ODIN stands for Open Disk Imager in a Nutshell, which is a pretty self-explanatory name for this utility. With ODIN you'll be able to create exact images of any of the hard drives on your system, including external drives, USB memory drives and other removable media.

Using ODIN is very easy and hardly takes a couple of minutes. Simply select the drive you want to create the image of and open the Settings menu to tweak the image options: you can choose whether you want to compress the image file or not, split it into several parts or not and limit its size to an exact number of megabytes to make it fit a CD or DVD.

From this point on, however, ODIN's not that fast. Image disks take a while to be generated, though the total elapsed time will vary depending on the selected settings and, of course, the size of the drive you're working with.

ODIN is probably the easiest way to create an exact image of your hard drive, and also allows you to compress the resulting file.

Download ODIN 0.3.4.308 in Softonic

This backup application will help you create security copies of selected files and documents and save them in different locations, including network units, USB devices and removable hard drives. Of course, you can also backup to another folder in the same drive, but that wouldn't be very smart (if you lose that hard drive, you lose both the original and the backup copy).

The most outstanding feature in Uranium Backup is that you can schedule those backups to be run at specific days and times. The scheduling menu has lots of options so you can easily have your backups done when you're not using the PC and thus it doesn't disturb your work.

On the downside, this freeware version doesn't include other interesting features like the ability to save backup copies to an FTP drive, a CD or a DVD.

Uranium Backup is a simple, easy-to-use backup tool you can use for your security copies, provided you don't need FTP support.

Download Uranium Backup 8.6.0 in Softonic

USB Image Tool is a smart little application that's capable of generating images of your USB devices so you can always restore the disk image anytime you need. With USB drives now capable of holding up to 1 Terabyte of data, it's very wise to create images in case of hard disk failure.

The program automatically detects USB devices connected to your computer and scans them before asking you whether you'd like to create an image backup or restore a previously backed-up image. USB Image Tool can create images of USB memory sticks and MP3 players, that are mounted as USB drives. Note that the tool requires the .NET Framework 2.0 installed in either XP or Vista and the usbit32.dll included in the archive must be placed in the same directory as the EXE file.

If you've got a lot of data stored on USB drives, USB Image Tool is an easy to use and space efficient way to protect your information.

Download USB Image Tool 1.27 in Softonic

Cobian Backup works as both an application and service. The program is very light on resources for a backup program of its size and runs in the background very discreetly. it makes periodic backups but unlike some programs, doesn't seem to slow down your PC in the process. Cobian Backup acts too quickly to really slow down whatever you are doing although if it has to backup a very big file, you will notice some lag (more than 1 GB).

Cobian Backup only copies your files and folders in their original or compressed mode to another destination and does not perform any compression itself. This is to ensure that nothing is corrupted during the backup process but if you are backing up particularly large files, you might find this something of a problem unless you've got lots of backup space. However, Cobian Backup has limited compression and strong encryption methods available if you need to reduce the size of your files and protect them at the same time.

Cobian Backup is a very convenient program that backups quickly, quietly and without any further prompting from its user.

Download Cobian Backup 11.2 in Softonic

Sometimes you might install something you wish you hadn't, that messes up your PC. Comodo Time Machine allows you to save snapshots of your system, which you can easily return to after any accidents like this. As well as your setup, Comodo Time Machine can also be set up to restore files and folders if you want.

The biggest advantage with Comodo Time Machine is simplicity. The interface is split into easy-to-understand tabs, where you can view or take a snapshot, restore your system and more. All of the features are easy to use, and the Comodo Time Machine is refreshingly light on resources and quick to take system snapshots too.

The developer claims this is a safeguard against virus infection, but we would still recommend an antivirus program as a first line of defense. Comodo Time Machine is certainly useful for undoing unwanted installations, and for keeping your PC clean in general. If you have a shared PC, this is a neat way of spring cleaning! Unfortunately, Comodo Time Machine is very difficult to uninstall, and it's pop up notifications can not all be turned off.

Comodo Time Machine would be a neat solution for backing up and spring cleaning your PC, but unfortunately it is so hard to uninstall it is hard to recommend.

Download Comodo Time Machine 2.8.155286 in Softonic

This is when FavBackup comes in handy. FavBackup is a powerful tool that lets you back up and restore bookmarks and user preferences. It works with all major web browsers: Firefox, Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Opera, Safari and Flock, so it covers a significant portion of the browser market.

FavBackup is really easy to use. To begin with, it doesn't even require installation. Double click the EXE file and you'll be presented with a clearly-designed interface with two toolbars: one to pick the browser you want to work with, and another one to select the task to perform: backup, full backup, restore, or full restore. The difference between full and non-full is that the first one backs absolutely everything up, while the latter lets you select which exact elements you want to save: bookmarks, cookies, stored passwords, browsing history, etc.

