Personal Backup — Flexible File Backup Without the Bloat
Some backup tools feel like overkill when all you want is a safe copy of your files. Personal Backup keeps things straightforward — it’s a Windows utility designed to back up selected folders to almost anywhere: local disks, network shares, FTP servers, or external drives.
It’s not pretending to be a full enterprise backup system, but it’s far from basic. You can run one-off backups or schedule them for quiet hours, use compression and encryption if needed, and keep multiple backup versions without having to micromanage the process.
Technical Snapshot
| Attribute | Detail |
| Platform | Windows |
| Backup Scope | Files and folders (no bare-metal system images) |
| Destinations | Local drives, network shares, FTP/FTPS, external media |
| Modes | Manual, scheduled, or on-change backups |
| Extras | Compression, encryption, versioning |
| Interface | GUI-based with wizards and advanced options |
| License | Freeware |
In Practice
You might set it to copy your work folders to a NAS every night at 2 a.m., keeping the last ten versions of each file just in case. Or perhaps it’s set to watch a project directory and run an incremental backup whenever a file changes. The program quietly runs in the background, showing a quick status window when a job finishes.
Setup Notes
– Download and install from the official site — no extra dependencies.
– Backup sets can be created with a simple wizard or manually for full control.
– Supports incremental, differential, and full backups.
– Can run as a background service for hands-off operation.
– Logs and reports can be saved for auditing.
Where It Fits Best
– Individual users or small offices needing flexible file-level backups.
– Scenarios where multiple backup destinations are needed.
– Users who want both simple and advanced scheduling options.
– Quick deployment without complex server infrastructure.
Things to Keep in Mind
– Not designed for full system imaging or disaster recovery of OS installs.
– Windows-only — no macOS or Linux support.
– Requires manual setup of network or FTP credentials.
– Interface is functional but old-fashioned.
Close Relatives
– FreeFileSync — sync-oriented but can be used for backups.
– Duplicati — encrypted, deduplicated backups to cloud storage.
– Cobian Backup — another lightweight Windows backup scheduler.