Pricing

MyPC Backup offers competitive pricing and multiple payment options to meet the needs and budgets of all consumers.  Payment can be made via Visa, Mastercard, American Express or PayPal, and users can choose to purchase plans in increments of 1 month, 6 months, 1 year or 2 years.  Consumers should know that they will be required to pay up front for the payment term selected, so if they choose the two year plan, they will have to pay for 24 months at once, even though the monthly fee is lower for this plan than for shorter terms.

JustCloud users can also choose to increase their sync space, a service which is available for an additional fee.  Three payment options are available:

JustCloud accepts payments via Mastercard, Visa, American Express and PayPal.  Check, cash and Diners cards are not accepted.

Features

With even a cursory glance at the range of features offered by JustCloud, consumers will understand that the product was designed not only by a gifted technical team, but by a team that truly understands the needs of a varied user base. 

Feature	Free Version	Paid Version
Automatic backup	Once daily	Once daily
File Versioning
Access from anywhere
Sync of multiple computers	15mb	1GB
File sharing capability
Mobile access		iPhone, iPad and Android

It is important for users to understand the difference between a file sync and a file backup, each of which offers a distinct, helpful way to save files.  Simply put, backing up a file is when the user creates a direct copy of the file on the JustCloud server, so that if the file is mistakenly lost, deleted or corrupted the user can retrieve an alternate version of the file.  Syncing the file also creates a copy, but instead of placing the copy on the JustCloud server, it installs the copy on another computer so that it can be accessed by another user.

JustCloud backs up each user's file once daily, which should be entirely adequate for most users.  Those who prefer to backup their data more frequently can do so manually.  Backing up only once daily allows the software to run efficiently without slowing up the user's computer as is common with online backup software that runs continuously.  Finally, it is useful to know that because JustCloud's backups are entirely automated, users will not need to worry about backing up their files at the end of the work day. 

A final feature worth noting is that each time the user turns on his or her computer, JustCloud notes what time the next backup is, how much space has been used and how much space is available.  Armed with this information users can determine if they need to purchase more storage space, and they'll feel comfortable working with the knowledge that another backup will come at a very specific time. 

Storage Space

Users taking advantage of JustCloud's free trial version can backup files up to 2MB, whereas paid users can backup files that are as large as 5GB.  The total storage capacity offered by JustCloud varies depending on the plan selected.  The Home Plan entitles users to a total of 75GB, the Premium Plan offers a total of 250GB, and the Unlimited Plan includes unlimited storage. 

File syncing is available for files up to 1GB, though users can opt to purchase additional syncing space up to 20GB.   

Ease of Use

When first registering for JustCloud, users are automatically registered for the free trial.  The trial tells users daily how much time they have left, and with each login users are also lead to upgrade to a paid account if they so desire.  One of the first things that should be noticed when registering for JustCloud is the ability to create an entirely new username, or to login via Facebook, an offering which aims to simplify an already painless process for anyone using the world's most popular social networking site.

Another way in which JustCloud makes the registration and installation process easy is to offer a guided audio tour of the site so that the user will be told 'personally' exactly what to do. This human touch can be extremely helpful for those who are not very tech savvy or those who have never used an online backup service before. Users who prefer a visual walk-through can take advantage of the installation screen which also includes screenshots of the process that connect the dots in a straightforward way.

The JustCloud download process takes slightly under one minute, and once complete, users are prompted to a login screen, followed by an option to backup the computer's 'My Documents' folder, or to backup selected files with a custom backup.  Of critical importance, however, is the fact that anyone who stores files in other places must also make sure to backup those files separately or to add them to the backup queue.  Failure to select these items will prevent them from being backed up by JustCloud's automatic backup. 

A simple top navigation allows users to perform functions quickly and easily, including a drag and drop of files that need to be backed up immediately, a sync of specific folders with other users and the ability to access the files that have already been backed up via JustCloud. 

Once the user selects the files he or she wishes to backup, the system will automatically resave these specific files once a day.  This system drastically differs from other types of online backup which save all files on the computer, so that the user doesn't accidentally forget to back up something important.  The benefit of this selective backing up, however, is that users looking for a specific file won't be obligated to scroll through dozens of irrelevant files before finding what they're looking for.

A final convenience worth noting is that JustCloud offers a backup speed test which allows users to see how long it takes to backup their files.  This can be vital for anyone concerned that their computer has slowed down as a direct result of the backup process. 

Security

Files saved and shared by JustCloud users are protected with a 256bit AES encryption.  Established in 2002 and later adopted for use by the US government, this form of encryption uses the same key for both encrypting and decrypting the data.  Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) security ensures that JustCloud's stored files are nearly impossible for hackers to penetrate, ensuring the utmost in security and reliability for all users. 

JustCloud's data is stored in Virginia-based Amazon s3 data centers which are designed for their reliability and security. 

Customer Support

Customer support is available via email, twitter and Facebook.  We emailed the JustCloud team at 1:41pm EST on a Sunday afternoon. Although the ticket submission on the company's website returned an error, we were able to email them directly by clicking on the prompt when we received the error.  The company claims that it responds to 95% of all inquiries with 2 hours.  Though our response came in 4 hours, we were still impressed by the speed of the response, especially on a weekend. 

JustCloud also boasts a very comprehensive FAQ section, and a range of topic-specific videos which are equally helpful (viewers beware; the voiceover is provided with a British accent). We also truly appreciated that the site's functional search feature allows users to type in specific questions or keywords to find answers to their most pressing questions so that reaching out to customer support is seldom required. Our only disappointment was that no telephone support was available.

Summary

Positive Features

• Doesn't slow down the user's computer
• 30 day money back guarantee
• Easy registration and setup

Negative Features

• Once daily backups can be difficult for some users