<p>Does anyone use Carbonite or SpiderOak or any other form of online backup storage? I've been trying to research them both, but I don't understand half the things I'm reading. Any suggestions as to which is better or what the main differences are? Or which is easier to use? Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!</p>
<p>This may be totally unhelpful to you, because I know a lot of people like the convenience of the online programs, but have you considered an external hard drive? All your info can be backed up on there, and taken with you easily. Only bummer is you have to do the work yourself, but mine cost me $50 and is a whole lot cheaper in the long run. And it’s got 320 GB, which I’ve had a pretty hard time of filling up thus far (been a few years since I’ve got it) </p>
<p>If not, my friend uses carbonite through her school and it works just fine for her. I’d check with your school to see what they sponsor, because some schools offer decent deals if you buy through them.</p>
<p>Carbonite costs money (I think), so unless you’re keeping business, scientific, or government secrets, you don’t really need it.</p>
<p>SpiderOak is free for up to 2 GB, as well as Dropbox (another online storage service). Dropbox creates a folder on your computer in which you put files you wish to back up. Any backed-up files that you change will be updated automatically in the Dropbox server. You can use their website to retrieve your files on another computer. I believe SpiderOak works the same way.</p>
<p>I think using an external harddrive as a backup is a better idea. You don’t have to pay for a subscription, whatever is on your computer remains private, and you can get a heck of a lot more space for the money. I have a 300GB drive that I got eBay for $15.</p>
<p>Carbonite - Run by rightwing nutjob - One of the few companies left that will still advertise on Glenn Beck.</p>
<p>You should see if your school offers any webspace. My undergrad gave a few gigs of space to every student, and the transfer rates between my PC and the server a quarter mile away was way faster than with any other service.</p>