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SyncToy 2.0 is a free software download from Microsoft.  It is a Backup Tool and very very simple to use.  Click to Download SyncToy 2.0.  The download itself is fairly small so doesn’t take long to download on the typical Internet connection.  The installation process is again straightforward and isn’t very time consuming.  The software is extremely user friendly and couldn’t be any simpler to use.  In fact, it’s so simple my Nan who learnt to change a battery 4 years ago would be able to use it!

The key element to the software is pairing folders, e.g., folder A and folder B.  With the folder pairings you can choose one of three processes:

• Sync – Where any changes made in folder A are copied to folder B.  And any changes made in folder B are copied to folder A.
• Echo – Where changes made in folder A are copied in folder B, but any changes made in folder B won’t be copied to folder A.
• Contribute – Very similar to Echo.  Where changes made in folder A are copied in folder B, but any changes made in folder B won’t be copied to folder A.  However, you cannot delete in either folder.

SyncToy is a great little application which I am very impressed with.  Have you used it before?  What do you think of it?  Any questions?

See Also:
SyncBackSE
Backup Tools – Two Worth Looking At
Cobain Backup 9

A few weeks back we reviewed SyncBackSE and we thought maybe some of you might prefer free backup software, which is where Cobain Backup 9 comes in.  Cobain Backup 9 is a software designed to backup the files etc on your computer, and can be downloaded for free!  The download is small so it doesn’t take very long and the installation process is very simple and quick.

Creating tasks for the tool to do couldn’t really be much simpler.  You select add task from the task menu.  Then you have the option to do many things, for example:

• Name the task (E.g. My Documents Backup)
• Select what you would like to be backed up (including particular files as well as folders and drives)
• Select where you would like the files backed up to
• Select when you would like the files to be backed up and how often
• Encrypt or Compress the backup

Cobain Backup 9 also allows you to clone tasks.  This means that you copy all the characteristics of a task to make a second task of the exact same nature.  Then you can edit the task to adapt it to your demands.  For instance, if you want to create a very similar task to one which has already been created, simply clone it and then edit it.  A great tool.

In our opinion Cobain Backup 9 is a great tool, it’s not necessarily up to the standard of Second Backup, but Cobain Backup 9 is free!

Any questions?

Windows Live SkyDrive is an online storage device. You can use it for:

• Storing Private/Password Protected files,
• Storing files to share with friends all round the globe
• Sharing files with anyone and everyone.

You can upload and store pretty much any file, however you have a limit of of 5GB of storage space. You can have all your files organised and ordered into online folders. One slightly annoying thing is that you cannot upload entire folders at one time from your PC to SkyDrive, you can only upload 5 individual files at one time.

It’s up to you how you use it!  Some ideas we came up with were:

• Sharing files when working as a group
• Backing up your important files!
• Securely sharing photos with family and loved ones throughout the world!

To be able to use this tool you need to have a Windows Live ID. If you don’t just sign up for one, its free!