FBackup is free backup software from the people at Softland. They also made Backup4all, which means this is not their first entry into the software game. These people know what they’re doing, and what users want when they’re backing up their precious data.
Pros
- Free
- Easy to use
- Will verify backups
- Plugins to backup specific applications
Cons
- Only keeps 1 version of backup
The Bottom Line
Despite lacking a few features, FBackup is good free backup software.
Installation
The FBackup installation is very easy. You simply click next through the menus, select your language, and it’s done.
Backing Up
The main screen looks strikingly similar to Backup4All. I like the big buttons, which make it easy to get started.
The FBackup main screen with “Getting Started” dialog.
Clicking “Backup”, you’re guided through the process of creating a backup job. You can name the job, select files and folders to backup, and schedule it.
My only complaint, is that FBackup only keeps one version of your backup. So if you wanted to restore anything before your latest backup, you’d be out of luck.
There is a workaround I’ve discovered. It involves creating multiple jobs for daily, weekly, and monthly runs (for the same data). That way, you can stagger your backups and recover data from older dates.
However, this is free software and I can’t complain too much. It should be noted that their paid software, Backup4all, does support multiple versions as well as incremental backups.
Restoring
Unlike a lot of other free backup software, FBackup is feature-packed when it comes to restoring.
FBackup lets you choose “use original location” or another folder. It also lets select and filter which files you’d like to restore. You can also adjust the priority for the process, if you’d like to free up CPU while you work on other stuff.
Features
Free for personal and commercial use
Not only can you use it to back up your personal PC, but employers can use it on their employees PCs too.
Automatic Backups
Set it and forget it. You can schedule your backups and they’ll run automatically at the times you specify.
Use of Plugins
You can use the same plugins that make Backup4all great, and back up or restore specific programs.
Compression
FBackup can use zip compression to reduce the size of your files.
Mirroring
You can also choose to mirror your data, which creates an exact copy on the location you specify.
Backup Open Files
Using Windows Shadow Copy Service, FBackup will be able to copy open files (such as a Word document or your Outlook emails) without closing any programs.
Support
There’s a help manual, which covers everything about using the software. There’s also a support forum where other users can ask questions. It looks like Softland responds to every topic, so kudos to them for supporting their free product.
| Specifications | |
| Product Name | FBackup |
| Version | 4.8 |
| License | Freeware |
| Price | Free |
| Operating Systems | Window |
| Backup Types | |
| Files and Folders | |
| Full Disk Image | |
| Incremental | |
| Differential | |
| Backup Destinations | |
| Hard Drive | |
| Removable Media | |
| Network Shares | |
| Blu-ray | |
| CD/DVD | |
| FTP | |
| SFTP | |
| Online Storage | |
| Features | |
| Compression | |
| Encryption | |
| Email Notifications | |
| Error Handling | |
| File Versioning | |
| Priority Setting | |
| Scheduling | |
| Speed Limiting | |
| Synchronization | |
Geoff Akerlund
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