Cobian Backup 11.2.0.582

Overview

Cobian backup is a stable and fully featured application which can help you backup your data easily, at no cost at all. The backups that are created can be saved either in the same computer as the source files, another computer over a network or even in FTP servers. The backup format can either be a simple copy of the original files, or a compressed mode to save space and time. Encryption methods are supported as well.

Installation

By running the installer the first screen that will appear will ask you the desired language. A few steps afterwards you will be asked to choose whether you want to let the program create a script for future unattended installations, and if you want to install the Volume Shadow Copy requester (it needs .NET 3.5 to be installed). Then you will be brought to a configurations screen where you can see and change several settings, including the type of installation you’d like to make (application or service) and service options. By default installation type is Service, but if you want to install it as an application then you should change it to that.

It can be installed in any Windows XP, 2003, Vista, 2008 or 7 OS (32 or 64-bit).

Interface

The main window doesn’t have many features on it, since everything is only found through the menu bar. However there is a toolbar for quicker access of some main functions. The rest of the screen is split in two windows, one for organizing your backups and one for viewing and editing their properties. The second screen can also show reports on past backup tasks and keep a log of the current session.

Pros

When creating a new backup task you can choose between various options before saving and running the task. This means that you can set the program to schedule the backup to be run in the future, use compression (the two available compression modes are ZIP and 7ZIP) and encryption (supported encryption methods are AES 128, AES 192 and AES 256 bits) or exclude certain files and folders from the backup. It is also possible to make a Full, Incremental or Differential backup. Full backup creates a new backup with all the files, Incremental backups creates a backup of only the new or modified files since the last backup, and Differential creates a backup of new or modified files since the last full backup.

There are some extra tools that can be useful sometimes, like a decompressor, deleter, encoder and a decrypter. It even has a translator tool implemented, so that you can translate the program yourself into another language.

Cons

It cannot burn the backup to CD/DVD. In addition, inexperienced users will find it a bit complex due to the fact that there is no straightforward way to create a backup, as you have to skim through all of the available options to see if everything is set the way you want it.

Alternatives

Areca Backup is a free software that can create backups of any type (Full, Incremental, Diffrential) and store them anywhere, such as a network computer or an FTP Server. It is missing support for burning them to CD/DVD though as well. Comodo Backup on the other hand has all the aforementioned features plus the ability to burn the backups in CD/DVD, and is also very simple and user friendly.

Conclusion

Cobian Backup is an average backup program that has everything a standard backup software has. But it does include a few extra tools that could be useful sometimes, although they have nothing to do with its purpose. Overall it is a good program, and should be tried out.