Acronis Backup and Security 2010

Backup and Security 2010 is designed to protect your computer (and up to two more in one household) from online threats, as well as safeguarding the data on them.

The main program handles the online security side of things. Although labelled up as an Acronis product, it’s actually a rebranded version of Bitdefender Internet Security.

Protection from a variety of online threats is provided, including viruses, spyware and rootkits. A comprehensive firewall is also included, as are other tools such as those to encrypt specific files.

An almost bewildering array of options is provided when run in Expert mode, but switch to the Novice mode and the software automatically chooses the best settings for you.

We were surprised to find the main program had no links to the backup options. Instead these are provided by Acronis True Image Home 2010, a totally separate program that’s installed alongside Backup and Security. Using the One-Click Backup tool it’s possible to quickly make a backup of your computer's entire hard disk.

Should you prefer, backups of only specified files and folders can be created instead. For extra protection, backups can also be stored online, meaning your data will be protected no matter what happens. The cheaper version comes with 5GB of online storage space or an extra £10 gets you 250GB.

One thing to bear in mind is that this is subscription-based software. If you don’t extend the subscription when it expires in a year, the program is effectively disabled. You won’t be able to make new backups, nor will the security work. However, you will still be able to recover any backups that are not stored online.

Choose the 250GB online storage version (£60) and you’re certainly getting a lot for your money. Rival online backup services charge around £50 per year for the same amount of storage, and with Backup and Security you also get True Image Home (£30 on its own) and Bitdefender Internet Security (also £30).

However, the security and backup components lack integration, which dents the overall ease of use. We’re also not keen on the fact it will stop working once the subscription period has ended.