Acronis True Image 2018

[tarekma7]

All users need to make backup of all data available on PC so that incase of data loss from any reason you can recover any information. You can backup individual files and folders, whole drive, entire PC and operating system. 
Acronis True Image 2018 is an integrated software suite with data protection technology and many other features that ensures the security of all your data and information.  It can back up your documents, photos, selected partitions. You can even do backup for the entire disk drive, (including; operating system, applications, settings and so on), and all of your data.
Backups allow you to recover your computer system in case there is a disaster occur. For example;  accidentally deleting critical files or folders, or complete hard disk crash.
The embedded online Backup feature lets you easily store your files and disks on Acronis Cloud. Your data will be protected even if your computer is lost, stolen, or destroyed. In addition, you can recover all your data onto a new device.
 
Homepage:
 
https://www.acronis.com/en-us/personal/computer-backup/
 
Size: 498 Mb
 
Download: the free trial version is easily downloaded from the official website.
 
Installation:
If you have Acronis True Image 2016 or 2017 installed, it will be upgraded by
the new version. Your old backup files will be safe. Download and run the Acronis True Image 2018 Setup file from the URL that was emailed to you. Double click to install which will be complete in a few mouse clicks. When the installation is complete, click Start application

System Requirements:

Minimum requirements include 1.5 GB of free space on a hard disk, 1 GB RAM, 1 GHz Processor
CD-RW/DVD-RW drive or USB flash drive for bootable media creation (about 600 MB of free space is required)
 
Trial version limitation:
 
30 days free trial
Disk cloning disabled
When booting from an Acronis bootable media, the only available operation is recovery
Synchronised data will be deleted after the trial is over and your computer is excluded from all syncs (till full version activation)
After the trial period is over, Acronis Cloud works in recovery-only mode for 30 days then all data will be deleted
 
Comparison of different Acronis Plans:
https://www.acronis.com/en-us/personal/t...omparison/
Premium plan offers you the best protection with reasonable price.



Comparison of acronis true image 2018 with competitor software:
The 5 best cloud backup providers


 
Purchase:
https://www.acronis.com/en-us/personal/buy-backup/



User Interface:
The user interface is very friendly and easy to use. You can find the main menu on the left side, next there is a backup list which displays all of the backup plans you have for this account. Backup menu provides access to the main controls of backup, activity feed and recovery options. The main program area changes based on the selected task. The backup destination can be specified by the user in this window. You will also see information about the backup’s status and statistics on the lower part of the main app area. Finally, action buttons, options, next scheduled backup and progress are at the bottom.


 
Full, incremental and differential backups: This needs to be known before we complete discussion of our program.
Full backup includes all of the data at the moment of the backup creation. Incremental method contains only those files which have been changed since the LAST BACKUP. Differential method is an intermediate between the first two approaches. It takes less time and space than "Full", but more than "Incremental". It contains only those files which have been changed since the LAST FULL BACKUP.
 
Key features:
 
Disk backup to a local storage and to Acronis Cloud
File backup to a local storage and to Acronis Cloud
Rescue bootable media
Hard disk cloning
Data archiving
Family data protection
File synchronization
Security and privacy tools
 
New features in 2018 version:
 
Improved backup activity and statistics
Reliable fast performance
Create local incremental backups faster using a Changed Block Tracker (CBT)
Improved and simplified creation of WinPE-based media
Acronis Active Protection dashboard: new command center of anti-ransomware protection with all the necessary settings, statistics, summary, and exhaustive information on the current processes.
Acronis Active Protection 2.0: Detecting injections, using Machine Learning technology to analyze big data, update the process behavioral patterns on the basis of the analysis and improve quality of ransomware detection engine.
Converting Acronis backups (.tib files) to virtual hard disks (.vhd or .vhdx files) then mount as virtual drives or run them as virtual machines.
Backup settings transfer: You can import and export the settings of your backups via a .zip file. For example; after upgrading to the next Acronis True Image 2018 version.
User interface improvements:
Three tabs were added; Backup, Activity, and Recovery. This allows full control of every backup
Backup comments were reworked.
Mobile backup and social network backup were moved to the backup source section.
The Dashboard tab was removed from the side pane.
Improve power management with a Smart Battery Mode, so you don’t create backups while on battery
Back up Instagram photos, videos, profile information and more
Easy-to-use, transparent operations
 
