SPECIFICATIONS SPECIFICATION OF SPIDEROAK ONE
| Free Storage | Not available |
| Hosting (Base Package) | 150 GB |
| Number of computers (Basic plan) | Infinite |
How much does SpiderOak One backup cost?
SpiderOak One Backup is free to try for 21 days, and we appreciate that it doesn’t require entering any credit card information. If you choose to become a subscriber, make sure to consider both the monthly plan and the annual plan as the options are very different.
Prices are summarized below. While these plans may seem expensive, they all support an unlimited number of devices. However, whenever you see “unlimited” ads with a technology service provider, be aware that the company will often enforce limits if the service is used beyond reasonable expectations. about what is offered. For example, if a service is intended for “personal” use but is clearly being used to run a large business, the user could be found in violation of the terms.
If you pay monthly for SpiderOak One Backup, your options are:
- $6 per month for 150GB
- $11 per month for 400GB
- $14 per month for 2TB
- $29 per month for 5TB
If you pay annually, you have more options for how much storage you can get, namely you can get smaller storage for a very reasonable cost:
- $43 per year for 5GB
- $55 per year for 10GB
- $69 per year for 150GB
- $115 per year for 400 GB
- $149 per year for 2TB
- $320 per year for 5TB
How do SpiderOak’s prices compare?
iDrive’s $79.50 per year Personal plan offers 5TB of online storage for an unlimited number of devices. Backblaze charges $70 per year for an unlimited storage plan, but it limits you to one computer.
SpiderOak One Backup doesn’t offer a backup or restore option by mail—Backblaze, Carbonite, and IDrive all do. That option is useful in case of accidental data loss, or simply if you want to do a bulk file transfer without worrying about the security issues associated with doing it over an internet connection.
SpiderOak One Backup has desktop apps for Windows, macOS, and 64-bit versions of Linux, such as Fedora and Ubuntu. However, it no longer offers apps for Android or iOS. SpiderOak’s mobile apps are read-only, meaning you can view files from your saved datasets, but not back up data from your phone. Other services, including IDrive and Zoolz BigMind, allow you to back up certain types of data from your mobile device.
Get started with SpiderOak One Backup
SpiderOak One Backup’s account setup process is very simple. All you need to do is download the desktop app and provide your username and password, which is used to encrypt your backups, as we explain in the next section. . Apps for Windows, macOS, and Linux are key to SpiderOak’s service because they’re the only way to upload files. It should be noted that, in order to update the software, you need to download the latest release from the SpiderOak website. “The challenge we have not yet solved is creating a system in which we can issue authentic updates, but it is not technically and legally feasible for a single agency,” the company explains. Aggressive authorities forced us to release an update that contained an intentional weakness. .
While the installation process is simple, SpiderOak One Backup does not guide you through the initial backup setup using a wizard. For experienced users, that’s okay, because it’s easy to find everything you need. The interface is simple if you understand some basic computer terms. For newbies, SpiderOak can be a bit overwhelming because you don’t know if the choices you’re making to files and folders for backup will suffice if you have to restore your machine. That said, SpiderOak’s Help resource covers the topic in detail. Links to those resources are in the lower-right corner of the desktop app.
Security and privacy with SpiderOak One Backup
SpiderOak One Backup’s strong point is its security measures. it has no policy knowledge that says it has absolutely no way to access or view any of your files. In practice, this means that all traffic to and from SpiderOak servers is encrypted over TLS/SSL and protected by certificate pinning (a method of preventing attacks from intermediate). In other words, no one else can see or access your file’s contents.
As mentioned, SpiderOak encrypts your backup set with your account password. It hashes your passwords with salted PBKDF2, a primary derivation function used to prevent brute force or rainbow table attacks. SpiderOak says its encryption method uses a combination of 2048-bit RSA and 256-bit AES. All those measures help keep your data private. It also means that no one at SpiderOak can help you reset your account password if you forget it.
This setting is slightly different from what other online backup services use. For example, IDrive and Acronis Cyber Protect Home let you set private encryption keys that are separate from account passwords. Companies still can’t help you recover your data if you lose your keys, but at least they can reset your account password.
SpiderOak One Backup deserves bonus points for its transparency in support documents and throughout the user experience. For example, when you log in to your account on the web, the website will notify you in plain language about your privacy rights that you may waive as a result of the inevitable consequences of using the platform. there. The warning ends with the explanation that the zero-knowledge policy applies exclusively to the desktop application only. The web interface doesn’t support multi-factor authentication, which is another reason why you might decide not to use it. As of this writing, the feature is listed as “in beta” and it has been doing so for a few years. Many other online backup services, including IDrive, Backblaze, and OpenDrive, support this security feature.
