Online backup followup: Carbonite responds

Posted on August 7, 2009 by Les Jones

I received this email in response to an earlier post about a reported online backup failure with Carbonite:

Les:

I read your post referring to Michael Krigsman’s post. The bug that Michael encountered was not with Carbonite backup, but with a new service called Remote Access that allows you to download files from your backup to any PC with just a browser. The product was still in beta at the time Michael encountered this bug and the bug itself was fixed long ago. It’s a very popular feature with Carbonite, and I used it myself recently on a trip to Asia when I forgot my powerpoint presentation. I think if you wrote to Michael today he’d tell you that everything is fine with his Carbonite subscription. BTW, statistically, Carbonite is far more reliable than an external hard drive. Our RAID servers have triple redundancy and are several million times less likely to lose data due to hard drive failures than a typical external drive. External hard drives fail at a rate of 3-5% per year if used continuously.

David Friend,
Carbonite Chairman & CEO

This entry was posted in Tech. Bookmark the permalink.

3 Responses to Online backup followup: Carbonite responds

  1. Vince says:
    August 9, 2009 at 9:06 pm

    Wow. What are the odds this guy actually “forgot his powerpoint presentation” on a recent trip to Asia? I find his response equal parts comical and condescending.

  2. Cara says:
    August 21, 2009 at 7:41 pm

    I signed up for Carbonite and paid my money. I uploaded the software and started it running. (I am NOT a computer person, but I have a very successful on-line business.) Due to Carbonite’s markers on my desktop, I quickly saw that it just backed up my Windows-based files, but not my huge business database nor my huge jpg files.

    So, I sent Carbonite a support request. At least four times. No response.

    So, I sent Carbonite a refund request. At least ten times. No response.

    Carbonite’s clever new television ads should say, “Carbonite backs up the Window-based files on your desktop. Any other files? You’re on your own. Carbonite will, however, make good use of your money.”
    Carbonite for suckers.

  3. Johan Roode says:
    September 8, 2009 at 6:06 am

    I noticed the same thing after installing it.
    Only files on my backup was Windows files. No other data files.
    No reply from the support desk. I have just requested a refund, but I don’t think I’ll get anything from them.