For full details of the new features added, please visit here:
 
https://www.acronis.com/en-us/personal/whats-new/

Features in details:
 
Create a reliable backup:
 
Make sure you always have dependable copies of your data so you can restore your entire system or individual files:
 
Backup: Use cloning and imaging to make a duplicate of your system, capturing all of your data for disk migration or system recovery
 
Store: Back up to a local drive and to the cloud for the Dual Protection of always having on-site and off-site copies available
 
Restore: Quickly recover your whole system or a specific file with confidence, knowing that the backup is as good as the original
 
Full Image Backup: Protect everything to recover anything with an exact replica of your system disk or a selected partition. In the event of data loss, you can easily recover whatever you need – from your full system to an individual file or folder.
 
Backup Activity and Statistics: Manage backups at a glance with a new, visual interface. View the status of backups, file sizes, backup speeds, and number of versions of your backup. You’ll even see color-coded displays of how many photos, videos, music and documents are available to restore.
 
 Converts to Virtual Hard Drive: Test different programs and system settings, or run your system on a virtual machine by converting your full image backups into a virtual hard disk format. You can use all your programs and access files as normal within that virtual system, and you can run it without needing Acronis True Image 2018.



Control your data:
 
Back up in just two clicks, and view all your data and backup information in one place
 
Easy to use and manage:
 
Cover Everything: With one solution you can safeguard PCs, Macs, iOS and Android devices as well as your social media accounts
 
Two-Click Protection: Protect everything by choosing where to store your data and creating a full image backup in just two clicks
 
Visual Dashboards: Know at a glance the size of your backup, the types of files, and how many ransomware attacks have been stopped
 
Secure data against ransomware:
 
Actively defend your data against ransomware attacks with the only backup that detects, stops and reverses unauthorized encryption.
 
Mobile Backup: With Acronis True Image, you can back up your mobile device to one of these storages:
 
Acronis cloud, a folder on your computer or your NAS device


 
Cloud Backup:
 
The program offers you a speedy and secure cloud storage that’s so easy, it’s a dream.


 
Backup options:
 

 
Active Disk Cloning

Migrate all of your PC’s data – operating system, programs, settings, files, etc. – to a larger or faster disk. With Acronis True Image 2018, you can now clone an active Windows system to a local drive or external USB drive without stopping and restarting your system.
 
Active Ransomware Protection

Prevent ransomware from encrypting your files. Every edition of Acronis True Image comes with Acronis Active Protection 2.0 , our artificial intelligence and machine learning-based technology that detects and stops ransomware, and automatically reverses its effects.
 
WinPE Media Builder:

Easily create boot media so you can recover your system to the same or new hardware. Create a WinPE environment to quickly resolve driver configuration issues. Use the predetermined settings of Simple mode or customize your Media Builder preferences in Advanced mode.
 
 Now Let’s Discuss in details how to use Acronis True Image 2018

Backup:
This is the main function of the program and lets you easily do backup of your partition, drive, folders and files, the entire hard drive or your mobile. The process is very easy. Simply select the source and destination. The source is the partition or data source you want to backup and destination is the location where you will save your data backup. It may be cloud space or external hard drive or CD/DVD or USB flash drive. The program offers you additional backup options to adjust if you need. For example; Schedule, Scheme, and Password protection. You can also add a comment if you wish (optional). Future incremental backups will take much less time.
If you have any backup files created by the previous versions of the program, it will be automatically scanned, detected and added to the list in the new version of the program
After sometime using the program, you will have a list of backups. You can easily validate any backup file before use. The process is very easy, simply right click on the specific file and select validate option. That’s all!
The backup operations menu (right click menu) offers you more options to use. These include rename, reconfigure, delete, search, validate, open location, move and clone settings





