Handy Backup
Encyclopedia
Handy Backup is a disk imaging
and backup
software developed by Novosoft LLC. Handy Backup creates backup copies of data stored on computers working under Microsoft Windows
OS or Unix-like
systems with the WINE
Windows-compatibility layer. The backups can be stored to a variety of local and remote devices including HDD, CDs/DVDs, FTP and SFTP servers and other storage media. Users of Handy Backup can also take advantage of the Novosoft Remote Backup Service which incorporates the program with a secured remote hosting.
data, disk imaging, and other.
driven interface and a task-based architecture which allows creating and scheduling three types of operations: backup, restore and synchronization. Key options include task scheduler, ZIP
compression, Blowfish
encryption, e-mail notifications, and an option to start other programs before or after task execution.
, FAT16, FAT32, Ext2
, Ext3
, ReiserFS
, Reiser4
and other. This variety is achieved through the use of disk imaging module which allows performing sector-based backup which does not query the file system. Though this feature is not primarily designed for hard disk cloning
, it can also be used for this purpose.
and differential backup and save only changes. In Handy Backup, incremental backup is made on file level and differential backup is made on byte level.
crash, the companies decided to make their businesses independently and divide the software products they created together. On May 29, 2003 the copyright of Handy Backup was transferred to Novosoft LLC.
During the reorganization, a group of people from the Russian branch of Novosoft Inc accused Novosoft LLC of stealing the trademark and refused to transfer ownership of the Handy Backup web site. They filed a suit against Novosoft LLC claiming that the copyright had been transferred illegally, and continued selling the program, acting under the old name of Novosoft Inc (which in fact stopped its existence as a US-based company).
Since then, both parties have fought in a continuous legal battle which is still not over. At present, there are two websites, http://www.handybackup.net belonging to Novosoft LLC and http://www.handybackup.com belonging to Novosoft Inc, selling different versions of Handy Backup under the same name.
While Novosoft LLC seems to put many efforts into development and promotion of the program, Novosoft Inc succeeds in selling a 5-year obsolete version of the program, due to initial high rankings in Internet search engines (in a "classical" dot-com
way). This creates a lot of confusion among both customers and editors: e.g., in 2008 TopTenReviews
published a review of Novosoft Inc's version of Handy Backup, mistakenly ascribing it to Novosoft LLC.
In May 2008, the Texas District Court acknowledged that the Handy Backup copyright had been transferred to Novosoft LLC legally and dismissed the case. Immediately after that Novosoft LLC filed a suit demanding that Novosoft Inc transfer the domain name to them.
As of October 24, 2011 the HANDYBACKUP.COM web site is still online.
Disk image
A disk image is a single file or storage device containing the complete contents and structure representing a data storage medium or device, such as a hard drive, tape drive, floppy disk, CD/DVD/BD, or USB flash drive, although an image of an optical disc may be referred to as an optical disc image...
and backup
Backup
In information technology, a backup or the process of backing up is making copies of data which may be used to restore the original after a data loss event. The verb form is back up in two words, whereas the noun is backup....
software developed by Novosoft LLC. Handy Backup creates backup copies of data stored on computers working under Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
OS or Unix-like
Unix-like
A Unix-like operating system is one that behaves in a manner similar to a Unix system, while not necessarily conforming to or being certified to any version of the Single UNIX Specification....
systems with the WINE
Wine (software)
Wine is a free software application that aims to allow computer programs written for Microsoft Windows to run on Unix-like operating systems. Wine also provides a software library, known as Winelib, against which developers can compile Windows applications to help port them to Unix-like...
Windows-compatibility layer. The backups can be stored to a variety of local and remote devices including HDD, CDs/DVDs, FTP and SFTP servers and other storage media. Users of Handy Backup can also take advantage of the Novosoft Remote Backup Service which incorporates the program with a secured remote hosting.
Overview
Introduced in 2002 by Novosoft, Handy Backup is a backup software targeted for use in home and small business environments. The program was originally designed for backing up individual files and data and settings of popular software applications. However, after cession of the copyright to Novosoft LLC, Handy Backup quickly acquired multiple advanced features, such as support for backing up Microsoft Exchange ServerMicrosoft Exchange Server
Microsoft Exchange Server is the server side of a client–server, collaborative application product developed by Microsoft. It is part of the Microsoft Servers line of server products and is used by enterprises using Microsoft infrastructure products...
data, disk imaging, and other.
Operation
Handy Backup has a WizardWizard (software)
A software wizard or setup assistant is a user interface type that presents a user with a sequence of dialog boxes that lead the user through a series of well-defined steps. Tasks that are complex, infrequently performed, or unfamiliar may be easier to perform using a wizard...
driven interface and a task-based architecture which allows creating and scheduling three types of operations: backup, restore and synchronization. Key options include task scheduler, ZIP
ZIP (file format)
Zip is a file format used for data compression and archiving. A zip file contains one or more files that have been compressed, to reduce file size, or stored as is...
compression, Blowfish
Blowfish (cipher)
Blowfish is a keyed, symmetric block cipher, designed in 1993 by Bruce Schneier and included in a large number of cipher suites and encryption products. Blowfish provides a good encryption rate in software and no effective cryptanalysis of it has been found to date...
encryption, e-mail notifications, and an option to start other programs before or after task execution.
