Summary: Laptops are amazing computing tools that allow us to take our offices with us on the go, but these mobile desktops face considerable risks to physical damages for their portability.

Catastrophic physical damage and theft are only a couple of things that can happen to your laptop, and cause the permanent loss of everything on your hard drive.

If you use an online backup service, even if something happens to your laptop, your files are still safe and secure.

By backing up copies of your files to remote servers, you’re essentially insuring that none of your data is ever gone for good.

For the most secure online backup service that won’t break the bank, use iDrive.

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Why Are My Files at Risk?

Laptops are incredibly convenient for those that have to travel a lot for work, or just can’t sit at a desk generally when they need to use a computer.

However, their portability opens these devices up to being a lot more accident prone.

The distracted cook looking at the ingredients list on a recipe may accidentally knock the chicken stock onto the keyboard.

The travelling businessman may forget to zip his case all the way and cringe as his laptop hits the floor of the terminal.

We’re all human, and laptops are prone to our clumsy mishaps a bit more than our desktop computers.

In addition, because they are so easily transported, they are a lot more susceptible to theft.

In this case, not only are your files gone, but sensitive personal information is now in the hands of someone else.

How Does Online Backup Work?

With an online backup service, you can remotely back up your files to protect them from permanent loss.

However, you can even get features like remote wipe to erase your hard drive in the event that your laptop computer is stolen.

Simply choose a plan that fits your needs, and get started by downloading and installing their software.

Most backups then start automatically, and will begin backing up your entire system.

This initial backup can take a while, depending on what you have on your hard drive, but from their periodic updates are typically fast and unnoticeable.

Top 3 Online Backup Services for Laptops

With so many technical features, it can be difficult to know which online backup service is going to be the best deal.

Here I’ve listed the top three online backup services, and how they compare for backing up you laptop.

#1 Choice:  iDrive – 9/10 – Remote wipe for stolen devices

iDrive is a great choice for any mobile devices, but they definitely appeal to people looking to back up their laptops because of their top rated security features.

My favorite thing about this service is that you can actually use their remote wipe feature to completely obliterate everything on your hard drive if your device is ever stolen.

Plus, with their continuous backup, nothing is actually lost – it’s just kept out of the wrong hands.

Their backup service is also one of the few that is completely geo redundant, meaning that they store your files on more than one data center.

The benefit here is that if that data center is damaged, your files are still safe and sound somewhere else.

If you’re worried about privacy, iDrive encrypts all of your files with military grade encryption, and gives you the option to set a private key, so that even they can’t access your files.

iDrive has it all – they give you whopping 1 TB of storage space, which is more than enough space to back up everything on multiple devices for the average user.

You can also back up your external hard drives, and even your mobile devices with their service.

They have excellent customer support, easy to use software, and mobile apps that allow you to access and share backed up files on the go.

iDrive is the most comprehensive backup service you’re going to find. And at just $44.62/year, they’re at a price that can’t be beat.

To protect the files on your laptop in any scenario, get iDrive today.

#2:  CrashPlan – 8/10 – Has remote wipe, but not geo redundant

CrashPlan is another really good online backup service that’s great for laptop owners, though it does have some drawbacks.

Though their service does include a remote wipe feature, their backup isn’t geo redundant – if their data center goes down, your information goes with it.

However, if this concerns you, go with iDrive to have your files secured at more than one location.

In addition, though CrashPlan has mobile apps to let you sync and access your backed up files, you can’t share them with this service, and you also can’t back up your mobile devices.

Their apps are solely for account access and file syncing.

However, there are some pretty big selling points that may make CrashPlan appeal to some users anyway.

Their plans come with completely unlimited storage space, as well as unlimited file versioning and recovery, so nothing you delete or modify from your backups is ever really gone for good.

CrashPlan, just like iDrive, also gives you external hard drive backup too, so you can make sure that every file you have stored is secure on their remote servers.

Though their prices aren’t quite as low as iDrive’s, CrashPlan still has comparable customer support, so they’re another good option for laptop backup.

Crashplan can be found here.

#3: Acronis– 6/10 – No remote wipe or file recovery

While Acronis offers unlimited file storage space like CrashPlan, their program has some significant drawbacks to it that make me pretty hesitant to recommend them.

For one thing, they don’t have a remote wipe feature, so if your laptop gets stolen, the thief is going to have all of your personal information and files, and there’s nothing you can do about it.

This is quite different from iDrive that does allow remote wipe to keep your information safely out of others hands.

It’s also worth noting that though Acronis has optional private encryption keys and owns and operates their own data centers, their backup service is not geo redundant.

This coupled with some very questionable language in their terms of service about their access and rights to your data raises some serious concerns over privacy and security.

Another thing I really take issue with Acronis over is their pricing model. If you use a Windows laptop, then you’re pretty much in the clear – their plan for these systems is $50/year.

However, you have to pay extra for 24/7 support. Yea, you have to pay more for faster service, how ridiculous is that?

On top of this, if you need backup for your Mac, you have to pay $25 more for their PC/Mac backup bundle. With price jacking like that, Acronis isn’t even a service I would bother with.

You can get laptop backup that’s compatible with both systems for about $25 less through iDrive.

Acronis is here.

Conclusion: Use iDrive for Secure Backup Anytime, Anywhere

Your laptop is one of the weaker links when it comes to keeping your files safe. Besides the usual threats of viruses and hackers, they’re easier to steal, and accidentally damage.

The only company that offers all of these features and more, and at the best price you’ll find anywhere is iDrive. iDrive Online backup services protect you by:

• backing up your system continuously
• encrypting your files to keep them private
• including a remote wipe feature in the event of theft
• providing a geo redundant storage center for your files

Don’t take the chance – protect your laptop from these vulnerabilities by getting iDrive now.