Norton Ghost Backup Software- Facts, Company Profile, Product Description, Benefits, Drawbacks, Customer Comments, and Personal Review

Facts And Company Profile

Norton Ghost Backup Software is made by the company Symantec.  Symantec was founded in 1982 and is nearing its 30^th anniversary in business.  The company has over 18,500 employees in over 50 different countries.  The President and CEO of the company is Enrique Salem and is headquartered in Mountain View, California.  It is a Fortune 500 company and makes over 1.9 billion in consumer revenue in 2010.

This company sells a wide range of different software products that help with everything from computer backup issues to antivirus software to internet security and more.  On this page, we will focus on its backup software product, Norton Ghost.

***We do not recommend Norton Ghost.  Instead, we recommend you take a look at our reviews for Acronis True Image Home Backup Software or NovaBackup Software.***

Product Details, Product Description And Cost

Norton Ghost backup software helps protect your applications, files, folders, settings, with a top notch backup and recovery system.  It is able to do this in a number of ways.  Here, are a few of its main features:

Provides control over full system and file backups.  This process allows you to set exactly how you want the full backups or smaller file and folder backups to be.  This control allows the user to be able to decide exactly what they want saved giving them greater control of this process.  In addition, allows you to choose incremental backups to where you save time by only saving the changes that have been made since the last full backup.  This ultimately saves storage space too.

Able to restore from system failures.  This is made possible because it takes snapshots of your hard drive at periodic intervals.  This is also known as disk imaging.  This feature provides you with protection in the event that your OS files are not working.

Backs up on schedules and events.  This feature allows you to set when you want the software to run these backups.  You can either set it to do at certain times during the week or once a week or couple of weeks.  In addition, you can setup the software to perform these services  at the beginning of startup or at the end right before shutting down along with idle times.  This helps you get more out of the service while still maximizing your computer usage.  Another example is when you install a new software program and there is an increase in data storage.

Saves recovery points to offsite locations like FTP.  This helps afford you greater protection as you can have your backups saved online or in secondary devices like blu-ray discs, DVDs, flash drives, etc.  This helps provide further protection.

Norton Ghost backup software works with Windows 7 and other common forms of Windows including Vista and XP.

The software is also supported by knowledgebase live chat, tutorials, forums and can even contact tech support through email or phone to get answers to any questions you may have.

Pricing and Cost of Norton Ghost

The cost for Norton Ghost on 1 computer is roughly $70.

 

Benefits of Norton Ghost Backup Software

• Automatically backup files, photos, and more.
• Flexibility in access to recovery
• Compression and security features thoughtfully planned into backups
• Features disk imaging and data file backup features.
• Affordable price for service
• Ability to also use online backup storage for further protection.
• Recognized as a solid service provider in the field.

 

Drawbacks of Norton Ghost Backup Software

• Doesn’t work on Apple Mac Computers.
• Company is not entirely devoted to backup software diluting their focus.
• Some concerns about some limitations of the service compared to other options.

 

***We do not recommend Norton Ghost.  Instead, we recommend you take a look at our reviews for Acronis True Image Home Backup Software or NovaBackup Software.***

Company and Product Awards and Recognition

SSPA Star Award Best Practices Winner

eWeek Channel Insider 2008 Product of the Year award – Silver
05/12/2008

Symantec Network Access Control named a Best of the Tests 2008 Winner by Network World
02/25/2008

Customer Comments

Norton Ghost backup software is appreciated by many customers because it has an easy to use interface and provides a number of basic features that customers need for computer backups.  Here, we have put together a list of some snippets from actual customer comments about this software:

“I have always found it frustratingly difficult to run incremental backups…Ghost has finally made it intuitive…That’s the ticket!…”

Actual Customer Review From CNet.com

“Ghost is no joke!… Just what I was looking for…Easy to order, fast delivery, great product, what more could I ask for.”

Actual Customer Review From Amazon.com

“Norton Ghost is a great product…It’s a full back up including the operating system and other software not just a copy of your documents that many of the other products offer…It installed cleanly on our Window’s 7 machine…I highly recommend Norton Ghost.”

Actual Customer Review From Amazon.com

“This is the best software for backing up your computer files…I am very pleased. Good price too.”

Actual Customer Review From Amazon.com

“I’ve used NG for several years… I wouldn’t be caught without this jewel…I am very confident in its backup performance, as it has been a life saver for me on several occasions…I think that many people blame NG when in fact the problem is their lack of technical experience…NG has been very good to me for years and I highly recommend this product.”

Actual Customer Review From Amazon.com

 

Comparison Criteria

1. Can the software perform disk imaging and data file backups?

Yes, you can do a full system backup (disk imaging) to either a partition of your hard drive or another hard drive.  Plus, you are able to complete data file backups to protect all the other photos, documents, music, spreadsheets, reports, etc.

2. Flexibility in backup options (hard drives, flash drives, online server, etc.)?

Yes, Norton Ghost allows you to make backups to CDs, DVDs, Blu-Ray Discs™, external hard drives, flash drives, NAS devices, zip drives, Jaz® drives.  However, there is not an upgrade to their online server.  Instead, you would need to buy a full subscription for that service.  It is also unclear whether this service can be linked with the Norton Ghost software.

3. Access to past file editions in past backups?

Yes, you are able to backup past file editions.  It saves files up to 90 days so you can restore older files if the need arises.

4. Ability to synchronize files between multiple computers?

No, you are unable to synchronize files between multiple computers with Norton Ghost.

5. Additional unique features to help with the backup process?

No unique features jump out at you that are distinct from other backup software companies.

 

Personal Review

I had a very bad experience with Norton Ghost backup software.  After  attempting to download the software, I received a number of error messages that ultimately led to my operating system crashing.  Needless to say, I cannot in good conscience recommend this backup software to others.  I am sure my experience might be an isolated case but the fact remains that it not only did not protect my computer, it worked towards its demise.  Therefore, I would recommend looking at other backup software options and avoid this potential risk.  Others may have very good experiences with Norton Ghost but my own experience was so bad that it scares me away from every using this product again.  Be forewarned and look at my other suggestions.

***We do not recommend Norton Ghost.  We instead recommend, you take a look at our reviews for Acronis True Image Home Backup Software or NovaBackup Software.***