Tech

MEGA Backup, new backup function in the style of Google Drive

It is not necessary, at this point in life, to remember the existence of MEGA, right? You know, the file storage and synchronization service that emerged from the hand of the controversial Kim Dotcom, from whom it didn’t take long to separate due to various problems, but whose trajectory since then has been quite consistent, despite the bad omens. Well then, MEGA Backup arrives.

MEGA Backup is not a new application, but rather a new feature of MEGAsync, MEGA’s desktop client (Linux, Mac, Windows) which, as its name suggests, is used to manage file synchronization between the PC and the cloud. same goes for MEGA Backup, with which to make backup copies also honoring his name. But what does this function consist of, exactly?

The question is legitimate, because by synchronizing files in the cloud you are already making backup copies in a certain way, in addition to the fact that MEGA has always had the option of uploading files or folders to the cloud in a unidirectional way and without return. MEGA Backup consists, therefore, in a new option of one-way sync in the style of, for example, the one with Google Drive.

Whereas regular MEGA sync works both ways, that is, if you sync your documents folder with the cloud and change something on one (your computer’s documents folder) or the other side (the cloud documents folder) , the changes are automatically reflected. This method is very efficient for having the same information in different places, but it has the latent risk of data loss if a problem arises.

MEGA Backup

For example, say you’re syncing your Documents folder and accidentally delete it on your computer or the cloud. In that case, the changes will be replicated and you will have lost everything (not really, because there are insurances so that this doesn’t happen in such a simple way: there is a trash where deleted files spend a while before being permanently deleted, there is a history of versions of the edited files…).

On the other hand, the option to upload folders and files is very convenient because it integrates with the desktop file manager and consists of a couple of clicks… but it is not persistent, that is, you will have to manually repeat the exercise every time you edit a file. It does not serve to automatically keep an incremental backup up to date.

To cover this gap in MEGA’s functionality comes MEGA Backup, a one-way synchronization that allows you to choose a local folder that will sync all your changes to the cloud, but not the other way around. All the details of this new feature are explained on the MEGA blog.

For the rest, going back to the MEGA situation, it has been stable for a long time and the service is well established among others within its category, the same as Dropbox, Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive, but with encryption on the client side and the “zero knowledge” pro-privacy policy is ahead.

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