For those businesses that run more than one com¬puter, this is a godsend, Each computer on the net¬work usually has some free space, Vembu StoreGrid allows you to back up data across an intranet utilising this free space. Find the soft¬ware on our August 2007 DVD. The free edition runs on Windows, though the paid versions run across all platforms.

Unlike Norton Ghost, StoreGrid runs very well on systems with average system specifications. The free version does not have all the fea¬tures of the paid one, but it does the job of backing up your files. Some nice features are the ability to do incremental backups by default-StoreGrid will back up changes each time they appear in the file, but it won't save multiple copies of the same file. Rather, the changes will appear in a single file, which results in space and time savings,
If you've spent hours tweaking your Registry for optimum performance, those changes can be saved, too. User data is encrypted up to 448 bits using the Blowfish algorithm, and is pass¬word-protected. StoreGrid supports hardware like Network Attached Storage (NAS) and external hard drives. The Pro version has the fea¬ture to back up files via secure FTP (File Transfer Protocol). It also stores Outlook, Outlook Express, and browser settings and will back up data to Microsoft SQL and Exchange Server.

The interface is intuitive, and setting up the software is easy. There are three modes of configuring the software. The first is client I server mode, in which the computer can be used to store backups of other systems and also back up its own data to others. The other two options are client and server: systems configured fur the client mode cannot have backups of other sys¬tems stored on their hard drives, while systems configured for server mode cannot have their data backed up elsewhere.

Control is through a browser-based interface, and you need to type cPanel® into your browser's address bar to start the console. Backups can be scheduled on a cal¬endar, or set up so that every time a file is updated, it is backed up. For users who use both a laptop and a Desktop, StoreGrid can be configured such that data on specific folders on laptops will be automatically backed up on connecting to the network.