SpiderOak’s privacy policy states that it collects three types of information: account information (username and passphrase), payment information, and device information (operating system, approximate amount of data). stored on its service, its IP address, any system error messages, and the date and time of each request). The company says it uses this data internally to maintain, improve and customize the service. We appreciate SpiderOak’s statement that it “never sells or shares your information with third-party advertisers,” which is something we’d love to hear. Note that SpiderOak says it will release information “if we believe compliance with a valid law, regulation, or legal process is reasonably necessary,” but that’s standard practice. SpiderOak is based in the United States, in Missouri.
Desktop interface
SpiderOak One Backup’s desktop app features a simple design and clean blue, white, and gray tones. The app intelligently divides its many features across five main tabs: Dashboard, Backup, Manage, Sync, and Share. From the Dashboard you can view all the devices that you have connected to OneBackup and the central module shows the status of the running Backup, Sync and Share processes. The persistent storage bar at the bottom of the interface shows how much space you have left on your account. The green Run Now button in the corner makes it easy to start a backup from anywhere in the interface.
Tapping Backup brings up suggestions for stuff you might want to back up. Choices include Desktop, Documents, Favorites, Movies, Music, and Photos. Note that these options refer only to the folder name itself. For example, choosing Music will back up your Music folder, not all the audio files on your machine.
The center of the Backups tab lets you see a directory tree of files selected for backup and add anything to that list. Unfortunately, there is no disk image backup option. Acronis and IDrive both offer easy ways to back up an entire hard drive.
You can download items from the Manage tab as well as access the file history (or versions) of items in your archive backup. The Sync tab lets you see the status of SpiderOak Hive, a shared folder for synchronizing files across devices. Alternatively, you can specify two other folders on the hard drive that you want to keep in sync with each other. Sharing is the last option where you set up ShareRooms. We will go into more detail about these last two later in this review.
Schedule backups with SpiderOak
SpiderOak One Backup allows you to customize your backup schedule through the Options menu. With the default option, Auto, SpiderOak continuously monitors your system for any file changes—a strategy we strongly support. In addition, it can back up files at set intervals (minimum every 5 minutes) or at a specific time or day of the week. You can also schedule ShareRooms sync and update independently.
Another option allows you to include or exclude files of different types and sizes from your backup. For example, you can exclude files that are larger than 1GB, use certain keywords in their filenames, or are older than a specified age. These options are great for power users.
SpiderOak One Backup doesn’t re-upload the entire file every time something changes. Instead, it scans your files, finds modified parts, and uploads new data. As a result, it can store historical versions of your files, while minimizing the space and bandwidth required. The service also removes duplicate information and condenses your files to maximize your storage.
We like the convenience of right-clicking any file or folder in Windows’ File Explorer (the same functionality isn’t supported on macOS or Linux) for quick backups. If a file has already been backed up, SpiderOak One Backup offers a few more options, such as Create a shared file association and Show versions. Carbonite Safe offers a similar feature. If you don’t want to see SpiderOak One Backup options in the File Explorer context menu, you can disable it in Settings under Enable OS integration.
Sync and share
SpiderOak One Backup includes a synchronization service called Hive. When you set up an account, you automatically get a folder on your machine called SpiderOak Hive, which acts like a Dropbox folder. It syncs any files you add to it with other places where you have SpiderOak One Backup installed. Livedrive offers similar folder synchronization capabilities.
Sharing files and folders in SpiderOak One Backup uses a somewhat complex but very flexible system called ShareRooms Click the Share tab to get started. SpiderOak first asks you to create a ShareID, which is a public username that helps people identify you when you share files with them. SpiderOak recommends choosing a different name than your account username. The app then guides you through a few text fields where you name your room, provide a description, and the option to lock the room with a password. Remember that to share any folder, that folder must be part of your backup set.
You can add an optional description of the room, possibly instructions, or other information for your collaborators. The process feels a bit dated because you don’t actually select the folders to share until near the end of the process. The final step is to verify all information and enable sharing.
After setting up ShareRoom, you must send details to your collaborators, but there is no built-in desktop option to do this, although the Share on the web has an option email. Your friends and collaborators can only access ShareRoom through a unique URL or by logging into the SpiderOak website with the ShareID and RoomKey you create. Everyone with access can add new files and edit existing files, and all changes are automatically viewable to others.
