Cloud Backup Service V.5.0 From Backblaze

Backblaze, Inc. announced the availability of version 5.0, its cloud backup service.

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All new customers signing up for the company’s Personal Backup and Business Backup services will automatically receive the release 5.0. Existing customers will be upgraded for free to the new version over the coming weeks.

The release 5.0 is a combination of new features and feature improvements designed to make working with the company even faster and easier. Improvements include: faster backups and restores, and accelerated file browsing when using the web user interface to access files.

Features include:

Image preview – When logged into their Backblaze account, users will have the ability to view (not just preview) most types of image files, without having to restore the file.
Individual file download – Users can now download single files from their backup directly to their computer without having to go through the restore process.
File sharing – Users can now share files from their backup by sharing a ‘download’ URL to the file. Users get up to 10GB of free space they can use to share files.

Release 5.0 also includes security updates including two-factor verification via authenticator applications like Google Authenticator and Authy. To enable that, it supports the ‘ToTP’ (Time-based One Time Password) protocol. This is the underlying authentication algorithm for a majority of authentication apps on the market today. A user that has ToTP enabled can use their authentication app of choice for an added layer of security with Backblaze.

Company’s computer backup and for business continue to be offered for $50/year per Mac or PC client. Competitive services like Carbonite for Home Basic cost $59.99/year/computer. Both services provide unlimited storage, but the firm also includes external HDD backup, automatic video backup, and courier recovery service in their $50/year service. To get those same capabilities with Carbonite a customer would have to pay for Carbonite for Home Prime, which costs $149.99/year.

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In addition, the company offers its restore/return/refund program which allows customers to restore their data, up to 3.5TB on an USB HDD, then return the drive within 30-days and get their money back.

The firm also includes Find-My-Computer, built in file sharing, family friendly group functionality, and the ability to use the same account to manage both cloud backup and cloud storage if desired.

“Release 5.0 demonstrates our continued commitment to the consumer and small business backup markets,” said Gleb Budman, CEO and co-founder, Backblaze. “As other vendors are reducing services or exiting the market entirely, we look forward to building on our ten-year heritage of providing an amazingly easy-to-use backup service at an affordable price.“