FavBackup works just as it says on the tin. It's fast and efficient, and has been greatly improved since earlier versions. It doesn't feature any configuration options (except for the choice between three interface skins) and also lacks documentation – though you do have a link to an online Help page.

With FavBackup you can easily back up and restore bookmarks, history, cookies, user preferences, and other elements in all major web browsers.

Download FavBackup 2.1.1 in Softonic

With EASEUS Todo Backup you can protect your files in an easy and effective way. EASEUS Todo Backup helps you create a full backup copy of your system, including not only your personal files, but also the operating system, user settings and applications. If your computer is attacked by viruses or corrupted due to unstable software, you'll be able to restore the system with this backup copy in no time via EASEUS Todo Backup.

EASEUS Todo Backup is also useful in case you want to upgrade to a larger hard drive or a newer operating system: you can clone the contents of your current hard drive and transfer it bit by bit to the new one. No more lengthy system reinstallations, thanks to EASEUS Todo Backup!

Having tested other similar tools, I have to say that EASEUS Todo Backup is fairly easy to use and includes a complete user guide, though some basic knowledge about disk partitions is strongly advised. In any case, remember that backup copies should always be saved on a different drive from the source disk.

Better be safe than sorry: install EASEUS Todo Backup and create backup copies of all your important data today! It's fast, easy and free.

Download EASEUS Todo Backup 3.5 in Softonic

By creating a one-to-one map of your PC's entire hard drive, Clonezilla Live allows you to capture your computer at a specific moment when it is virus-free. Clonezilla Live can also map out individual partitions on your PC. The open-source program is based on Linux and works with most CD burning hardware.

The first thing to do is burn the ISO image file to a CD. Before starting up Clonezilla Live afterward, you can tweak the BIOS in the boot options of your PC's CD drive. Once you've opened the CD on which the copy of your hard-drive has been burned, you can use Clonezilla Live to copy it either to a full disk or to individual partitions. Basically, your back-up location can be stored both locally on your computer, as well as on an external hard drive for added protection. One of Clonezilla Live's most unique features is that it clones only the sections of your hard drive that have actually been used. Any empty folders simply don't get copied, which is convenient and a great space-saver.

In the event you suffer a hard drive failure, you can perform a complete system restore via disk or by way of an external hard drive. You can also transmit the image you've taken onto different computers other than the one you originally copied it from.

Although Clonezilla Live is reliable and quite fast, it does not offer quite as many options as paid disk imaging programs tend to. Its interface is also a little plain.

Just the same, Clonezilla Live is a reliable and easy-to-use disk imaging tool for PCs.

Download Clonezilla Live 1.2.6 in Softonic

No matter how safe and stable your system may be, it’s always possible you might suffer a computer disaster that causes you to lose valuable data. And the only way to prevent that is to use a backup tool to make copies of the files that are most important to you.

GFI Backup lets you easily create and manage backup copies, not only of individual files and folders, but also of email, registry keys and user settings. You can save those backup copies to different locations with GFI Backup, such as an external hard drive, a networked drive, a CD, a USB memory stick or a remote FTP server. GFI Backup also has compression and encryption options as well, requiring you to use less space and protecting your most important data from prying eyes.

GFI Backup is really easy to use and offers lots of options. You can schedule backups so that they're done automatically according to a certain time interval and make the program warn you in case something goes wrong. The program also includes a special syncing module that enables you to keep two different folders up to date, with exactly the same content. Both backup and sync tasks can be easily managed from a special area in GFI Backup.

GFI Backup is a complete backup utility that helps you create copies of important data and sync content between different locations.

Download GFI Backup 2011 415 in Softonic

With a nice-looking and relatively straightforward interface, UpdateStar Drivers is easy to use and has a decent amount of features. First, it will perform a scan on your computer. UpdateStar Drivers looks for all the drivers currently installed on your PC and, once found, it will let you know that number, as well as how many happen to be out of date. The scan is quick and takes between three and ten minutes, depending on the size of your PC and how many drivers UpdateStar Drivers actually finds.

A nice available feature is the ability to download updated drivers in a few simple clicks if the utility finds that there are some that are out of date. The program should automatically install any new driver updates once you click the download button. All you have to do is sit back and wait. UpdateStar Drivers will also back-up your drivers and restore them if they are damaged or lost after a reformat or system restore.

Unfortunately, the free version of this tool lacks the features of the licensed version. Particularly of note is the lack of an automated driver update option on UpdateStar Drivers's free version.

Overall, UpdateStar Drivers is a great tool for quickly locating and updating the drivers on your PC.

Download UpdateStar Drivers 4.1.0.0 in Softonic

IdleBackup is especially created for this purpose: it controls the processor level of usage and takes advantage of those idle moments when the CPU is not working in order to create backup copies of your most important documents.

