Data Backup
Automatic Protection
CrashPlan backup happens all by itself. Nothing to remember. No annoying popups. If backup is interrupted, CrashPlan automatically resumes when computers become available again.
Back Up Attached Drives
CrashPlan can back up files and folders on attached drives. You can even remove and later reattach drives without restarting the backup. CrashPlan doesn’t care how long they’ve been disconnected either.
Unlimited File Size
Some backup services limit the size of files you can back up. CrashPlan has no restriction on file sizes.
Open / Locked File Support
On OS X and Linux, you can back up any open file. On Windows, CrashPlan uses Microsoft's Volume Shadow Copy Service. If the application that created the open file does not support VSS, CrashPlan retries until the file is not busy.
Smart Backup
Backups to different destinations occur one at a time. To ensure you'll have a full backup at one location as soon as possible, CrashPlan automatically determines the order of your backups based on which destination will complete first. In general backups to local destinations happen before backups to remote locations.
Backup Scheduling
If you want to control when backups take place, CrashPlan gives you the option to schedule your backup.
Outstanding Customer Service
Answering questions from our Minnesota headquarters, CrashPlan Support professionals are trained to deliver insanely great knowledgeable, helpful, supportive customer service. Whether you are new to backup with basic questions or a backup pro with advanced technical issues, CrashPlan Support is ready to help.
Transmission Efficiency and Compression
CrashPlan’s advanced backup engine works to make your backup as small as possible. In addition to minimizing bandwidth and storage requirements, small backups allow CrashPlan to work faster and invisibly. This is possible because:
- Differential Backups: After the first backup completes, CrashPlan first checks for data that is already backed up and ignores it for subsequent backups. Subsequent backups are usually much smaller because they contain only new or changed information.
- Data De-duplication: This data de-duplication happens at the block level, so even repeated information within a file, as well as across all files, is not backed up unnecessarily.
- Compression: New / changed information is compressed before the backup is sent.
Data Recovery
Flexible Restore Options
With CrashPlan, you can go back in time and choose to restore specific versions of files based on date. You can also tell CrashPlan where to save the files when you restore and whether or not to rename them.
Seeded Backup and Restore to Your Door
If you have a lot to back up, the initial backup might take longer than you'd like. So we offer a ‘seed service’ where we send you an external hard drive to use for your first backup. After you send it back, we transfer the data directly to CrashPlan Central, saving a lot of time on your first backup.
Similarly, if you ever need to restore a large amount of data, use CrashPlan’s Restore to Your Door service, to have us ship your backup archive to you on a hard drive or DVD, so you can restore locally.
We never throw anything away
Unlike other backup products, CrashPlan keeps your deleted files forever (unless you tell us not to.) No matter how much time passes after you delete a file, you can get it back. (Files backed up to CrashPlan Central are retained as long as you have an active subscription or free trial).
Data Security
Encryption
CrashPlan uses Blowfish encryption to safeguard your backup. Combined with data de-duplication and compression, your backup archive is safe from view. Your friends can’t even see the names of the files you have backed up to them.
Multi-Level Password Protection
In addition to the option of requiring a password to access the CrashPlan desktop, CrashPlan offers several encryption options for higher levels of security for restoring your files.
- Account Password (Default): Use your account password to secure your data.
- Private Password (Added Security): Use a private password to require that you provide an additional password before restoring your files.
- Private Key (Enhanced Security): Replace the default encryption key with a private key that you generate yourself for even greater security.
Online Backup Destination
When you back up your personal files to the CrashPlan Central online destination, they are securely stored in one of several data centers around the world. Each of our data centers complies with the strictest security standards and conforms to industry best practices for power redundancy, cooling and fire protection.
Flexible Version Retention
By default CrashPlan retains more versions of newer files and fewer versions over time. With CrashPlan+ you can adjust the number of backup versions being retained to meet your retention requirements.
Continuous Backup
With CrashPlan+ you can specify that backups take place as often as once a minute.
Backup Sets
When you have different groups of files that you want sent to different destinations or with different backup settings, you can enable the backup set feature in CrashPlan+. Backup sets give you even more choices about what to back up, where to back up, and how backups take place, allowing you to manage your backup down to individual files. Now you can back up personal files to CrashPlan Central, and non-personal files to other destinations.
Security
CrashPlan’s 128-bit Blowfish encryption is plenty good, but some people would be more comfortable with even greater security. For them, CrashPlan+ delivers 448-bit Blowfish encryption for even more robust security.
Web Restore
By backing up your personal files to CrashPlan Central, you get the ability to restore them to any computer using your Internet browser and an Internet connection.
