World Backup Day is a day for people to back up their computers and to learn about the role of backing up and preserving data. It’s an independent initiative with has it’s origin on Reddit by a couple of concerned Reddit users.

Here’s some options to help you back up your Mac’s data:

Backblaze Backup for Mac

Backblaze are one of the Presenting Sponsors of the World Backup Day movement. As an extra incentive to backup your data, Backblaze are giving away an iPad. All you have to do to stand a chance of winning the iPad is to start a free trial.

In a survey carried out last year, Backblaze found that out of 2,186 responses, only 5% backed up their computer daily, and 10% on a weekly basis. 35% of respondents said they never backed up their data. Ouch, I couldn’t even imagine what would happen should those users suffer a computer crash.

Backup Your Mac with Mozy

Mozy are also supporting World Backup Day. To celebrate the movement they are offering 25% off any new subscription. All you have to do to receive this discount is to use the promo code WORLDBACKUP. However, the promo code is only good on World Backup Day (March 31st) so be quick if you want to take advantage of this offer.

Click this link to enter the promo code and get your 25% off with Mozy.

External Hard Drives

Another route you can go aside from the cloud backup options above is to get an external hard drive to backup your Mac’s hard drive with something like Time Machine. I like the 3TB external hard drive from Seagate if you’re looking for recommendations. If you want to make sure there is no data loss at all if your drive fails, then I would go with a cloud backup options and back up with an external hard drive. That way you cover all your bases.

Are you doing anything special to celebrate World Backup Day? Let us know in the comments!

World Backup Day – Back Up Your Mac! is a post from: Best Mac Software

Being a little OCD, it irks me that this happens – you want the functionality of a browser, but to use it you have to sacrifice data (without the plugin). That’s not okay with me. Fortunately, I came across SRWare Iron. Iron is basically just like chrome – looks the same, functions the same, but without the privacy issues. Check out these differences between Iron and Chrome.

If you want to give Iron a whirl and are looking for something different to Chrome, then give it a try. I’ve been using Iron as a Chrome alternative for months now and love it.

Iron – An Alternative Web Browser for Mac is a post from: Best Mac Software

Firstly, Chronicle has a simple interface that just makes sense. When you open up the app for the first time this is what you’re presented with:

It’s great to see developers actually offer information once the app has installed without being overly aggressive. I love that I can make the choice between setting up reminders, watching a video, or begin to use the software – like all good apps, the choice is with the user.

Setting up a new bill is simple. You select an icon which will be associated with the bill (there are plenty of choices), you enter the name of the bill, select due date, payment interval and that’s about it. However, where Chronicle really excels is that the more information you give it, the more useful it becomes. For instance, I found that entering my amount due, total balance, and payment method helped me not freak out as much when it came time to pay the bill (especially when I set up the reminders). If you find yourself living paycheck to paycheck, then setting up the reminder will be a huge help, and I would recommend that you do this for each bill that you enter. This will be time consuming, but it’s better than paying overdraft charges.

Once you’ve entered a few payments, then you can visit the overview screen which will give you a rundown of all your bills that are upcoming. You can also view payment history, a comparison of the current month with the previous month, and your next payment date. If there are some months when you feel like you’ve got more money going out than should be, you can get a history of just how much money went out, and compare the past twelve months to see if there was a pattern.

On the overview screen you can also delete any payments, let’s say you paid off your car, and you don’t need to make the payments any more. However, if you’re like me and a little OCD on keeping track of everything, then you can archive bills so you’ve got a payment record. Additionally, you never need to lose track of any payment, due to the tagging system. I’ve began to create tags for each bill I enter, and it’s great for organizing and having access to everything quickly.

I found myself using Chronicle more than I thought. The simple but intelligent user interface made entering and managing everything super easy, and who would have thought organizing your finances would be so straight-foward? Chronicle pays for itself the first time that reminder shows up and tells you about a bill you forgot about. Once selected as a Staff Pick for finance software by Apple, and it’s easy to see why. Simple, intuitive, and useful.

