Software Giveaway: Handy Backup

Folks, I am pleased to announce my latest software license giveaway drawing.

The folks at Novosoft have asked me to run another giveaway of their highly regarded backup software, and this time have generously donated 7 licenses for Handy Backup Standard to me, to award to my readers. I sincerely thank them for that. (The first giveaway proved very popular!) So I am going to do a random drawing¹ contest from folks who “enter” by posting a comment (below). The drawing will close Thursday, October 6th, and the winners announced Friday. So act now!

Handy Backup ($39 retail) is a program for creating “backup copies” of the files on your computer – which regular readers know, is something I repeatedly urge people to do! With a backup program like Handy Backup, you can set-it-and-forget-it. 

I personally do not use “online backup” as my ‘solution’, nor will I ever. I use external drives (and/or discs) and software like Handy Backup. I do not trust “the cloud” to either be secure or always available. And with my method, I’m not renting, I’m owning. Below, I will give you my impressions of HB and some screenshots, but first…

CNet Editors say, “Handy Backup Standard offers users an easy, streamlined approach to backing up important files and folders. Novice users will especially appreciate the program’s easy navigation.”

Publisher’s description:

Handy Backup™ Standard is an easy-to-use backup software designed to perform automated backup of your computer. User-friendly interface and a rich set of backup features make it one of the best PC backup software for home and small office use.

• Outlook backup, Windows Mail
• My Documents backup
• Desktop backup
• Windows Registry backup
• Individual files and folders backup
• Backup your Program settings, playlists, skins, etc.
• a variety of free plug-ins that let you back up Outlook Express, Photoshop, Winamp and Windows Media Player, back up Skype and Yahoo Messenger, and much, much more.
• Free Email, Phone, Internet Support

Handy Backup will automatically backup your data with the options of file mask filtering, backup compression, backup encryption, “native”, and other options. The application supports backing up to DVD/CD, Blu-ray, HD DVD discs, LAN/FTP and Online.

I found it easy enough for beginners, as it uses a “wizard” to walk you through the process of creating a “task” (a backup, or a restore) the first time it runs (but after that first time, you need to click on “New task”, which is not made obvious). I particularly like Handy Backup’s ability to automatically “span” a backup set across multiple CD/DVD discs (you must place a check in a checkbox, though), prompting you to insert a fresh disc when it fills up the current one. (One other note.. you need to place a check in “Verify the backup after burning” to help ensure a successful write. This should be the default, IMHO.) Handy Backup successfully handled every backup and every restore operation I tested it with. It is a full-featured backup solution.
One critique: it does not support “selective file restoring”.

To see the full Handy Backup slideshow, click here. (the article will open in a new window.)

How to enter? Residents of the US and Canada only may enter the contest drawing by simply clicking on “comment” (below), and entering a name and a valid e-mail (so I can send you a license key) in the form. Actually commenting is optional. And, I shouldn’t have to say this, but multiple entries will result in disqualification. (In this contest. Entry in prior contests doesn’t count against you.)

Again, I thank the folks at Novosoft for making this giveaway possible. A 30-day free trial can be downloaded here, Download Handy Backup. Try it out yourself. (And then leave a comment. You may just win an activation key..)

¹ All entrants will be placed into Random.org’s “randomizer”, and the top 7 results will be the winners.

Copyright 2007-2011 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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