14 DAY TRIAL // As I said before, when it comes to protecting the files on your computer, BitDefender Total Security 2009 has it all, backup and restore option included. In the main application window, you will find the module under the name of Backup Tasks but, since backup is no good if you can't restore it, the suite makes available this option as well.
Main menu may not seem like much, given that the options at hand are brief and to the point: Backup Tasks (Local and Online Backup), Restore Tasks (Local and Online Restore) and the Backup Settings. But each of these components comes with its share of options.
You should probably know from the start that the Online component (both backup and restore) did not work in our case and the security center crashed each time we tried it.
Starting a Local Backup presents you with a wizard designed to help ease up the process and give you the possibility to perform a quick backup with preset file formats (these include music, videos, pictures, documents, favorite websites, application settings, IM logs, etc.), files from the desktop, or you can perform a full backup to whatever files you need.
Users are given various possibilities for the backup job with regards to the storage location of the data. Thus, you can place the resulting file on your computer, on an USB drive, in a network location, on an FPT server, or burn it directly to a CD/DVD.
The job can be scheduled to occur with a user-defined frequency and for a certain period of time, or you can go with the one-time backup to make things easier. The finishing step of the wizard allows you to view the data the will be backed up and the general settings for the task, as well as give it a name. If all is OK, Start Backup button will begin the operation.
In the case of backing up to CD/DVD, the application will check the media and, if it fits the job, everything will go smoothly. If a RW disc is in the burner and it has data on it, BitDefender will ask you to erase it first and offer the means necessary for the task to complete successfully.
Backup procedure will end by creating two files in the elected storage location: one actually containing all encrypted data (EBS), and one catalog file (ECS) that contains information on the original location of the files.
Restoring the files is supported by a similar wizard that will guide you through the necessary steps to successfully complete the operation. Data can be restored from the same locations they can be backed up to: local computer, USB drive, a network location, from CD/DVD media or from an FTP server. If you want to benefit from all the options of the next step, I suggest you load up the catalog file (ECS) resulted from the backup procedure.
The catalog will give you broader options when choosing where to restore the data, as it will allow you to lace it in the original location and restore all data from the selected backup location. Otherwise, you will be forced to restore to a different location on your computer and to manually select the files.
Once the job is done (either backup or restore), the application will display a pop up message for a second or two, just above the system tray. You may not see it because it is mighty quick to disappear, but it'll pop up nonetheless.
If the default settings for creating a backup are not satisfactory, you can always go to Backup Options section and choose differently. You can manage the jobs, create new ones and put them in the schedule, or modify the way the backup is performed.
No differential option available, so all there is left are incremental or full backup jobs. For these, you can choose to preserve full copies in the destination location or keep incremental copies for each full copy (you get to specify the number for both of them). Even more, each job can be set to execute full backups at a user defined time and date, as well as frequency.
Users can influence the compression type and go with one of the three levels available (quick, standard and high intensity), or with no compression at all. You can also decide on the file types that should not be compressed. The list includes a great deal of formats and can be enriched with even more by adding your own extensions. For each format, you will be provided with a brief description to help you decide which needs compression and which doesn't.
All stored files can be protected by a password or by encrypting them with one of the available algorithms. The choices on the table include the all-pervasive AES, as well as Fast Stream Encryption and Insecure XOR.
A great thing about backup tasks is that, before and after the task completes, there is the possibility to run an external program or even to shutdown the computer. This puts you in the comfortable position of not running certain routines manually, but switching them to auto-pilot.
If there are specific extensions you do not want to include in the backup, such as temporary files or data you do not need, there is a file filter available that can be used in the same way as in the case of the file compression filter. You simply select the extensions or add your own and the job will not include them in the resulting file.
Another option that can be set automatically by BitDefender's backup options is file splitting. The function is useful if you have large files to backup and want to burn them to a CD/DVD. All you need to do is determine the size, and the application will automatically conform to your specifications.
And, on top of it all, BitDefender Backup puts a media burner in the menu. The beauty of this is that it can be used not only for the backup jobs, but also to put any of your files to a CD/DVD. It comes complete with burning and erasing options, as well as with the alternative of burning ISO files to disc. Wading through its set of options revealed that it can set the burn speed, finalize the session and protect the data with a user defined password.
Additionally, during the burn process, you are provided with info on the operation, such as elapsed and remaining time, buffer level or bytes already written. Surprisingly, the application can verify the data on the disc and run simulations.
Backup Tasks module did a great job during our testing, providing a myriad of options for the backup job at hand as well as something on the side. All backups were completed successfully and no anomaly intervened. Online section, however, is the greatest downfall, as it crashed the security service each time we tried to access it.
There was one thing that baffled me, though. I could not understand the option for encrypting the files in the application's burner. Granted, the files written on the disk could not be opened, but I also could not find a place to enter my password to unlock them.
The Beginning Antivirus Module Antispam Module Firewall Module Privacy Control Module Parental Control Module Encryption, Tuneup and Product Tweaks Final Conclusions
