Acronis True Image

Backing up data is a smart thing to do, but not if you store the backup copies on the same hard disk. If the hard drive fails, you may lose everything, including all backups. Nowadays, the cloud is an excellent solution for backing up files. To make this operation easier and more effective, you can use Acronis True Image. The software can back up and synchronize files between a computer and a cloud server. Once you upload your files, you can explore and access them on your preferred web browser, from any computer. You can also share your data, recover it or download it on other computers.

Acronis True Image comes in several editions. Unfortunately, there is no free version available, but you can find a fully functional trial version if you wish to test the program's capabilities. When you launch Acronis True Image for the first time, you will have to request an activation key, for the full or trial version. This will automatically create an online account, which includes 5 GB of free storage space.

The software's functionality is very straightforward. Its options are very well organized on a tabbed user interface, so it should not take more than a minute to figure out how and when to use them. Furthermore, Acronis True Image provides a series of illustrated instructions on its home screen, to help you get started. You can prepare and execute backup jobs, synchronize folders and use miscellaneous tools on separate tabs. Before you start backing up or synchronizing your files, you will have to sign into your online account, on the desktop interface.

Acronis True Image allows you to back up one or more disk partitions and store them locally or on the Acronis cloud. It is sufficient to select the source and destination, on a separate window, but you can make other configurations as well. Selecting different backup schemes, setting a compression level and encrypting the data are just a few examples. Alternatively, you can back up one or more folders of your choice or emails from your preferred mail client. The same configurations can be made when backing up individual folders. You can choose to store them in local or network locations or on the cloud, encrypt the files and so on. The software allows you to set up multiple backup tasks, which are listed on the main interface, with options for backing up and restoring their corresponding data. Depending on your settings, Acronis True Image will execute a backup job immediately, after one or more hours or it can postpone the task indefinitely.

The Synchronization tab allows you to target and manage sync folders. If you store data in one of these folders, the program will upload it on the cloud automatically, without prompting you for anything. As previously mentioned, you can explore your uploaded data on a web browser, after logging into your online account, which can be done anywhere in the world. Besides synchronizing files between local and cloud folders, you can also set the program to synchronize it between two local folders. Each folder pair is listed on the main interface, just like backup jobs, along with options for pausing or resuming the synchronization.