Review: Bullguard Backup software

3GB online backup with scheduling

Bullguard Backup aims to cater for all your backup needs by either archiving files locally (i.e. on a CD or external hard drive) or on Bullguard's remote servers.

After installing the software, you get access to the key feature: 3GB of online storage. If you already have Bullguard Antivirus, this backup service will integrate seamlessly within the same interface.

The software lets you quickly upload a popular selection of files (eg My Documents, My Photos, My Music, Desktop, Outlook and Outlook express emails) as well as your own selection of folders. Regular backups can also be scheduled.

Bullguard limits upload speeds to 110kbytes/sec. Although this isn't such a problem for home users since it's more than most UK broadband connections can manage, office users with much faster connections will find it creates an annoying bottleneck.

128-bit SSL encryption ensures data is uploaded securely and, although the software doesn't advertise it, you can access your online drive from other Windows PCs by directing an internet browser to https://backup.bullguard.com. This requires Internet Explorer 5.5 and above, and won't doesn't work with Firefox.

The price of this product will put many off. The initial outlay of £19.99 gets you a one-year 3GB subscription. It's then £10 per year extra for every subsequent gigabyte, which is expensive compared to Mozy's 2GB of free storage, BT's 1GB and Xdrive's 5GB, which also comes with scheduling.

For those with larger storage requirements, 50GB of storage is typically available from several different providers for around $5 per month.

Bullguard's software is very easy to use, but at this price we'd expect around 10GB of storage.

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