To non-subscribers, the automatic backup service per month and provides 50GB of storage space. There's no need to worry about when you last backed up because the auto backup program does this automatically at regular intervals - as long as you save the files in the same folders that you initially selected to be monitored. You can also decide how much of your internet bandwidth is used for backing up purposes. As you are uploading data, allocating more bandwidth won't generally affect the speed at which you can browse the web or download files.

We found Digital Vault straightforward to configure and use, although selecting files to restore was slower than the other services. When accessing files through the website, we were impressed by the separate areas for files backed up automatically by the software and files that were manually backed up.

This means it's equally easy to access individual files from multiple computers as it is to restore several to your main computer. We also like the fact that the program backed up our Outlook Express emails and settings - something the other auto backup services do not offer.

Carbonite (1V1V1V.carbollite.colll) offers an automatic backup facility and unlimited storage for $50, or around. Its Huto backup software is user friendly and requires no further attention once you have selected the folders to be backed up. We liked the ability to check an individual file's backup status by checking a co loured indicator dot that appears on its icon. Green assures you that a file is safely backed up, yellow means it's currently being backed up and red tells you there is a problem.

Usefully, Carbonite also integrates with Windows so that right-clicking on any file's icon enables you to include or exclude it from the backup procedure. It also allows you to instantly mark additional files for backup irrespective of whether you have selected their folders from within the program's options - a feature that's not available with the other services we tested.

Restoring lost files is simply a case of opening the Carbonite 'Backup Drive' and selecting the files and folders you wish to restore. As with all the services, our modest 3.1 GB offiles took several days to fully upload (although the PC was not on all the time), but the program picked up where it left off every time it . detected that we weren't using our internet connection.

Diino (1V1V1V.diiIlO.cOIll) offers a basic automatic backup service free of charge. The service provides its own software, which enables you to manage backups. However, the program caused several errors on our Vista PC that prevented us from scheduling an automatic backup.

We found that Diino's strengths lie in its sharing capabilities. Once enabled via the software, the Diinoweb feature allows you to upload files that appear on your 'personal' website at You then simply give this website address to anyone you would like to share files with. Friends and family can be permitted to upload files or just view them and your files can be password protected to prevent them being accessed by anyone who comes across your site.