Free Tools to Synchronize, Backup and Share Files with People and Computers

The following are a number of tools  which are quite useful in providing backup and synchronization services for free.  Many of these tools work across platforms – be it Windows, Linux or Mac OS X.

Rsnapshot – This is a file system snapshot utility for making backups of local and remote systems. rsnapshot is written entirely in Perl. It should work on any reasonably modern UNIX compatible OS, including: Debian GNU/Linux, Red Hat Linux, Fedora Linux, SuSE Linux, Gentoo Linux, Slackware Linux, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD, Solaris, Mac OS X, and even IRIX.

Unison – Is a file-synchronization tool for Unix and Windows. It allows two replicas of a collection of files and directories to be stored on different hosts (or different disks on the same host), modified separately, and then brought up to date by propagating the changes in each replica to the other. Unison is released under  GNU GPL.

GBridge – This is a free software that lets you sync folders, share files, chat and VNC securely and easily. It extends Google’s gtalk service to a collaboration VPN (Virtual Private Network) that connects your computers and your close friends’ computers directly and securely. And because it uses Google’s services, you need a GMail account to use GBridge. Using GBridge, you can access your computer Desktop remotely, securely share files between people and computers, automatically synchronize files and folders and easily backup all your files.

Also check out a few free online storage services which allow you to backup all your files seamlessly.