IDrive Review
- Features
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- Likes
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- Dislikes
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- User Reviews
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- Where to Buy
Editor’s Rating:
Avg. User Rating:
| Overall |  |
| Ease of Use | |
| Features | |
| Value for Money | |
| Customer Service | No Ratings |
IDrive Review Summary
Pros
- Ease of operation and user friendly interface
- Retains 30 individual versions of backed up data
- Mapped drive support
- Private Encryption Key option
- Drag and Drop capability for restoring files
- 5GB Free for Unlimited Time – No Credit Card Needed
- IDrive Unlimited – $49.50/year
Cons
- IDrive requires separate software for Mac and Windows
- 50¢/GB/Month charge if you go over assigned storage space
Bottomline
IDrive steps up your typical backup service with expanded features like some file sharing abilities between IDrive users, and true archiving(keeping up to 30 versions of archived files), but it’s not yet what would be considered an online storage provider such as SugarSync.
IDrive Features/Benefits
IDrive is a service offered by Pro Softnet Corporation, an ASP and Internet Solutions Provider, based in Woodland Hills, CA. IDrive, released in January of 2007, is a leader in the field of online backup, providing low-cost consumer focused online backup solutions with enterprise class features.
| Pricing Home: | Unlimited: $49.50/year for 1 computer (limitations apply) 150GB: $4.95/mo ($49.50 if paid annually) per computer 500GB: $14.95/mo ($149.50 if paid annually) up to 5 computers |
| Pricing Business: | 50GB: $9.95/mo ($99.50 if paid annually) 100GB: $19.95/mo ($199.50 if paid annually) 500GB: $49.95/mo ($499.50 if paid annually) |
| Storage Space: | based on plan purchased |
| Free Trial: |
Yes, Try 5GB of IDrive For Free no credit card needed – unlimited time |
| Type of Backup: | Schedule data for back up. “Continuous Data Protection” feature backs up changed data in all files smaller than 50Mb every 10 minutes. |
| File Sharing: | Yes – IDrive allows for private file sharing. However you must be a registered IDrive user in order to share files. There is no public file sharing option. If you need more expanded file sharing abilities such as public links then we suggest you look at SugarSync. |
| File Version History: | Yes – IDrive will keep up to 30 previous versions of your files. |
| Support for Mapped Drives: | Yes – IDrive does provide backup support for mapped/networked drives. |
| Support for External Drives: | Yes – IDrive will backup external/usb hard drives. |
| Individual File Size Limits: | none |
| How Long are Deleted Files Kept: | Until you delete them or manually sync them |
| Customer Service: | Phone/Email/Chat |
| Refund Policy: | Refunds prorated based on monthly rates |
| More Info: | Make Sure to Compare Online Backup Services for Additional Plan Statistics |
Likes
Unlimited Backup Option: IDrive Unlimited is available for $49.50 per year for Windows based PC’s only. However, there are a few restrictions to be aware of. You can read more about those in our article about IDrive Unlimited.
Ease of Use: The IDrive interface is remarkably simple, and will be familiar to anyone who’s already used Microsoft Windows Explorer or the Mac OS finder. The convenient IDrive Explorer shows you a virtual view of your entire account that you can edit and organize with simplicity.
IDrive True Archive: IDrive also performs true archiving, meaning that it does not delete data on the account even if the data is deleted on the desktop or removed from your mapped drive or USB drive, as other free backup services do. Your data is not automatically deleted unless you manually delete or run sync to match your desktop data to your account.
Versioning: IDrive provides file versioning with file/document history retention for up to 30 backed up versions. Each backup creates a new backup set identified by a particular backup date and time. Your storage allotment usage is calculated based on the most recent version with historical versions stored for free.
Safe and private encryption key: All the data and user authentication information is transmitted over internet and stored in encrypted form. During installation, you are given a choice to have the system choose the encryption key or enter a private encryption key, the latter which is recommended. Only the system-based encryption keys are stored in their servers and not your private encryption key. This feature ensures you that even IDrive personnel cannot access your confidential and sensitive data. Just be sure to never lose it, or you won’t be able to recover your data when you need it!
Drag and drop features: This restore option helps make restoring files simpler but this capability is available for restoring files only. Also drag and drop works only in IDrive Explorer and not in the other two interfaces (Classic and Web Client). This is still a unique option and very few competitors have this capability.
Resumes and continues upload even after connection is interrupted: Unlike some other competitors, IDrive will not send you a warning when your connection has been interrupted. However, after a lost connection is re-established, it resumes it’s previous backup and continues to upload without having to start from the very beginning. If partial transfers have taken place prior to the interruption, the backups resume from that point. This also works well even with large files. Other providers must begin uploading the file(s) all over again if there is a break in the connection. This feature saves users valuable time, and makes the backup process more reliable.
Mapped Drive Backup: IDrive supports backup of mapped drives. The backups will continue even if you log off from the system.
Continuous Data Protection: When enabled, it automatically recognizes and performs backup of files smaller than 50MB every 10 minutes, without any intervention from the user utilizing minimal resources.
Auto Pause: Selecting this option makes intelligent guesses on pausing and resuming scheduled backups to enable optimum desktop performance during peak user activity.
Dislikes
Overage charges for exceeding allocated quota: For usage beyond the opted plan, there may be an overage charge at the rate of USD 0.50/GB/Month. Users are encouraged to upgrade to one of the higher storage plans if their usage exceeds the opted plan to avoid the overuse charges.
Cross system compatibility issues: IDrive does not offer cross operating system compatibility between Windows and Mac. This means you will need a separate IDrive account for any Mac or Windows machines that you may have.
Where to Buy
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Try 5GB Of IDrive Free Today!
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Get IDrive Unlimited Today!
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Or Sign Up For an IDrive Pro Account Today!
Summary
In a nutshell, we applaud IDrive for their efforts to insure maximum data security and privacy of user data. Features are highlighted by ease of operation and a user friendly interface with drag and drop simplicity – providing a perfect online backup service for individuals, as well as small and home-based businesses.
I spent good 3 days this week testing other providers such as humyo, spideroak, livedrive, memopal, mozy etc and I decided to stick with iDrive!
I have been a user of iDrive for 10 months now and very happy with automated scheduled backsups. It even sends me an email of status each night. 150B is a generous space for $50/year. I was looking elsewhere to support multiple PC’s but now I see that they have a family plan of 5 PC’s for $150/year and a whopping 500GB space. Can’t go wrong for this price so I am upgrading my plan from home user to a family one.
Best part is you can choose your own encryption key so even they would not be able to look at your data on their severs!
One thing on my wishlist is if I could preview the files on the web (photos, mp3) so I dont have to download before could see what the file is about. However, this is a backup/sync service and not an online storage provider like humyo or livedrive. Every competition has unique things about them but some have features that really SLOWWWWWWWWW your computer down, iDrive does not..