When you share files, SpiderOak explains that doing so violates some aspects of the no-knowledge pact but it’s your choice to do so. All your other data remains private and SpiderOak still has no way to view it.
You can skip all these steps by going to the Manage tab, selecting the file, and clicking the Link button. Alternatively, you can create a share link by right-clicking on the file in Explorer and choosing Share, Create Shared File Link, Create Share Link and Copy to Clipboard, or Create Share Link share and create email. However, none of the latter options can be set up with a password, and the link is only active for three days. Stick with ShareRooms if you want the best protection for your shared content.
Restore files
Advanced users who want more control over backed up files will appreciate how SpiderOak One Backup handles file recovery. From the Manage tab in the desktop client, you can download any selected folder or file. If you want to recover a large batch of files at once, you can select the original file or the highest volume in the folder. The Manage tab also conveniently lets you remove items from your backup. Note that you can only delete items from your backup from the computer where you originally backed them up. SpiderOak says the policy is to prevent someone from deleting anything that has access to your account through the web portal.
By default, SpiderOak One Backup saves an unlimited number of versions of each file it backs up, which is ideal. IDrive keeps only the past 30 versions of each file, although it keeps it indefinitely. SpiderOak One Backup supports point-in-time restore—whether through the command line or Terminal—so you’ll never lose access to a file you may have accidentally deleted locally.
To see all saved versions of a file, highlight it in the Manage tab. The History panel appears on the right. It puts the latest version at the top, but you can select any previous version and tap the Download button to get it back. SpiderOak One Backup successfully saved each version of the file, which we changed several times.
No ‘UnKnowledge’ With Web Client
As mentioned, we like that SpiderOak has explicitly informed you that using the web portal would violate the zero-knowledge pact. That is a trade-off. You can get the convenience of a web app where you can quickly and easily retrieve or restore your files, or you can ensure zero-knowledge privacy . After all, you don’t need to use the web app, unless you lose your data the only way to get your files back is through the web app.
Web apps don’t seem to be built for regular use, such as Dropbox’s website. Instead, SpiderOak One Backup is much less functional when you use it in a web browser than the desktop app.
From the web interface, you can access four sections: Hive, Manage, Share and Account. Hive allows you to view and download any file stored in the Hive folder, although you cannot upload anything to this folder from the web. The Manage section lets you view available folders that you’ve backed up, preview images and download files, and deauthorize any computers you’ve linked to your account. There is no search feature here, so you’d better know the location of your relevant files. The Shares section allows you to view all your ShareRooms and download files from them. From your Account, you can update your email address, password, and change your subscription, including canceling it.
The Accounts section could also one day be where you can enable multi-factor authentication. There’s an area for it, but it’s either not available or in beta for years now. The lack of multi-factor authentication is disappointing and intriguing for a company that caters to a crowd concerned with privacy and security.
How fast does SpiderOak One back up uploaded files?
To test the performance of the online backup service, we calculated how long it took them to upload three sets of 1GB files. We then take the median of the results for comparison. We don’t have access to PCMag’s corporate test network due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic this year—we are working from home, like so many others—so our tests I’m being taken on the home network. This most recent test was done in 2021 using a home Ethernet connection (16 Mbps upload). We used a Dell Inspiron tower running Windows 10 with a 256GB SSD and 32GB of RAM. Your individual results may vary, as differences in the network environment and system resources will likely affect performance.
SpiderOak One Backup took slightly longer than average to complete the test with a time of 16:11 (minutes:seconds). IDrive (12:29) and ElephantDrive (12:44) finished in the top two places. SpiderOak One Backup was about six minutes faster than the last runner-up NovaBackup (22:14).
Backup time will matter most when you run the process for the first time on your computer, but the faster backup speed makes the process much more convenient. A SpiderOak representative noted that the service optimizes for security and privacy, rather than upload speed, which is one of the potential reasons for these slower results.
Privacy first with lots of control
SpiderOak One Backup takes privacy seriously, and if that’s your primary concern for a backup tool, it should be one of your top choices. Its desktop app is also one of the best we’ve tested, with a slick yet simple design. SpiderOak’s online storage prices are a bit high, but every plan supports an unlimited number of devices and also allows you to save an unlimited number of file versions. However, the service needs to add a multi-factor authentication option for web logins and we would like to have the option to back up mobile devices.