The program enables you to set a given period of time between backups (which surprisingly can only bet set in seconds and with your mouse – no keyboard allowed) but the automated process won't start if the computer is being used. There's also the possibility to manually start the backup copy.

The first backup will be a full copy, but the rest of them will be incremental which means that only those files which have been changed will be added to the backup. Copies can be saved to any other local folder or a networked drive. Apart from setting the period of time and the source and target folders, there are no other options to configure copies.

This is quite a simple backup copy program, but still it makes good use of those times when your computer is not in use.

Download IdleBackup 1.16d in Softonic

The neat thing about Genie Timeline is that it makes the backup process really simple - it only has two steps! First you select the drive to backup, and then the data you want to keep safe. To keep things simple, Genie Timeline splits file types into categories and you can pick which categories you want to back up.

Then the backup is performed - how long it takes depends on the speed of your drives and how much you want to backup! From then on Genie Timeline will monitor your activity, and keep any more files of the types you chose backed up.

Genie Timeline isn't a complete data backup solution, but it works great for keeping records of files. It can be upgraded to a premium home or professional version. Some users will find the configuration options are too slim, and annoyingly there is a Tools section on the interface, but it only brings up a message saying these features are not available.

Although it's very simple, Genie Timeline is an ideal way for people to backup files, especially documents, email and media.

Download Genie Timeline Free 2.1.8.340 in Softonic

Syncplicity is an online free storage service which includes a 2 GB virtual hard drive where you can keep a copy of all your important files (with a maximum size of 300 MB each, that is). This copy is updated in real time, meaning that if you change the contents of the folder on your local PC, these changes will be immediately synced with the Syncplicity virtual drive.

What I liked most about Syncplicity was its ease of use. The program can be configured in a couple of minutes, just by following the step-by-step wizard that runs the first time you launch it. Plus, you can set up Syncplicity to use with Facebook, Scribd and Google Docs.

On the downside, I missed having a built-in file manager, and therefore being able to check my synced files without having to open the web browser. Also, I found Syncplicity quite slow: it took me about an hour to sync a hundred photos, and my connection is not precisely a slow one. Oh well, I guess the trick is to leave the program working in the background and move on to something else.

If you're worried about the security of your files, keep them backed up and synced in real time with Syncplicity, an online storage tool with 2 GB of free space.

Download Syncplicity 2.0.3114 Beta in Softonic

Download DriveImage XML 2.30 in Softonic

This is basically what WinFuture XP-Iso-Builder, through 11 simple steps, does by creating a CD or DVD custom installation of Windows. You can integrate all the service packs you may have downloaded (a major time saver in itself), determine which user accounts are created and include drivers and programs, among other options. The program works by taking a snapshot of your system and creating an ISO image that we can be burnt on a CD or DVD.

This is an essential solution for anyone that has an highly customised Windows installation and doesn't want to wait if the worst happens.

Download WinFuture XP-ISO-Builder 3.0.5 in Softonic

Download MozBackup 1.5 in Softonic

IDrive is a free online storage service that grants you up to 2 GB of space to store any kind of files. Its main purpose is to create backup copies of your most important documents, but I guess you can use it to save just about anything. It's a great way to share files between remote computers, or a desktop and laptop PC.

IDrive is very easy to use because its interface is very similar to that of Windows standard File Explorer. Data is categorized in a tree-like structure, and you only need to check those folders and files that you want to backup. The backup process can take a while (we uploaded about 45 MB in 20 minutes during our tests) but the good thing is that you can leave the program running in the background and even limit the amount of bandwidth used by it. Besides the Explorer-like interface, IDrive also adds a new mapped drive to your "My PC" folder where you can check the contents uploaded to the IDrive storage service.

Generally speaking, IDrive is a great idea. I think it's a good alternative to offline backups and other removable storage solutions such as USB devices or even recordable CD. On the downside, the program lacks a faster response when moving between options and menus.

A free, easy tool that enables you to have a backup copy of your files always available.

Download IDrive 3.2.5 in Softonic

With Macrium Reflect you now have access to a free disk imaging solution (which is not that common unfortunately) that enables you to create a perfect mirror image of your hard drive. This means that, in case your computer suddenly "dies", you can always bring it back to life by restoring the disk image you previously created with Macrium Reflect.

Of course, disk images don't make sense if you store them on the same hard drive you're copying, so you'll need to use an extra storage device (external or not) or a networked drive to save your mirror image.

Macrium Reflect is very easy to use because it lets you create images via an assistant that guides you through the whole process in just a few simple steps. What doesn't seem that easy is the scheduled backup tool: it works with XML template files and novice users will surely find it confusing. Also, Macrium Reflect lets you create rescue disks, but unfortunately only for Linux, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003.

If you care about the safety of your documents, take a moment to create a mirror image of your hard drive with Macrium Reflect. It's very easy to use and can really save your life!

Download Macrium Reflect 5.0.4432 Free Edition in Softonic