Supported file systems
File systems supported by the software include NTFSNTFS
NTFS is the standard file system of Windows NT, including its later versions Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista, and Windows 7....
, FAT16, FAT32, Ext2
Ext2
The ext2 or second extended filesystem is a file system for the Linux kernel. It was initially designed by Rémy Card as a replacement for the extended file system ....
, Ext3
Ext3
The ext3 or third extended filesystem is a journaled file system that is commonly used by the Linux kernel. It is the default file system for many popular Linux distributions, including Debian...
, ReiserFS
ReiserFS
ReiserFS is a general-purpose, journaled computer file system designed and implemented by a team at Namesys led by Hans Reiser. ReiserFS is currently supported on Linux . Introduced in version 2.4.1 of the Linux kernel, it was the first journaling file system to be included in the standard kernel...
, Reiser4
Reiser4
Reiser4 is a computer file system, successor to the ReiserFS file system, developed from scratch by Namesys and sponsored by DARPA as well as Linspire...
and other. This variety is achieved through the use of disk imaging module which allows performing sector-based backup which does not query the file system. Though this feature is not primarily designed for hard disk cloning
Disk cloning
Disk cloning is the process of copying the contents of one computer hard disk to another disk or to an "image" file. Often, the contents of the first disk are written to an image file as an intermediate step, and the second disk is loaded with the contents of the image...
, it can also be used for this purpose.
Handy Backup .HBI format
Handy Backup stores information about each backup task in index files of its own .HBI format. Each index file contains the list of files, their sizes, time of creation, time of last modification, file attributes, and other data. It also includes a reference to the previous index file and is renewed with each execution of the task, which enables doing incrementalIncremental backup
An incremental backup preserves data by not creating multiple copies that are based on the differences in those data: a successive copy of the data contains only that portion which has changed since the preceding copy has been created.-Incremental:...
and differential backup and save only changes. In Handy Backup, incremental backup is made on file level and differential backup is made on byte level.
Available Editions
Handy Backup comes in three editions designed for individual PCs: Standard, Professional and Full. Also, there is an enterprise backup edition called Handy Backup Server which includes all features of Handy Backup Full and allows backing up data of networked workstations. The editions have different sets of features and are targeted at different market segments. All programs are distributed as shareware and have a full-featured 30 days trial period.A legal battle over the trademark ownership
Novosoft LLC was partnering with Novosoft Inc in the field of software development for over ten years. In 2003 due to a financial markets storm caused by a Dot-com bubbleDot-com bubble
The dot-com bubble was a speculative bubble covering roughly 1995–2000 during which stock markets in industrialized nations saw their equity value rise rapidly from growth in the more...
crash, the companies decided to make their businesses independently and divide the software products they created together. On May 29, 2003 the copyright of Handy Backup was transferred to Novosoft LLC.
During the reorganization, a group of people from the Russian branch of Novosoft Inc accused Novosoft LLC of stealing the trademark and refused to transfer ownership of the Handy Backup web site. They filed a suit against Novosoft LLC claiming that the copyright had been transferred illegally, and continued selling the program, acting under the old name of Novosoft Inc (which in fact stopped its existence as a US-based company).
Since then, both parties have fought in a continuous legal battle which is still not over. At present, there are two websites, http://www.handybackup.net belonging to Novosoft LLC and http://www.handybackup.com belonging to Novosoft Inc, selling different versions of Handy Backup under the same name.
While Novosoft LLC seems to put many efforts into development and promotion of the program, Novosoft Inc succeeds in selling a 5-year obsolete version of the program, due to initial high rankings in Internet search engines (in a "classical" dot-com
Dot-com company
A dot-com company, or simply a dot-com , is a company that does most of its business on the Internet, usually through a website that uses the popular top-level domain, ".com" .While the term can refer to present-day companies, it is also used specifically to refer to companies with...
way). This creates a lot of confusion among both customers and editors: e.g., in 2008 TopTenReviews
TopTenReviews
TopTenReviews is a website which aggregates reviews for software, hardware, web services, music, movies and video games from other sites and publications. Founded by Jerry Ropelato in 2003, TTR is, as of May 2008, one of the most popular sites of its kind by size and traffic, with the largest...
published a review of Novosoft Inc's version of Handy Backup, mistakenly ascribing it to Novosoft LLC.
In May 2008, the Texas District Court acknowledged that the Handy Backup copyright had been transferred to Novosoft LLC legally and dismissed the case. Immediately after that Novosoft LLC filed a suit demanding that Novosoft Inc transfer the domain name to them.
As of October 24, 2011 the HANDYBACKUP.COM web site is still online.
See also
- BackupBackupIn information technology, a backup or the process of backing up is making copies of data which may be used to restore the original after a data loss event. The verb form is back up in two words, whereas the noun is backup....
- Disk imageDisk imageA disk image is a single file or storage device containing the complete contents and structure representing a data storage medium or device, such as a hard drive, tape drive, floppy disk, CD/DVD/BD, or USB flash drive, although an image of an optical disc may be referred to as an optical disc image...
- Disk cloningDisk cloningDisk cloning is the process of copying the contents of one computer hard disk to another disk or to an "image" file. Often, the contents of the first disk are written to an image file as an intermediate step, and the second disk is loaded with the contents of the image...
- List of backup software
- List of disk imaging software
- List of disk cloning software