Our home computers tend to be filled with family pictures and home movies. This data can be priceless and isn’t something you would want to lose. Below we have included 4 ways cloud storage can help you securely store and share these important files;

Backing up files

Baby photos, wedding images and memorable holiday snaps are some of the most common files stored on family PCs. But did you know a high percentage of HDDs only last 5 years and if they break you could lose a lot of irreplaceable files? BackupBob’s cloud backup automatically saves your files to the cloud and then allows you to download them back to any other PC. This makes sure you never lose your files even if your PC breaks.

Sending files to your family and friends

If you want to share a photo album with a few close friends or send a large file to a family member, BackupBob offers a simple solution. Using the “private share” function you can send a friend a link to a single file on your cloud. Simply login to BackupBob.com, open the file you want to share and select “web sharing”. A secure link will then be sent to your chosen friend’s email account to let them view the file.

 Viewing your files on your tablet

A high percentage of our data is stored on our PCs however most of us spend a considerable amount of time using our phones and tablets. With BackupBob’s Briefcase feature you can store all of your files on the cloud and then access them from any device at any time. You can also stream your video and music files directly to your iPad or Android tablet using our BackupBob apps.

View your files on your TV

Did you know it’s possible to play files saved on BackupBob through your TV? In the past few years there has been an increase in smart TVs, interactive TV boxes (such as Apple TV & Boxee), and game consoles with internet connections. If your device has a web browser please go to www.BackupBob.com and login to your account. You should then be able to stream TV Shows, Films and music to your TV.

Please note:
BackupBob file streaming is not supported by all TV web browsers and will require flash or html 5 to function.

Many people do not know that they can access BackupBob through their TV and stream their movies directly from the cloud. Please follow these simple steps to access your files from your television:

Accessing the internet from your TV

A recent survey found that 83% of people can connect to the internet through their TV but only 16% do. You can access the web through an internet enabled TV or via one of the following options:

• A new games console
• A compatible Blu-ray player
• By connecting your computer to your TV via HDMI

Watching films on your TV via BackupBob

Simply go to www.BackupBob.com on your TV browser

• Log into your account
• Find the file you want to watch
• Click play
• You will now be able to sit back and relax while you watch a film stored on BackupBob from your sofa.

Note: BackupBob may not be supported by all internet TV products and will require a browser supporting Flash or HTML 5.

Other ways to use BackupBob on your TV

Accessing BackupBob on your TV gives you several useful features including:

• Showing your Photos to your family & friends on your TV
• Playing your Music through your TVs speakers
• Accessing your PowerPoint presentation through your TV

How does BackupBob work?

BackupBob automatically uploads content to the cloud while you work. The software mirrors your computer and makes an exact copy of your files online. If you modify a file on your desktop the software will automatically replace the old version in the cloud. If you delete an unneeded document, BackupBob will delete the file on the cloud. If you accidentally delete a file from your computer you can go to the cloud and restore it (this option is available up to 30 days after the file has been deleted).

How do I restore my files?

If your computer breaks you can place all your files onto a new computer. Our desktop program BackupBob Restore is available on Windows and Mac and can be downloaded for free here.

Simply install the program, select the files you want to place back on your computer and click the restore button. All of your important files will now be back on your device.

BobDrive makes it so easy to backup your files safely online and access them from anywhere. This is because the BackupBob Desktop Software – which is installed on your PC or Mac – works seamlessly in the background to protect your files as you work. BackupBob are excited to announce that a new version of the Desktop Software is being rolled out to all of our customers over the next two weeks, and features a range of improvements to BobDrive.

If you already have the BackupBob Desktop Software installed then you will be prompted to update it at some point over the next two weeks. Simply follow the on-screen instructions to upgrade the software – you will be guided through the process and it only takes a few minutes. If you don’t have the software installed yet, or if you want to upgrade sooner, then you can download the latest version from your web portal. Just log in to your BackupBob account online and go to Account Settings > Software download.

The newest version of the Desktop Software is available for both Windows and Mac customers, and includes the following improvements.

Backup of in-use files

The new software will back up files even when they’re in use, and won’t ever lock your files while they’re being backed up. So you can now be confident that your Outlook database and Office documents are being backed up – even if you’ve got Outlook or the document open.

Partial upload support for Outlook files and more

The new software will only upload changed portions of Outlook PST files and selected other file types, making it easier to keep large, frequently changing files safely backed up. We’re constantly reviewing the types of files that are available for partial upload, but currently we support ZIP, DMG, PST and DAT files. Let us know if you have other common file formats that would benefit!

Flexible scheduling

You can choose times when you don’t want BackupBob to be backing up your files, so that users with slower or older computers can disable backup when their PC is busy. To modify the schedule, simply right click on the BackupBob icon near your clock and select Manage Backups, and then click on Backup Settings. You can choose the times that you want backup to run from this screen:

Scan-based backup

Rather than watching your files all of the time, the new system uses an hourly scan to find out what’s changed and backup the changes. This reduces load on your computer and means that you have a more useful list of old-versions of frequently changing files. We needed to implement scan-based backup to support the backing up of in-use files, but we think it makes backup easier to use and easier to understand.

You can see what the scan is doing at any time by opening the Detailed Status window – simply right click on the BackupBob icon near your clock and select Detailed Status:

Advanced users can configure BackupBob to work exactly the way you want it to by right clicking on the BackupBob icon and selecting Manage Backups and going to Backup Settings. From here you can select the frequency of the scan, the hours when the scan should run and also switch back to real time backups if you prefer:

Please note that changing to real time backups will mean that BackupBob will not be able to backup in-use files, so it is only recommended for advanced users with a specific requirement to backup files instantly.

NAS backup for Macs

We introduced NAS backup to Windows machines last month, and now the same feature is available for your Mac too. You can backup a NAS on your Mac in exactly the same way would would on a Windows PC – see a tutorial here.

Improved startup time and performance

Both the Windows and Mac software now start even faster, and create less load on your PC when they’re running.

Let us know what you think!

We hope you enjoy using the newest BackupBob Desktop Software. As always, we’re eager to hear what you think – please feel free to leave your comments on our blog or on the forum. If you have questions or problems with the software or any part of the BackupBob service, our support team will be delighted to help. Please email support@backupbob.com and we’ll get back to you.

If you already have the software installed then you will be prompted at some point over the next two weeks to upgrade. Just follow the on-screen instructions – it’s very straightforward and only takes a few minutes. If you don’t have the software installed, or you would like to get the newest version immediately, then you can download it from the Software Download section of your web portal.

The new software has the following improvements:

• See your backup progress in Detailed Status – need to know how much you’ve got left to backup? You can now see your backup progress directly within the Windows software by looking at the Detailed Status screen.
• Comments for business customers – since we launched BackupBob for Business, business customers using the web portal have been able to add comments to files that are visible to all users within the company. Now comments can be viewed and added from the Windows software too. Just right click on any file in your BackupBob Briefcase or in Team Folders to view or add comments.
• Improved sync engine – the newest client has a number of improvements to the way it syncs your files, making it more robust and even more efficient that it was before.
• New look branding – the client has had its branding and look and feel updated to match our new look website.

If you have questions about the latest client or any other part of the BackupBob service, please get in touch. You can contact our support team by emailing support@backupbob.com and they will get back to you within 24 hours.