March 3rd, 2008
My 10 favorite Windows programs of all time
Allway Sync (Usov Lab)
Info / Download
Price: Free for “moderate personal use”; Pro license is $10–30
System requirements: Windows 98 or later
My data protection strategy is simple: I want an image backup of my OS and data files and a synchronized copy of all important data files. For the former, I have plenty of options. For the latter, I’ve settled on Allway Sync.
The idea behind Allway Sync is pretty logical. You start with two folders that you want to keep in sync, such as data folder on your desktop PC and a backup folder on a server, or matching folders full of work files on a notebook and a desktop PC. In Allway Sync’s two-pane interface, you fill in the path for one folder in the left pane and the other folder in the right pane. Then you click Analyze. The result is a neat listing that shows which files are new, and which are changed. Click individual entries if you want to change the sync direction or skip a certain file or file type. Then click Synchronize to do the work.
It’s all fast and very easy. You can make it more complicated if you want, by setting options to define the direction of sync, include deletions, work with removable devices, and so on. I use the Automatic Sync feature to scan for changed files in my Current Work folder and back them up to a remote drive every 10 minutes.
I especially like this company’s approach to licensing. Anyone can use Allway Sync for nonprofit activity for free. For “moderate personal use” the program is also free. You can also evaluate it for 30 days without any cost. For business use, a full license is $30 (but is currently on special for $20) and extra licenses cost $10. At those prices I actually purchased a couple extra licenses just to support these guys.
Updates are frequent, and support is excellent.
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Ed Bott is an award-winning technology writer with more than two decades' experience writing for mainstream media outlets and online publications. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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| 03/03/08
