14 DAY TRIAL // For those considering the former two backup apps a tad too complicated for their taste and skills, FBackup should be the perfect alternative. It is a piece of extremely simplified data backup software that does not contain advanced options for you to bust your head trying to understand. The application shows its friendliness the moment you start it, through an easy-to-follow wizard that directs your steps to a successful backup or restore operation.
FBackup allows you to create multiple jobs to be backed up and restored as you like. Of course, each of the saved tasks comes with a set of properties that are attached as you progress into creating the job. We can't say that despite its simplicity there are some pretty advanced options for the experienced users out there, because there aren't. It is designed with the beginner in mind and its set of options is limited to the basic ones.
The most advanced of its functions are compressing the data in a password protected ZIP archive and setting a network location as destination of the backup. Other than this, everything is kept to a minimum, and all the functions are basic, a perfect fit for a beginner. However, for extended functionality you can resort to the various plugins supported by the application (the plugins for Backup4all work just fine – check out the plugin list on Softpedia). The predefined set in FBackup lets you back up My Documents, My Pictures, Outlook Express or Windows Mail data with a single click of a button.
Under Advanced Options you will find the possibility to run an action before or after the backup procedure completes. It is nothing fancy and, while the before backup options let you simply enable the deletion of the previous file, the after backup operation consists in setting the computer for a specific action (stand by, hibernate, log off or shut down).
FBackup is not an instrument for the experienced user, but a novice will definitely appreciate its ease of use, as well as the lack of complicated options and settings. There are no incremental backups, folder synchronization or differential backup options. It is just a simple tool designed for the most basic operation of copying files and folders to a different location and password protecting them.
