Labs

MozyHome is one of three products on test that provides a free account, but an unlimited account costs only $5 (around £2.50). The install automatically selects My Documents and other files that should be backed up, and configures an automatic background backup. Even if you have no idea what you're doing, using the defaults should result in a reliable backup, as long as you keep your documents, pictures and music where Microsoft thinks you should.

Advanced

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options let you configure bandwidth throttling and proxy use. You can set automatic backups to check processor use, idle time and whether your notebook is running on battery power before starting.

MozyHome's backup progress meter is reminiscent of a disc-burning application, with one bar to measure the encoding progress and another keeping track of the upload. MozyHome's backups were among the slowest of the group, and Network Probe revealed that the application was transmitting around 50 per cent more data than any other. We suspected that MozyHome's 448-bit encryption may have been responsible. Mozy's director of support, David Dreyer, told us: "It does take a little longer, but it does afford you that practically impenetrable security measure to ensure your data is safe."

As with IDrive, we couldn't configure MozyHome to restore only missing files to our PC. Without us manually choosing files and folders, the restore transferred 258MB, creating duplicate files. This takes the shine off an otherwise great package.