Non_stop_backup_Cloud:



Recovery:
Recovery is very easy. Simply, open the backup on the sidebar, select the backup you need to restore from the list (use the operation menu to validate), then select either to recover disc or files according to what you need. Next, you need to specify the destination or the location to save the recovered files. Finally start recovery. That’s all! The program offers you recovery options that you can set. For example;
disk recovery mode, pre/post commands for recovery, validation option, computer restart, file recovery options, overwrite file options and so on

Cloud Sync Creation
The buit in sync feature helps you to sync your files to the cloud space in an easy and fast way. Simply select the Sync tab in the Main menu then choose cloud sync, the Sync folder is now created. You can also sync files from another computer, simply install Acronis True Image 2018 on the other machine and connect to this newly created Sync folder. If you want to view files from the Sync folder online, connect to your Acronis account and click Recover files.



Archive:
This is a built in tool which helps to free disc space by moving large sized files to external HDD or cloud space. It acts by scanning and analyzing your computer to find large sized files, these will be arranged by its type, size and date. You can review these files to specify which ones you will move and the destination (external HDD or cloud space). Next start archiving of the selected files to the specified location. You can easily access these archived files at any time. You can also encrypt your files to prevent any unauthorized access.



Recovery from Boot Media:
Boot your PC using Acronis Rescue Media on a CD/DVD or USB thumb drive. plug your external USB drive into another USB port. Now, select the backup file you want to recover from the Backup list and finally click Recover computer.

Tools:
This part of the program has many underlying tools with different functions that will be of help to you.
These include clone disk utility, protection tools,  security and privacy utilities (acronis drive cleanser, system clean up and acronis active protection), and disk management utilities (add new disk), mounting tools (mount and unmount) The protection tools include Acronis Universal Restore media, Acronis Startup Recovery Manager, Rescue Media Builder, Acronis Secure Zone and Try&Decide



Disc cloning:
This feature is easily accessible from the Tools option on the sidebar. It lets you have a copy of the entire disk drive so that you can move to another one. For example, you will need this cloning feature if you plan to have a new hard disk with larger capacity and better performance. For example if you want to have a new SSD instead of the old slow HDD. It is available only if you are a registered user. It is not available in the trial version

Create bootable media on USB flash drive or DVD:
This is very important feature which lets you run a standalone version of Acronis True Image to be able to recover your data when your system is completely crashed and can’t boot. You will need this bootable media option to recover your data. To use this feature, select tools on the sidebar then select rescue media builder. There are two types of bootable media; namely acronis bootable rescue media which is recommended for most users and WinPE-based media with Acronis plug-in which will help you if all other tools fail





Parallel access: This feature allows you to access your computer remotely using mobile or other computer

Acronis universal restore:
This tool allows you to restore your hard drive on dissimilar system which is different from the original computer you have done the backup image. I will do this through creating a bootable system clone on different hardware

Acronis secure zone: Allows you to store your backups in a special safe partition on your disk. It has a FAT32 file system.

Try and decide: This tool set your computer to be in the Try mode. This will allow you to easily and safely perform any potentially dangerous operations without worrying that you might damage your operating system, programs or data

System Clean up: This tool is similar to many software that do cleaning of your HDD. It cleans your windows activity traces and securely wipes your hard disc free space. For example, recycle bin, temporary files, user credentials, windows prefetch directory and so on

Acronis drive cleanser: this tool allows you to permanently destroy all data on selected hard disks and partitions. This will prevent any information retrieval which is still possible even after formatting. For example you want to get rid of your hard drive or to sell it

Add new disk: can be accesses from more tools and lets you add a new drive for example SSD or higher capacity drive. The system will be on your old drive.

Mounting and unmounting of images using right context menu

More tools:
The most important of which is Acronis Startup Recovery Manager. This tool allows you to start the program without loading the operating system. The process is very easy, all you have to do is to click F11 button on keyboard at boot time (before start of windows).