Remember to Pay Your Bills with Chronicle is a post from: Best Mac Software

Mac Data Recovery Software

Data Rescue 3

From what I’ve found out, Data Rescue 3 for Mac looks to be one of the better options for the recovery of data loss due to faulty hard drives or files which were deleted. Used by all major branches of the U.S Military, major intelligence agencies, and law enforcement, Data Rescue 3 recovers files of all types from your hard drive. Even if the drive only partially works, or fails to mount, you can recover either lost, deleted, or damaged files. There are options to either recover only the files you need, or the entire contents of the hard drive. What I like about Data Rescue 3 is that it comes with an emergency bootable DVD with no need to disassemble your computer.

In addition, you get free customer support by either phone or email. You can recover up to hundreds of file types, and if the file type you want to recover isn’t among those included, you can specify a user defined file type – vastly increasing your ability to recover all of your files.

Disk Drill Pro

Disk Drill Pro offers a wide array of Mac data recovery features, and consists of an impressive range of recovery options. These options include:

• Mac hard drive recovery
• File recovery for Mac
• Recover memory card
• Partition recovery
• Mac photo recovery
• iPod recovery

Disk Drill, designed specifically for Mac, allows you to recover all types of files in Mac OS X. There are four versions of the software, including a free basic version which lets you try the majority of features that are included in other paid versions. The basic version will allow you to scan your hard drive, but won’t allow you to recover those files, whereas the Pro, Expert and Enterprise versions will (as well as include many more advanced recovery features).

All file systems are supported, and you can run Mac data recovery software on HFS, HFS+, FAT16, FAT32, NTFS, EXT3, and EXT4. The Quick Scan in Disk Drill Pro scans the HFS+, FAT, and NTFS, but won’t be as precise as the Deep Scan which takes a lot longer, but is much more thorough because it attempts to extract every piece of data that it can. See the vast array of features that Disk Drill Pro offers.

MacKeeper Data Recovery

Not necessarily thought of as Mac data recovery software, MacKeeper offers a professional suite of tools to help manage all aspects of your computer’s hard drive. MacKeeper’s file recovery section scans your hard drive for deleted files that can still be restored. For restoration of files, file recovery needs to perform a deep scan of your machine which can take anywhere from 30 minutes to a few hours. There’s nothing wrong with this, because the software is doing a deep scan of your Mac’s hard drive. Obviously, the more files you have, the longer this will take.

Once the scan has been completed, you can take a look at all the files found and recover only those that you need by selecting them with just one click. Note, when recovering these files you will need an external drive or storage device to avoid any errors.

File recovery in MacKeeper can restore a wide array of file types covering audio, video, photos, documents and archive. Another bonus for using MacKeeper is that you get a fully functional 15 day trial that includes all features as well as 24/7 personal support (you’ll also be able to find out all of the other cool things MacKeeper can do).

Remember to Back Up

Aside from having Mac data recovery software that you can use to restore lost or damaged files, you can ensure that you don’t lose any files in the first place by backing up. I highly recommend Backblaze for backing up your Mac, but we’ve covered more options in our Mac backup blog post.

Is there any Mac data recovery software you’re using that I haven’t mentioned here? Leave a comment and I’ll update the post to include it.

Recover Your Mac’s Data with Recovery Software is a post from: Best Mac Software

They have three different paid tax software:

• H&R Block Basic
• H&R Block Deluxe
• H&R Block Premium

Here’s the breakdown of the services:

H&R Block Basic Tax Software

H&R Block At Home Basic is for simple tax situations. It includes everything you need to easily complete your federal taxes. It’s ideal for those who have very simple tax situations and easy for first-time users. The program automatically double-checks for errors and import last year’s tax data from H&R Block At Home software and TurboTax software.

H&R Block Deluxe Tax Software

H&R Block At Home Deluxe is best for those taxpayers who own a home or have investments. It includes everything you need to easily complete your federal and state taxes. The program automatically double-checks for errors and includes personalized tax guidance, advanced tools to maximize mortgage interest deductions, and assistance on investment income and stock options. It also includes free tax advice from a community of tax specialists and live audit support. Import last year’s tax data from H&R Block At Home software and TurboTax software. One state return included.

