ChronoSync 4.8.2 & Agent 1.6.2 (Mac OSX)

As Mac users, we've grown accustomed to the level of customization that is capable with our machines, from program icons to hard drive partitioning. There is always a grace period when firing up new software, learning how to make our habits work with the software, rather than against it. Frequently we have to change our habits and system to make it work within the parameters of our important applications, such as Mac backup software. With TopTenREVIEWS Gold Award winner ChronoSync, you can easily decide what you want this program to do within your personal parameters on your machine and how you want to then manage your precious data. With enough tools to please even the most paranoid, and a friendly learning curve, this program has plenty of appeal for just about everyone with a Mac and files they don't want to lose.

ChronoSync couches its array of tools with easy to follow setup screens. By splitting the processes and steps into multiple screens, you can intuitively build your backup from the ground up, as you walk through the program, screen to screen. You can easily select single files, folders or volumes for backup allowing for precise data protection. There's nothing worse than a Mac backup software program that wastes your time on saving files you don't need, and with the precise data source selection you won't have that problem. From there you continue the stroll through the separate menu screens via the side tabs to fully configure the process.

Once you have explored and tinkered with all the settings that you wish, you can save each setting as you go, making the customizable options nearly endless. The developers clearly wanted to make sure that this program could fit into all kinds of situations, allowing you to call up each precise setting you configured for your machine, rather than some software designer half a world away. These configurations make future backups a breeze as you can simply load up the settings you decided upon earlier.

Another great feature is the directional options available for backups. Visualizations help dramatically for the beginner as it helps to direct your eyes and brain to how your data is going to move. You can decide if you want to move the copies one way or the other, or sync volumes simultaneously, all thanks to the operational direction feature in the main screen. This small detail is indicative of the care the developers took when crafting this program, something small that makes the process all the more easier to use and understand.

In the options menu you can configure what triggers a backup, what your file archive will look like, email notifications, scripting and even notification sounds. The rules menu allows you to establish filters that take into account file names, size, extensions, dates and file creators. The analysis screen shows you how your backup went, displaying the starting location and ending location of the backup data. No one likes to lose track of important files, ever, and this way it's easy to make sure you have your data in the right place.

The final archive tab allows you to configure your file archive, dabbling with compression and data retrieval. Once you've gotten into a routine of backups and syncing, this screen will become more important as it will be a record of your data, compressed to save room on your destination source.

Version 4.8.2

Enhancements:
* Tweaked the "Optimization" phase of bootable backup tasks so that the destination volumes would boot more efficiently and reliably, especially if they contain a High Sierra installation.

Bug Fixes:
* When calculating the next scheduled run date of a scheduled task, the program (both ChronoSync and ChronoSync Scheduler) would hang if the next run date fell after a Daylight Savings Time-to-Standard Time transition.
* Running a container task that encapsulated multiple sync/backup tasks that simultaneously process many files (via concurrent operations) was susceptible to crashing when closing the container task window.
* Specifying a source or destination target that resided on an APFS filesystem would result in the "Strict volume identification" setting defaulting to OFF.

Mac Platform: Intel, OS X 10.8 or later

Home Page - ChronoAgent 1.6.2

ChronoAgent is an invisible application that runs silently in the background on a Mac and provides ChronoSync or InterConneX a direct connection to a remote Mac. Think of ChronoAgent as an undercover operative that provides access to a Mac. It provides a much more secure, reliable and higher performance connection than standard file sharing. If you're synchronizing or backing up files between two Macs, ChronoAgent is simply the best way to establish a connection between them.

WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH IT?

USE IT WITH CHRONOSYNC
ChronoAgent allows any other Mac on your network that is running ChronoSync to have full access to the ChronoAgent Mac's file system. That allows ChronoSync to synchronize files with or backup to/from the ChronoAgent Mac. ChronoAgent provides a direct, unrestricted connection that is safer, faster, and more reliable than (Mac OSX)'s built-in file sharing. You can even create bootable backups over a network to another Mac!

USE IT WITH INTERCONNEX
ChronoAgent allows any iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch on your network to have full access to the ChronoAgent Mac's file system. In short, it allows you to access files on your Mac from an iDevice. Your iOS device contains limited space but now you can take advantage of your Mac's disk storage by grabbing any files off your Mac and copying new or modified files back to your Mac. That's a direct connection with no cloud required!

USE IT ACROSS THE INTERNET
ChronoAgent can be configured so that it is accessible across the Internet. This allows you to do cool things like sync the latest changes to a presentation from your desktop at work, to your laptop, while you are at the airport waiting for your flight. You can also use your iPad to access some vacation photos on your home computer, while attending a party down the street. Heck, you could even check on the status of your scheduled syncs while you are on vacation. The possibilities are endless!

CHRONOAGENT 1.6.2
* Eliminated overzealous authd system log messages triggered by the ChronoAgent Monitor.
* Fixed a bug whereby ChronoAgent was failing a WAN-IP check because we were attempting to access the dynamic DNS service webpage using http instead of https.

Mac Platform: Intel, 64-bit processor OS X 10.8 or later

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