Acronis Active Protection: (Active Protection Against Ransomware)
Launched in January 2017 as a Premium-only feature, Acronis Active Protection is included in all editions of Acronis True Image 2018. Using active protection technology, artificial intelligence, behavioral heuristics and machine learning, it is the only backup software that actively detects and stops ransomware and automatically restores affected files.
Heuristic approach technology monitors processes running on your computer by using the real-time mode. When it detects a third-party process that tries to encrypt your files or inject malicious code into a healthy process, it informs you about it and asks if you want to allow the process to modify your files or block the process. Acronis Active Protection also includes self-defense technologies to counter attempts to encrypt or corrupt backup files.
In addition to your files, Acronis Active Protection protects the Acronis True Image application files, your backups, archives, and Master Boot Record of your hard drive.



Enhancements in Acronis Active Protection 2.0
Detects an attack vector used by ransomware, by using process stack trace analysis based on machine learning.
Verifies all processes to ensure approved activities run normally while stopping potentially dangerous behavior.
Updated special heuristics analyze system processes.







Security Dashboard
This is a newly added dashboard which allows users to monitor the defense of Acronis Active Protection, which runs in the background. Users can track potential threats, identify blocked activity, and approve trusted applications so they run uninterrupted.





Backup Activity
Acronis True Image 2018 provides greater transparency and control over backup operations. Users can view the status of backups, size of files, backup speeds, and number of versions of a backup.



Acronis Notary Blockchain Certification:
This built-in feature helps to retain a copy of a file that you can certify was not altered since it was created. Acronis Notary follows the same process as creating a backup for multiple files: The only difference is the source of the backup.

Social Media Backup and Recovery:
Safeguard your memories and contacts from your Facebook and Instagram accounts. Back up photos, videos, profile information and more in case that data is accidently deleted or hacked.
With the help of acronis, Facebook backups can now be recovered directly to the same or to a different Facebook account. Also, all your Facebook backups are encrypted in transit and in Acronis Cloud Storage. You can recover your photos, posts, profile information, and other data





Back up your mobile device content:
Acronis protects your mobile contents (for example photos, videos, contacts, and so on). It offers you 3 ways to do this; mobile to cloud backup, cloud browsing of content and wireless back up of mobile devices directly to a local Windows or Mac computer. It is better than native mobile solutions.
You will be able to browse the contents of mobile backups stored on local Windows or MacOS computers. In addition, you are safe with all your mobile backups encrypted in transit and in storage, whether to local computers or the cloud.
If you want data changes (for example, new photographs) to be backed up automatically, make sure the Continuous backup setting is turned on. If this setting is turned off, the new data is backed up only when you tap Back up.







Account:
You can create a new account here, so that you will need to login using your credentials to start using the program

Settings:
These are the settings of the program. You can change the program language, check for updates, protect your computer against ransomware (checked by default to protect your data), and mobile backup location. Smart battery mode helps to avoid drainage of your battery through disabling backup operations while you are working on battery.

Pros:
Easy fast backup of all your data
Entire computer backup
Encrypted secured data
Easy recovery of your computer
Background active protection against ransomware
Disc cloning
Cloud space
Support mobile data and social media backup and recovery
Support all platforms and windows 10
And many more

Cons:
The program is very large in size and requires many resources to function in a good way.

Conclusion:
Acronis true image 2018 is the best personal backup software. It allows you to easily back up all your devices and protect your data. Social media backup protects your data from being lost. You can have a backup for all your mobile data. The program also offers you real time protection against ransomware. In addition, the cloud space technology is of great help for you and make it easy to backup and recover your data. You can easily move to a new hard disk with no loss of your data or settings. Let’s download and try it yourself

[Mike]

Well done review Tarek.

[lovesoft]

Very detailed introduction Thank you

[baziroll]

thanks for pro_plus review

[asus73]

Good review , thanks  

[Starship]

Thanks for the good review tarek!