H&R Block Premium Tax Software

H&R Block At Home Premium is best for taxpayers who are self-employed or own rental property. It includes everything you need to easily complete your federal and state taxes. The program automatically double-checks for errors and includes personalized tax guidance, advanced tools to maximize mortgage interest deductions, assistance on investment income and stock options, Schedule C guidance, help with rental income deductions, and advanced tax calculators. It also includes free tax advice from a community of tax specialists, live audit support and one free session with an H&R Block tax professional if you have a specific tax question or get stuck. Import last year’s tax data from H&R Block At Home software and TurboTax software. One state return included.

With a multitude of options there’s no need to be any more frustrated than you have to. Use tax software for Mac to file your taxes.

Mac Tax Software is a post from: Best Mac Software

Backblaze, one of the backup services mentioned in that post, have updated their online backup, dubbed Backblaze 2.0. Here’s a rundown of some of the updates:

• Unlimited File Size: You can now backup any file type and any file size. That includes any large movie files you have stored on your Mac.
• Automatic Throttle: I personally like this improvement the best. Automatic throttling means that Backblaze will use your Internet connection efficiently. If your computer is a MacBook Pro and you use different Internet connections, your online backup will be adjusted to the speed of the connection.
• Faster Transfer Speed: The unlimited bandwidth you get from Backblaze hasn’t changed, you still get that. However, what has changed is that Backblaze will now batch many smaller files into fewer larger files which means that your backup will run 25 times faster.

To see some of the other updates Backblaze have made to their online backup check out the Backblaze website.

Backblaze Online Backup Updates to 2.0 is a post from: Best Mac Software

MacCleaning is a nifty menubar utility that effortlessly monitors your hard drive for free space, cleans up system junk, and offers ejecting mounted drives with just one click. Instead of over promising and under-delivering, MacCleaning does a very efficient job.

Recently, the creators of MacCleaning Pro (EaseUS) have upgraded the tool, and now instead of a menubar only application, it is now a fully fledged piece of Mac software in its own right. It has been renamed CleanGenius 2.0.

Like many utility programs for Mac, CleanGenius 2.0 helps clean up your:

• System Caches
• User Caches
• System Logs
• User Logs
• User Trash
• User Downloads

Additionally, CleanGenius 2.0 can help you with uninstalling applications and has a disk space monitor to help keep an eye out on how much of your hard drive you’re using.

Where I think this software really shines, especially for Mac users who don’t run a lot of utilities on their machines, is the alert for when hard drive space reaches a critical size. For instance you can opt to receive a warning when the free space on your hard drive reaches 10, 20, 30, or 40 percent. I wouldn’t set this to 10 or 20 percent, because I think you’ll begin to experience some serious operating issues at that point. But at about 35% is where I’d be comfortable with.

If you’re looking for an easy to use utility program for your Mac, you’d be hard pressed to find one easier than CleanGenius.

CleanGenius 2.0 Review is a post from: Best Mac Software

Disk Expert is a hard-drive management program for Macs, and assists you in locating the files which are taking up the most room on your Mac’s hard drive. This is our first video review, and I had to edit (and record) this a few times until I was happy enough with it.

I really liked Disk Expert. The UI is very smooth, yet displays so much information. It’s one of the best looking maintenance utilities for Mac that I’ve seen in a long time. It won’t be leaving my hard drive for a while that’s for sure.

I didn’t mention this in the video review, but Disk Expert is able to scan external drives too.

Enjoy the video!

A Review of Nektony’s Disk Expert is a post from: Best Mac Software

As you can see, the optimization section of MacKeeper consists of three items – Update Tracker, Login Items, and Default Apps. Let’s take a look at Update Tracker.

Update Tracker in MacKeeper

Update tracker works by checking each application installed on your Mac and seeing if there’s a new version. The applications on your Mac which are marked as up-to-date are seen as green, and any out-of-date application is seen as red. Any out-of-date software on your Mac can be updated by clicking on the update button. Here’s how my Mac looked before running Update Tracker:

So, I clicked on the Update All icon and began to have some issues. My intention at this point was to show you how my apps looked once they were all updated. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.

