By default, Carbonite backs up everything in your Documents and Settings folder, including documents, photos, email and data files from applications, such as Quicken, Money, etc.
Once a subscription is purchased, music is also added to the list. The default backup does not include programs, system files, temporary files, videos, or individual files greater than 4GB. You can, however, manually add any of these to your Carbonite backup.
Carbonite uses a combination of encryption techniques, similar to those used by banks, to safeguard your data. Files are encrypted twice before they leave your PC and remain encrypted on our servers, making it virtually impossible for anyone to access your files without your secret password. Users are also given the option to manage their own encryption key.
There are no limits on backup storage capacity. Carbonite will back up all the supported files on your internal hard drive whether you have 1GB, 10GB or more. However, users should be aware that the speed of today’s DSL and cable Internet services will make it very slow to back up more than, say, a few dozen GB of data.
How can I tell what’s backed up online?
Dots on files and folders show you the status of your backup at a glance.
A green dot on a file means the file is backed up.
A yellow dot means the file is pending backup.
No dot means the file is not selected for backup.
A green dot on a folder means 100% of the folder’s contents are backed up.
A yellow dot on a folder means that it contains files or subfolders that are pending backup.
A “green donut” dot — a green dot with a hole in the middle — means that some of the folder’s files or sub-folders are not selected for backup, but all other files within the folder are backed up.
A folder with no dot is either empty or not selected for backup.
How do I restore lost files?
Carbonite makes restoring files fast and easy. Restore any file or folder from your backup with just a few clicks. Try it for yourself:
1. Double-click the Carbonite Backup Drive icon on your desktop
2. Locate the file or folder you wish to restore
3. Right-click on the file or folder and select “Restore” to restore it to its original location, or “Restore to” to restore it to a new location
That’s it! Your file or folder has been restored.
If your PC crashes or is stolen, you can recover lost files to a new computer by visiting our website. Recovering small amounts of data (a few files here or there) will probably take only seconds or minutes.
Restoring all of your data will take longer and depends on how much data you have and the speed of your Internet connection. Most DSL services will allow you to download about 600-800 MB per hour, or roughly 14-18GB per day. For an average user, complete data restoration is likely to take at most a day or two.
