SafeSync for Home

Thank goodness for the companies that have figured out a way to let us easily access our home computer files even when we're not in front of our machine. Dropbox, the first name in file-synchronization and an Editors' Choice, may be synonymous in some people's minds with this access-anywhere solution, but it's not the only player. Security company TrendMicro is in the game now, too, with a service called SafeSync for Home (from $23.95 per year for 20GB). As the name and company history suggests, SafeSync puts the safety of your data first using 256-bit AES Bank level encryption to protect your files whenever they are flying through thin air to reach your devices, and TrendMicro's own SecureCloud encryption when they're at rest.

Storage and Price
While TrendMicro's SafeSync for Home is a good, reliable, and secure service, it's probably not all that enticing to home users because it doesn't have a free option, while all the other major providers do. Dropbox gives away 2GB of space to anyone who signs up, while SugarSync (4.5 stars and also an Editors' Choice) hands you 5GB for free. And a lesser-known service called CX (4 stars) gives away a whopping 10GB. SafeSync's first tier of service is 20GB for $23.95 per year. You can try SafeSync for 30 days free (you don't even have to enter a credit card number), but I think most people prefer getting a few GB storage for nothing at all and seeing how it works out for them before upgrading to a paid option, as SugarSync, Dropbox, and CX let you do.

Without a free option, SafeSync probably won't make much headway with home users, although that's not its core market. TrendMicro does indeed have a more competitive product for businesses, appropriately called SafeSync for Business (3.5 stars) that caters better to that crowd with its advanced security and some additional collaboration tools. If you're looking for a product for a business, it's worth considering. But the home version just isn't priced as competitively as Dropbox, SugarSync, and CX.com.

Supported Systems
Support for a variety of operating systems couldn't be more pertinent to a discussion of file syncing, as the whole point of the service is to give you access to your files anywhere. SafeSync hits the big four: Windows, Mac, iOS (3.0 and later), and Android (2.1 and later). It does not support BlackBerry or Windows Mobile, though. If you rely on those platforms, or even Symbian (unlikely) or Linux (slightly more likely), stick with SugarSync, which has apps for them all.

The supported systems I just mentioned let you run SafeSync as a local program, but there's also a website where you can log in to access your files from any Web-enabled machine. SafeSync's? Web interface looks drab and business-y compared to others', especially the sleek and sexy design on CX.com. But remember, TrendMicro touts less visible advantages, like the fact that it owns its data center and thus can guarantee 99.9 percent service availability. What you lose in looks you might gain back in a feeling of assurance.

Setting Up SafeSync and Features
Once you've purchased a plan and are ready to set up SafeSync (or take up the 30-day trial), the first thing you'll do is install the software on your primary computer. You can install apps on your mobile devices or other computers at any time.

After installing the software, SafeSync asks you sign in again before giving you access to the file directory, as an added layer of security.

When it comes to features, SafeSync doesn't wow customers with any interesting bells, whistles, or designs. The tools are straightforward and pretty much do what all other file-syncing services do.

You'll get a special Trend Micro SafeSync folder (equivalent to Dropbox's " Dropbox folder," SugarSync's "Magic Briefcase," CX's "CX Sync" folder, etc.). Any files that go into the SafeSync folder will always automatically back-up and synchronize to your cloud storage space until you delete them or remove them from the folder. On any computer where SafeSync is installed and running, you can also right-click to mark a folder to be synced, although I wasn't able to sync individual files?just folders.

Sharing features are built into SafeSync's online dashboard. Click on any file, and options appear to get a link to the document to share, as well as disable the link to the document if you ever want to revoke privileges from someone with whom you've shared the file. You can also delete, rename, move, and download the file, as well as retrieve or restore up to 10 previous versions. With SafeSync, when looking through version history of a file, there's an option to select any time-stamped iteration and hit "restore" to turn back the clock and revert to a previous version.

An advanced feature (which runs on a Java applet) lets you quickly open a file in the program in which it was saved so you can edit it quickly without downloading. When I tried this feature, it worked, but it ran slowly.

SafeSync for Home in Light of the Competition
TrendMicro's SafeSync for Home offers a good and secure synchronizing service for your files, so long as you need at least 20GB of storage and are willing to pay for it. For free services, CX gives away the most space (10GB) although it doesn't support all the platforms you might need. SugarSync, which offers 5GB free, does support every major platform and offers a clean and easy-to-learn experience. But if security is your primary concern and you need a lot of space, TrendMicro may be a good fit.

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