Code 42 isn’t very well known.  What I mean by that is you don’t hear the name and know what they do.  Their name isn’t synonymous with the internet or computers, nor does it really even ring a bell to most, but it should.

It is my opinion that their product should be on all laptops.  Code 42 produces an online backup solution that is meant to save your digital life should something… anything happen.

Backups are often the most under-recognized part of computing.  Most people just don’t realize the importance and the sense of assurance your get from backing up your data.  For the average user, you are on the computer to accomplish a specific task and then you sign off.  No more, no less. Well…. Maybe some mindless Facebook scrolling.  Afterwards, there is no regard for what happens if something happens to the work that you just did.  CrashPlan is the assurance you need.

Crashplan does backups mindlessly and simply.  Crashplan does free backups to any external drive or internet-connected computer.  If you would like to pay, they can also store things on their servers.  This isn’t like having a Dropbox account with all sorts of sharing options and limited security.  This is an unlimited sized personal backup that is safe and protected by a company that is working.  There is no limit to how much data you can store on Crashplan’s servers.  They can even store your data from your mobile devices.

Crashplan is also light on your computer.  It is designed to take up as little of your computer’s resources as possible.  It will even pick up where it left off if you turn your computer off instead of restarting your entire backup.  They have options that handle everything.  You can store old and new versions of that book you are writing.  You can choose to have deleted items stored (in case your one of those people who accidentally deletes things a lot). When your computer explodes, you can even request they send a hard drive to your house so you do not have to re-download all of your stuff over your limited home bandwidth.  Here is a helpful video on just a few of the features in case you need some assistance:

Is it secure?

Crashplan’s website states how they handle passwords better than I can:

Speaking of passwords, how do we handle them? Explanation for regular folks- We never transmit your password to us or store your passwords in our database. If someone ever “hacked” us, they would not know what your password is. Nobody at Code 42 can figure out what your password is.

They also offer a full explanation for security minded people.  I think the boiled down version says exactly what we need to know.  With the way that Crashplan handles your passwords, they are essentially immune to all different kinds of password attacks and hacking. They even let you store different passwords for your account and your data.

That is just passwords.  Your data is also sent over a 128-bit encryption to Crashplan’s servers.  This is about equivalent to what most banks are using.  It will then store your data under 448-bit encryption.  This makes it almost impossible to get your information.   When asked about the security features they have enabled to protect your data, a Code 42 representative stated:

Code42’s high encryption levels (archive security password and custom encryption key) means that even under a court order we cannot be compelled to provide access to the unencrypted data because the keys are secured against us or even without us ever having them.

You can read more about their security protocols here.

Get it!

For the free version, paid version, and FAQ – Click here.  Maybe you can even get the family plan and manage the devices of your whole family.