Carbon Copy Cloner is a backup utility with a difference. While most backup applications make copies of selected files, Carbon Copy Cloner makes an exact duplicate of a disk.

For many Mac users, Carbon Copy Cloner has prevented complete disaster, helping them rescue an entire hard drive right before it failed. Because Carbon Copy Cloner makes an exact duplicate, the copy is bootable just like the original, making it possible to create a swapout drive for recovery.

Did you know that Time Machine's backups are not accessible if you switch to a new Mac? That makes Carbon Copy Cloner vital tool if you want to preserve the contents of your Mac's hard drive after an upgrade.

Other benefits include:

• Incremental backups after the initial backup, saving you time and disk space.
• Backups across networks, to external drives or to a disk image on your computer (with or without encryption).
• Scheduling of backup operations, and backups triggered by an event.
• Easy to use controls to make backups simple for the novice.
• The ability to back up a drive with bad sectors and rescue the data that's remaining.

Carbon Copy Cloner is free for 30 days. After that, you'll need to purchase a licence to continue using it on your Mac.