ReadyNAS Vault : great but overpriced!

kbr88 wrote:
take a look at http://www.livedrive.com which offers not only secure backup, but also full syncronisation, and remote access. it is also a lot faster than carbonite. i have used both and I prefer livedrive. and it offers unlimited storage including photos, music etc. and it's reasonably priced for all of the above at about $100/year. they alos have an iPhone app that really does work! best kerry

Here's three reasons for starters why Livedrive is not worth you wasting your time

1) Its not an online backup service. Its an online file repository meant for your convenience to access files. See here from their FAQ page.

Is Livedrive a backup product?
Whilst Livedrive provides a safe and secure place to store your valuable files, it’s not a backup product in the strict sense of the word. Livedrive is not designed to run scheduled backups of system files, email and contacts for example. What Livedrive does offer is a means of securing your valuable files, accessing them from anywhere in the world and easily sharing them with friends and colleagues.

Livedrive is currently developing a backup feature which will be released soon.

2) Files stored on their servers are not encrypted. They are only encrypted while in transit. Do you trust them? Do you trust their software with all its file sharing hoopla to protect your data? Read here from their FAQ page.

What level of security do you provide?
Livedrive uses military grade, AES-256 security to encrypt all communications between a user’s computer and our servers, data stored on your Livedrive is backed up on to multiple storage servers at our data centers ensuring your data is fully protected. Our network is protected by enterprise-grade firewalls ensuring that once your data is on our servers only the people you want to access your data can.

3) Who is housing your data? They claim they use "carrier grade data centers". What does that mean? They don't provide any credentials for the data centers such as meeting any of the following standards. yes I know these are predominately US standards, but similar Int'l standards exist.

Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act)
SAS (Statement on Auditing Standards) 70 regulations

In my opinion be careful if you are considering Livedrive for your important data storage.