Online Backup Solution Reviews

SpiderOak uses a layered approach to encryption, using a combination of 2048 byte RSA and 256 bit AES. Most importantly, however, the outer level keys are never stored plaintext on the SpiderOak server. SpiderOak gives the most security detail of any provider that I’ve looked at so far. I think that they are secure, but you should be aware that if you download directly from the website that it isn’t as secure as downloading from their client app. From what I can tell when they use their client they don’t decrypt the data until it reaches your computer. When you use the website they decrypt in that session on their server and then send you the file using https. They only keep your password around in memory during that web session. This seems reasonable to me.

SpiderOak has a polished client and web interface. I was able to get this service up and running with no problems and it worked. I was able to setup a ShareRoom, but I did take a look at the help to better understand some of their terms. There were 2 issues in my mind that took the grade from an A to an A-. The first was during install I had to repeatedly type in the characters to prove that I was not a web bot (4 times). The second, was the dialog that asked me to decide between exiting or minimizing the SpiderOak client. I just don’t think that a mainstream backup program should be asking. Just default to the best choice (in this case it’s a no-brainer).

There are 2 pros that I have for SpiderOak value. The first is the 2GB of free storage. I think that this is a great marketing tool and really allows you to try out the service before you pay for a whole year. The other pro is the ability to backup multiple computers on the same account. This is something that none of the unlimited backup services provide. There are a few other providers that offer this, but SpiderOak seems to have built their interface around it and it is very easy to add additional computers.

Now for the con. The price of SpiderOak is high compared to providers like IDrive, Mozy and Memopal. For $100 a year you can backup 100GB of data on SpiderOak vs. for $50 a year you can backup $150GB on Memopal. Memopal also allows you to backup multiple computers per account and they have a comparable offering in terms of features.

On SpiderOak’s web page they say “SpiderOak is privately held and based in Chicago”. I can’t find any information about them at the Better Business Bureau. I also couldn’t find any glaring issues with SpiderOak after a few Google searches. Online backup isn’t new, but with the ever increasing speed of broadband connections it seems to be more viable than ever and lots of new players are entering the fray. This is great for innovation, but trying to get some history on these companies is proving a bit more difficult.