This is Symantec's data recovery software; it falls in the image backup segment. It costs $69.99 (Rs 2,800); find a free evaluation copy on this month's DVD. Norton Ghost works on Windows and does a comprehensive backup of your hard drive. You can also back up individual files and folders. Restoration is as easy as clicking a button. However, it is a resource hog. Ghost analyses your hard drive when you start it, so startup times depend on the amount of data on your hard disk(s).

Some options with Norton Ghost are the scheduling of backups and use of password protection on the backed up files. It creates periodic restore points, like System Restore does in Windows. Norton Ghost does not need to be running for a scheduled backup to start: it will start all by itself. It even allows Security options in Ghost you to back up more than once in a day, which is ideal for a busy day at office, Backups, espe¬cially image-based backups, are a performance hog when they run, and Norton Ghost has a Progress and Performance feature which allows you to slow down the backup if you are in the middle of something, You can even back up sys¬tems that are dual-booted.

The backup sets can be burnt onto CD I DVD or transferred onto a USB drive, Security for your backups is rock solid-the files are protected by 256-bit AES encryption, one of the best methods, Apart from scheduled backups, backups can also be triggered by user-set events like the installa¬tion ofa new application, or when the size of the backup source folders increases beyond a certain limit. Multiple computers running Ghost can be controlled remotely from a single machine, (Each computer needs to have an unique license key, so this proposition would be very costly if your network is large,)

Restore times depend on the amount of data that is imaged, However, the process is easy-it is basic point-and-dick If you have no time to do an image backup, Ghost will let you do an individual backup of files and folders, It will do incremental backups when space is a concern, The backup files can be searched either through Ghost's inbuilt feature, or synced with Google Desktop Search.

Norton Ghost is a costly choice, but it does it job pretty well. The documentation is pretty detailed, and technical support can be obtained via e-mail. For more details on how to use Norton Ghost like a Pro, check out this month's 30 Minute Expert in our Tips & Tricks section.