I had about 38 pieces of software which required updating, so I clicked the Update All button. The first piece of software I had problems with was Comic Life – MacKeeper froze about 3.5 MBs into the download. I then quit the application thinking it was a software issue, then went through the same process – the same issue occurred. I tried to update another app, and at this time, the progress bar and all subsequent updates froze. Enough was enough at this point so I contacted the Live Chat from within MacKeeper (which is an awesome idea). Unfortunately, the best they could give me was to shut down the MacKeeper process from within Utilities and to try again, and if this didn’t happen, then just download the programs from their developers website.

Since there are some apps on this list that I only use once every few months, this was a pretty futile solution, so I decided to go through the apps which I use most and update them from within MacKeeper. Unfortunately, this was inconsistent. Some of the programs updated, and some didn’t, freezing about 10MBs away from downloading. Very frustrating.

Login Items in MacKeeper

The Login Items part of MacKeeper allows you to control which programs start when you login to your Mac, and which don’t.

You can control these programs via the checkboxes on the side, or even add/remove items from the list. I didn’t have any issues with this part of MacKeeper, and I found that it worked great. It actually allowed me to remove items which I never even knew were starting up whenever I logged in.

Default Apps in MacKeeper

When you run Default Apps for the first time it will scan your Mac’s hard drive to look for associations between programs and file types. It allows you to define which program opens which type of file. It also shows current associations between all file types and applications which open them.

You can select which software is applicable for the file type, and then also choose from a range of different filetypes to which you want to associate that program with. When I reviewed the list MacKeeper gave me, I was pretty happy with the current programs and associations, so unless there’s anything you just have to have changed, leave things in here as they are.

Conclusion

Aside from the issues I had with the Update Tracker, the rest of MacKeeper’s optimization section worked pretty well. However, it truly won’t be an optimization piece of software until they fix the issues with downloads timing out and freezing up.

MacKeeper is available for just $39.95. Even with the issues I had, this is still a great deal, especially when you consider all that you get a whole suite of tools bundled into one program.

Keep Your Mac Up to Date with MacKeeper is a post from: Best Mac Software

Enter MacCleaning. MacCleaning is a nifty menubar utility that effortlessly monitors your hard drive for free space, cleans up system junk, and offers ejecting mounted drives with just one click. Instead of over promising and under-delivering, MacCleaning does a very efficient job.

MacCleaning Options

In the preferences, there’s an option to be warned when you free space drops below a certain percentage. Currently, those percentages are at 10%, 20%, 30%, and 40%. What I like about this is that you can set to be warned and then run the program to help you free up some space. I probably wouldn’t set it to 10%, so I’d say the least you need to be warned at is 20%.

MacCleaning lets you choose which places you wish to clean. Those places are:

• System Caches
• User Caches
• System Logs
• User Logs
• User Trash
• User Downloads folder.

There’s also the option to launch MacCleaner at login. I’d say that this isn’t really necessary because you probably won’t be cleaning your Mac every day, but I’d like an option to launch every two weeks to run some cleaning.

There are two versions of MacCleaning available. I used the Pro version for review purposes, but there’s also the free version. However, the free version only offers fast clean and real time disk monitoring – there is no option to eject mounted drives with one click, and the warning to be reminded when your hard drive space drops to a certain percentage is removed.

The requirements for MacCleaning are minimal – Mac OS X or later, 512 MB of RAM or more, and 2.8 MB of HD space available.

Get MacCleaning Free!

MacCleaning are currently offering their Pro version for just $4.99 – reduced from the normal price of $9.99. But guess what? We have 15 copies of MacCleaning to give away! The first 15 people who leave a comment on this post (with a legitimate email address) will receive the Pro version of MacCleaning. Contest ends Tuesday 27th December, 2011 11:59pm CST.

MacCleaning – Software to Clean Your Mac is a post from: Best Mac Software