Did you get your email from Crashplan? They are discontinuing their consumer market products and partnering up with Carbonite. From my email, it states my subscription will end on 11/4/2017 and they will delete my backup. They are however extending my subscription by 60 days at no cost to me (which is nice). I'm bummed because I like Crashplan. There was a reason I didn't pick Carbonite and now it looks like I may have to go that route. I will have to do more research. What backup do you all use? Who has a home server set up that serves as your secondary backup? I may go that route if I can make it work for me.
I saw that they are discontinuing this morning in a group! I'm sorry for you! I use BackBlaze. I like it. It works. It's not finicky. And everyone I know who has had to restore files has not had an issue. The biggest complaint I hear about it is it doesn't keep files that have been deleted over 30 days. That doesn't bother me because 1) I also have an onsite backup drive 2) I check files randomly to make sure it's working 3) I monitor the files/size of my backup, so if an entire folder of photos or digi supplies disappeared, I would notice.
I am also using Backblaze and the few times I had to restore a file it worked fine. No complaints and it is inexpensive to boot.
What a bummer for you, and really for anyone with Crashplan! Hopefully you figure out a new setup that works for you asap, just so you can have it figured out before Nov 4! Anyway, I believe in the 3-2-1 Rule. I'm even a bit overzealous about it. (In case you're wondering, this is what BackBlaze says: "A 3-2-1 strategy means having at least 3 total copies of your data, 2 of which are local but on different mediums (read: devices), and at least 1 copy offsite.") I keep 2 almost-full EHDs at my parents' place 700 miles away and I've got 3 EHDs here kept in 2 different areas of the house (in case there's a burst pipe above one location or some other "home catastrophe.") And I've got Backblaze. I don't keep all files on my laptop so I don't even consider my computer when figuring out how many "backups" I have. Like Courtney mentioned, I check on my files about once a month, plus BB sends a summary email. (I just randomly pick something to download after taking a look at both the size of my backup and the contents lists for my laptop and my EHD.) I've never had a problem with a download. [This post might seem like a LOT of info, but I wanted to explain it for anyone reading--like someone on the fence about trying a Cloud backup.]
I've been happily using Backblaze since around 2010, including some file restoration, switching from PC to iMac, and reformatting my hard drive a year ago. I also consider Smugmug to be a second cloud back up for me, though it's manual and only backs up images. But images are the files most important to me! I actually don't have a backup at home. Someday I'd like a home server or something like that, usable by the whole family, with lots of space.
I received the same email and will be switching to Crashplan for Small Business. Crashplan is not closing down completely, just restructuring their plans to be business oriented. I think it's $10 per month for each computer on the small business plan, and I only back up one computer (and the associated external drives) anyway. I used Carbonite for a couple of years, but got frustrated when they throttled the upload speed for data after a certain amount every month. They may not do it any more, but they certainly did when I was a subscriber. They also didn't support EHD backup then, though they do now for some higher-tiered plans.
Here's a snippet from the transition page for those moving to a Small Business plan with Crashplan. They offered me the plan through the remainder of my term, and then for 75% off for a year after that.
@scrappyjedi Thanks for that info! I found a previous email stating that I could upgrade to the Small Business plan. I took advantage of that offer
I use Backblaze, have had to have files restored, have used the service to grab something I accidentally deleted - all in all, very pleased!
FWIW, I've used Carbonite for years and been happy with it. I have the plan that includes an EHD. I like that I can look at any of my files with the app on my phone. I've restored twice when I changed computers.
I got the email too! My current subscription isn't up until March- so I think I'm honestly going to put it off for awhile & figure it out later! #procrastinationforthewin
Thanks for all the good info here. I too am considering my options because I currently use crashplan and it will expire 11/2017 + 60 free days to transition.
