Software

First of all, the QBack-25 will work without any software installed. When you connect the device Windows will detect new storage and you can use it immediately.
All the additional backup features of the QBack-25 are part of QNAP's backup software. I must say I was suprised by how well the backup software works. Especially from asian companies you expect a blinking colorful piece of software that is very limited/buggy/hard to use. This is not the case with QBack - the user interface is intuitive, comes with excellent English labels and a very clean screen layout.


After installation you are greeted with a Quick Configure Wizard that asks you how much space you want to allocate for the encrypted disk partition. With the QBack-25 you can split your storage into one unencrypted and one encrypted section. The encrypted partition uses 256-bit AES encryption which should be sufficient for everything you are planning to do. According to a US government report "The design and strength of all key lengths of the AES algorithm are sufficient to protect classified information up to the SECRET level. TOP SECRET information will require use of either the 192 or 256 key lengths." - QNAP uses 256-bits.


Of course you don't want an easy to guess password. In case you have problems remembering your passwords (PostIt sticker on the screen = bad) you can pick a password like your school name and the Security Question will help you remember it.


The disk configuration may take a few minutes depending on the size of the disk.


QBack has several modes of operation, one of course being "Backup". You can select complete drives, folders or individual files. It is also possible to exclude certain files from backup.


Several specific backup sources have also been added like "Fonts", "Favorites" or "Desktop". Especially less experienced users will love this because they don't have to look for those special folders all over the harddrive. When MS Outlook is installed you also have an email selection here that can back up Outlook Emails and other data.


While the backup is running you are constantly fed up to date information on the backup progress. Here you can also pick what happens if a file can not be accessed, like the swap file or the registry hives. Another option lets you turn off the computer when the backup is finished - perfect for daily backups after work.
It is also important to note that the backup can be done incremental, that means unchanged files will not be copied. This will greatly help your backup times because only new files go over the USB link.


In case a file can not be copied, this detailed log reporting section will tell you exactly what's going on.


After creating a backup you will probably want to restore your data as well. The process of selecting source and destination is extremely simple, yet powerful. For example you can restore to different folders or pick which part of a complete backup you want to restore.


On the actual drive the files are stored in a folder structure which has the advantage that you can just use Windows Explorer to access the files. This is VERY important in situations where you have data corruption on the backup media or the backup software does not work properly.
Also you can see the folder "QBackSetup" here. It stores the installation file of the backup software, so you always carry it with your data. That folder is automatically created when you install the backup software on your PC.


As mentioned before, the QBack-25 allows the creating of a second encrypted partition. That drive will be mounted in Windows Explorer just like any other drive so any software can use it. In case you have to leave the computer for a few minutes you can "Close" the secure disk which will remove the drive letter from the machine. When you are back you "Open" it.