AllSync 4.1.16

Overview

Keeping your data safe is a task that needs continuous attention, since a big part of it consists of regular backup jobs and synchronization procedures. A program that can do both (and a lot more) is AllSync; it is highly customizable, allowing you to adjust it to your needs and perform backup and synchronization jobs in a way that suits you best.

Installation

When you launch the installer you’ll be asked to pick installation language first. Then you have to follow a few steps in order to reach the core installation process, some of which require you to make a few simple settings (mostly shortcut settings).

No viruses, spyware or other types of malware are included in the setup package. Furthermore, no additional 3^rd party software will be installed along with the main program either.

Supported operating systems are Windows 2000, XP, Server 2003, Vista, Server 2008, 7 and 8.

Interface

Upon running AllSync for the first time you’ll be prompted to select which edition of AllSync you’d like to try (Home, Professional or Business). Then you can see the interface of the program, which inexperienced users might find quite complex. The toolbar has several buttons for various actions, and then there’s the sidebar on the left-hand side which is for choosing profiles. The main area is where you can see a list with all the available functions in the program, divided in 6 categories: Profiles, Tools, Help, View, Log and Info. At the bottom of the window is the Log Pane, where you can see all information and messages relevant to operations you perform.

Pros

You can create custom profiles in AllSync that you can save and use every time you want to perform a specific task. This way you don’t have to change settings all the time; it really saves you time and trouble.

There are various backup jobs you can perform with AllSync. You can create a 1:1 copy of files, which makes an exact copy of the contents of the source folder, or update the source folder with new files or modified versions of existing files. User-defined is another copy mode which gives you the power to manually select the files/folders to be copied. With Sync you can synchronize the source and destination folders, whilst Populate does a similar job, only to sync non-existent files between the two folders. The last copy mode is Backup, which copies the contents of the source folder to a backup folder in the destination folder.

Scheduling copy operations is possible with the AllSync Scheduler.

Data which has been deleted, moved or overwritten by a copy operation can be stored in a separate backup folder. In addition, you can compress the contents of a backup folder into a ZIP file.

Cons

Not a con per se, but it might be too complicated for amateur users.

Alternatives

Numerous sync and backup tools are available if you do a bit of digging, but here’s a small list with a few good ones: Cobian Backup (free), Duplicat (Win, Mac) (free), Syncovery (paid) and SyncToy (free).

Conclusion

This program is targeting advanced users mostly, so if you aren’t very familiar with computers and software you should probably think it over.