jobs, etc.  You can also search through backup jobs with the text box at the bottom.

SFTP Support

I like that Backup4all includes SFTP support by default.  It’s not hidden away in some advanced setting, never to be seen or used.  SFTP is much more secure than FTP and I greatly prefer it.

Statistics

See the number of files that will be processed during the next backup.  You can access this from the “Views” button on the main menu.

Explore Backups

Browse your backups directly from the Backup4all interface.  This is also accessed from the “Views” button.  It includes advanced filtering options, such as the ability to show/hide new files, unchanged files, and deleted files.  In this way, you can really narrow down the files you’re looking to restore – and with a simple right-click, you can restore them.

Zip Compression and Zip64 Support

With zip compression, you’re not limited to restoring your backups with Backup4all.  You could load them in any program that supports zip files.  Zip64 adds support for archives larger than 2GB.

Priority Setting

Backup4all has a priority setting with each backup profile.  I like that there are priority settings on other windows as well, such as restore, validation, and others.  I can set these so the program doesn’t hog system resources and interfere with what I’m working on.

Support

Softland has a knowledgebase, support forums, online as well as offline product documentation, and email support.  Email support is offered through a contact form on their website.  You can also email [email protected].  Softland provides free technical support for the lifetime of the software.  Emergency phone support is available during normal business hours.

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Geoff Akerlund

Geoff Akerlund is the founder and editor-in-chief of BackupReview.com. He enjoys attending music festivals, whitewater kayaking on the American River, and board game nights in his free time.

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