Arq For Mac

Backing up your important documents in multiple locations, such as to an online storage service or to your own server can prove to be a great idea: drives can fail, and computers can be subjected to various calamities.

Arq is a Mac app that can help you streamline the data upload process, once you figured out where you want to backup the data. The utility can work with Amazon servers, S3 compatible services (Google, DreamHost, GreenQloud, and others), or personal SFTP servers.

Right off the bat, you must use the Arq assistant to create a connection with your online storage account, or with your server. Via a drop down menu you must select the service you want to employ, and then provide your credentials. The entire process is fairly intuitive.

The next step is to specify the files and folders you want to backup: you can add as many as you want. Once everything is configured properly, you can close the Arq main window: the app provides an unobtrusive status bar menu for controlling the upload process.

To help you keep your data safe, Arq allows you to encrypt the backups before the uploading process begins, by using a password. The developers also provide an open source command line utility that can be used to decrypt the data without going through the Arq app.

Via its Preferences window, Arq offers you the possibility to set up limits for the maximum, automatic, and fixed transfer rates. This way you can make sure the backup does not take too much of your bandwidth.

Arq is capable to automatically backup files to your online storage accounts regardless of the file type of size.

The Arq app is also able to work with various services, allows you to limit the transfer rate to make sure your day to day activity is not disturbed, and allows you to encrypt the data.