SpiderOak One Backup Concerns

Preview:

Spideroak One Backup's future is in question. I don't know if it will continue and regain reliability. Here are the facts and my recommendation.

After 15 years of using Spideroak One Backup, I have left the product and moved to iDrive for backups. I did extensive research, and reluctantly abandoned a product I was delighted with for over a decade. Was I right? Should you leave? I don't know. However, here's my reasoning. You can decide for yourself.

September 2007

They were clearly an online backup solution. They described themselves this way in the beginning.

After researching the online backup, storage, and sharing industry, we were disappointed with both the technology and orientation of the product offerings. Whether the sharing functionality fell short, a lack of strong security focus, or simply confusion in using the product, these shortcomings lead to the creation of SpiderOak.

March 2012

We at SpiderOak provide innovative cloud-based services from online backup to synchronization to sharing. Creating a truly private and secure environment.

They are clearly a backup service.

June 2024

SpiderOak is a 100% U.S.-owned and operated software company that delivers end-to-end cybersecurity and resiliency solutions for civil, military, and commercial space operations.

This is their current banner illustrating their business.

Zero-Trust for Zero-Gravity.

Current Warning Signs

They no longer even mention backup. They work with the military space force to secure our space infrastructure. This is a fine mission, and I heartily wish them the best of luck. But, where does this leave the small business or homeowner that needs an off-site backup?
Rather than updating their very limited mobile apps, they simply abandoned them.
They have not updated their software for nearly five years.
They recently changed their server clusters and thousands of clients were unable to access their backups or perform new backups for 2 weeks to a month!
They previously had problems with their servers, and couldn't fix them. They just had people setup new accounts on other servers. Their online backups were lost. My clients simply made new backups and were not hurt because my backup systems have multiple layers of redundancy. But my trust was broken.
I'm not comfortable with the frequency of client difficulties stemming from Spideroak One Backup.

Current Hopeful Signs

They claim they moved to better server clusters.
They are moving much of their older software, like OneBackup to their open-source platform on GitHub. This could make a wonderful open-source project.
Their support people claim they have wonderful things planned for the future.
They have always been a good moral company, fulfilling their promises and taking care of their clients. I have clients who 10 years ago got unlimited or free storage. Those plans are not offered anymore, but those clients still get their free or unlimited storage. Clients who were off-line and then charged, were refunded their money if they brought the issue to a support person's notice.
Once clients are brought back online, everything seems to be working fine.

My Best Guess

My guess is that the new Space Force Cybersecurity company will spin off Spideroak One Backup to those employees who believe in the project and want to work with an open-source community will revitalize it. Spideroak will probably provide corporate sponsorship for a while. I do not know if this project will succeed.

My Choice

My backups are too important. I researched many options, even trying some, and eventually chose iDrive backup. I've been using it for nearly a year and am satisfied with it.

Date: July 2024

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

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Home Forms About Current Newsletter subscribe Search All Articles Browse by Category Security Internet Mobile Business Hardware Fun		SpiderOak One Backup Concerns Preview: Spideroak One Backup's future is in question. I don't know if it will continue and regain reliability. Here are the facts and my recommendation. After 15 years of using Spideroak One Backup, I have left the product and moved to iDrive for backups. I did extensive research, and reluctantly abandoned a product I was delighted with for over a decade. Was I right? Should you leave? I don't know. However, here's my reasoning. You can decide for yourself. September 2007 They were clearly an online backup solution. They described themselves this way in the beginning. After researching the online backup, storage, and sharing industry, we were disappointed with both the technology and orientation of the product offerings. Whether the sharing functionality fell short, a lack of strong security focus, or simply confusion in using the product, these shortcomings lead to the creation of SpiderOak. March 2012 We at SpiderOak provide innovative cloud-based services from online backup to synchronization to sharing. Creating a truly private and secure environment. They are clearly a backup service. June 2024 SpiderOak is a 100% U.S.-owned and operated software company that delivers end-to-end cybersecurity and resiliency solutions for civil, military, and commercial space operations. This is their current banner illustrating their business. Zero-Trust for Zero-Gravity. Current Warning Signs They no longer even mention backup. They work with the military space force to secure our space infrastructure. This is a fine mission, and I heartily wish them the best of luck. But, where does this leave the small business or homeowner that needs an off-site backup? Rather than updating their very limited mobile apps, they simply abandoned them. They have not updated their software for nearly five years. They recently changed their server clusters and thousands of clients were unable to access their backups or perform new backups for 2 weeks to a month! They previously had problems with their servers, and couldn't fix them. They just had people setup new accounts on other servers. Their online backups were lost. My clients simply made new backups and were not hurt because my backup systems have multiple layers of redundancy. But my trust was broken. I'm not comfortable with the frequency of client difficulties stemming from Spideroak One Backup. Current Hopeful Signs They claim they moved to better server clusters. They are moving much of their older software, like OneBackup to their open-source platform on GitHub. This could make a wonderful open-source project. Their support people claim they have wonderful things planned for the future. They have always been a good moral company, fulfilling their promises and taking care of their clients. I have clients who 10 years ago got unlimited or free storage. Those plans are not offered anymore, but those clients still get their free or unlimited storage. Clients who were off-line and then charged, were refunded their money if they brought the issue to a support person's notice. Once clients are brought back online, everything seems to be working fine. My Best Guess My guess is that the new Space Force Cybersecurity company will spin off Spideroak One Backup to those employees who believe in the project and want to work with an open-source community will revitalize it. Spideroak will probably provide corporate sponsorship for a while. I do not know if this project will succeed. My Choice My backups are too important. I researched many options, even trying some, and eventually chose iDrive backup. I've been using it for nearly a year and am satisfied with it. Date: July 2024 This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
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