There are operations that are vital while working at the computer. To neglect them is to play with fire. Backup is one of them. And there are programs which facilitate the performance of what is vital. To deal with reserve copies Handy Backup 4.0 is one of the best.

It backups files to CD-RW devices, LANs, FTP servers; restores files from backup copies; synchronizes them between different locations with integrated zip compression, with the ability to create a new folder at a remote FTP server, and so on and so forth. Can we manage without it? Well, yes, we can. We can do all these operations manually. One by one and each time we’ve made any changes. But personally I will certainly not: if scheduled, Handy Backup multi-threaded transfer engine works automatically, in the background. Too many advantages at fair price of $30. And above all, it saves precious time and thus discourages from saving on candle ends.

First of all it’s a user-friendly program. You do not need to be a computer expert to grasp how it works. It has an Explorer-like interface and a smart Wizard. The latter guides you through the primary process of creating a New Item. At the final 7th step Wizard summarizes all the information so that an overdriven user (sometimes happens!) may comprehend what he’s just set up.

At each stage of proceeding, we can see to all Handy Backup processes’ statuses and results. The main Handy Backup windows consists of 3 parts (views): Items View, Files View and Log View.

Among other tasks, I uploaded one of my documents to an FTP server. Examining a rather long list of proceedings in the Log View, I found that to perceive it is much easier than to read a statement of a bank account. If you don’t have a desire to study Log View, no problem, just look for the key words SUCCESSED/Success. That’s all you have to know about the processes.

It would be unfair not to devote several words to Handy Backup scheduler. I tried hard to find any fault with it. My attempts to invent such parameters that haven’t been provided failed. For obsessive compulsive users a custom period of creating copies is up to 1 minute (can be recommended for Military Departments).

As for CD/RWs backups, an automatic media rotation is provided. Handy Backup splits large files (more than 2 Gb) and prompts users when a disc is full and needs to be replaced. I checked it up. Works.

The program is as good as it gets. Still...should you have any questions, do not hesitate to read Help. Well-structured, clear, detailed, illustrated, it’s a rare case when Help really helps. I got pleasure looking it through and will recommend Handy Backup Help to novice technical writers.

To sum up, I understand perfectly well why Handy Backup has been exercising leadership in the shareware market lately: enterprise class features and performance combined with consumer level ease-of-use.

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