Personal Backup is what happens when one person maintains a backup tool carefully for two decades. It copies files and folders on a schedule, encrypts them if you want, sends them over FTP, handles open files through Windows shadow copy, and is free for everyone — the author’s licence explicitly includes companies.
It is written by Dr. Jürgen Rathlev in Germany, and the current version is 6.4.14.0 (September 2026). It is still actively maintained, with two branches updated in parallel.
Personal Backup at a glance
| Latest version | 6.4.14.0, September 2026 (the 6.3 branch is maintained alongside) |
|---|---|
| Licence | Freeware, including business use |
| Windows | 7, 8, 10, 11 and matching Server editions; separate 32-bit and 64-bit builds |
| Interface languages | 13, including English, German, French, Spanish, Polish, Ukrainian and Russian |
| Portable | Yes — a ZIP archive is offered alongside the installer |
What it does
- Three storage formats: plain file copies you can browse, gzip-compressed single files, or ZIP archives — one archive, one per subfolder, or split at a size you choose.
- AES encryption, compatible with WinZip, so an encrypted backup can be opened elsewhere.
- Full, differential and incremental backups, including alternating schemes through the bundled scheduler.
- Up to 16 automatic tasks — by time, weekly, at logon or at logoff — plus integration with the Windows Task Scheduler.
- Destinations: local disks, removable media, network shares and FTP or FTPS, with proxy support.
- Volume Shadow Copy support, so files that are open still get backed up.
- Filters by name (with optional regular expressions), attributes, age and size.
- Folder synchronisation in three modes, and security copies that keep previous versions with a retention limit.
- NTFS details preserved: permissions and junctions are copied and restored, including network permissions.
- Selective restore with automatic decryption, and optional comparison through WinMerge.
- Extra tools included: Thunderbird backup and recovery, folder monitoring, and a small utility aimed at ransomware protection.
Download and set up
- Click the Download button at the top of this page and unpack the archive. Choose the 32-bit or 64-bit build — switching later requires uninstalling the other one first.
- Install with administrator rights, or use the ZIP archive if you prefer nothing installed.
- Create a task: source folders, destination, format (copy, gzip or ZIP), and whether to encrypt.
- Set the schedule. For unattended backups, the Windows Task Scheduler route needs the account credentials stored correctly — the author warns about this specifically.
- Run it once, then restore a few files to make sure the encryption password and the format are what you expect.
The author publishes checksums and signatures for every build. The binaries are not code-signed — as he puts it, the program is freeware, so naturally not — which means antivirus software sometimes objects on first run.
Limitations worth knowing
- Files and folders only — no disk image, no bare-metal restore.
- No cloud provider APIs. Google Drive, OneDrive and S3 work only through a mounted drive or FTP.
- NTFS features need NTFS — permissions are not preserved on FAT or exFAT media.
- Under Wine on Linux the scheduler does not work and backups to Windows network shares fail.
- Documentation is German-first; the English pages exist but are thinner, and the licence text itself is only in German.
Common problems and fixes
| Problem | What to check |
|---|---|
| Antivirus blocks the installation | Known and documented: the binaries are unsigned. Verify the published checksum, then allow it. |
| OneDrive files are not backed up | Documented issue — files stored online-only have no local copy to read. |
| Writing to a NAS fails | Documented; usually permissions or an SMB version mismatch. |
| Scheduled task does not run | The Windows Task Scheduler entry needs valid stored credentials for the account. |
| Access errors during backup | Restricted Windows permissions on the source folders — run the task under an account that can read them. |
Personal Backup vs. alternatives
| Tool | How it compares |
|---|---|
| FBackup | Also free for commercial use and simpler, but has no encryption, no FTP and no incremental backups |
| SyncBackFree | Free with commercial use allowed; no encryption, no versioning, no Windows Server |
| Duplicati | Open source, built for encrypted versioned cloud backups; web interface instead of a desktop one |
| Veeam Agent Free | Whole-machine image backup, which this does not attempt |
FAQ
Is Personal Backup free for a company?
Yes. The author’s licence text names private users, public bodies, associations, non-commercial organisations and privately incorporated companies.
Does it encrypt backups?
Yes, with AES, in a WinZip-compatible format.
Can it back up to FTP?
Yes, FTP and FTPS, including through a proxy.
Is there a portable version?
Yes, the program is also distributed as a ZIP archive.
Why does my antivirus complain about it?
The binaries are unsigned. The author publishes checksums and signatures so you can verify the download yourself.
Is it still being developed?
Yes — the current version dates from September 2026, and two branches are maintained in parallel.
