True Image 2021 Perpetual License?

Enchantech wrote:

Steve,

Again, great feedback and thank you for taking the time to post it.

What you write speaks volumes I believe especially with respect to most users.  You're right that for most a PC is a buy it, use it til it breaks, maybe try to get it fixed, or more likely, just buy another one.  Such is our throw away world these days. 

So with that in mind and taking Acronis side here for a moment, since my business is data protection, should I not provide more than just mere backup of my customers data to truly protect that data?  Obviously the answer here must be yes at this point.  So if I offer protection from online threat along with backup will that fill the data protection expected from my product.  I think again the answer is yes.

I can understand that you want to protect data in more than one way, but you can provide that protection in more than one way. Why does it all have to be done from within one single software application? Why put all the eggs in one basket? You don't need to wait for ReFS to build resilience to your system. You can start doing that already by separating the concerns of a backup software and those of an antivirus software. Use more than one software application to achieve the level of protection you're looking for.

Since most users as you say, never look at their anti-malware app then how is a software company suppose to provide any meaningful protection?  The answer of course is in real-time.  Windows Security performs real-time protection just the same as Acronis TI does.  Is this not the right approach for software makers to best serve the majority of their customer base?  I would say that answer is yes as well.

I don't quite understand this. How is a software company supposed to provide protection by having their users look at the interface of their software? I also fail to understand how time sensitivity plays into this equation. Can you rephrase this?

I deal with users who fit the above description the same as you Steve,  I also deal with users who are more in step with the technology and wish to do what they can to avoid cyber threats of any kind.  These users tend to be a bit older in age and are looking to not have to buy a new PC every 3 years or so.  Not being very tech savvy, they need products that do everything for them.  I believe this is the space that Acronis is trying to fill.  I also believe this is the space that all software makers of products like TI are trying to fill.  Obviously this space is limited in size so how do you gain business in the previous space of throw away consumers?  I think this is the question that perplexes software vendors today.

Again, I don't quite understand this. Are you saying that users who are up to date on technology are old? Yet they are not very tech savvy?... that does not make much sense. I would expect users who claim to be up to date on technology to also be more tech savvy, and users who are not up to date on technology to be less tech savvy. Then there is the age variable to take into account, and also the "throw away" mentality or consumerism.

If I understood this right, these are the two user groups or demographies you're describing.

• Up to date on technology, old and economical.
• Not up to date on technology, young and wasteful.

If this is what you mean, then I don't agree. If anything, I think young people are more up to date on technology than old people. But then again, I have met some very old people who are not afraid to go to the public library to learn a thing or two about computers, the Internet, smart phones and whatnot when group lectures are organized for free. Some of them are surprisingly good at this tech game and very knowledgeable, despite only starting to take interest in these things after entering retirement a few years back.

So I don't know... it's difficult to generalize people, but I still think that the younger generations are more up to date with technology. But perhaps in a way you would not expect. What I find rather unsettling is that they often don't quite show interest in the inner workings of things. They just expect their devices to work, and if they don't then they get new ones. They often know the answers to "what" something is, but they don't know "how" something works, and they rarely if ever discuss "why" something is constructed in a certain way. Of course this is also not true for everyone, there are some real superstars out there, and you don't need to search for long to find them on the web.

With regard to ReFS filesystems, only a few changes need to be made for the move to ReFS to become mainstream.  Most notably is to make it bootable.  I do not expect this change to come overnight but it is on the horizon.  I would be willing to go out on a limb here and suggest that this will happen sometime within the next 5 years.

According to Wikipedia article on ReFS, it was already released on Windows 8.1 but was later removed in Windows 10. Apparently there is a multitude of problems with it and a number of limitations to sort out (or accept). Even if it does get released (a second coming) within the next 5 years, it will not mean the end of NTFS any time soon.

A lot going on here. 

I also played with Storage Space when Windows Home Sever was introduced. Had potential but you needed robust disks to deal with some implementations.

The fist step I do, like Steve Smith, when setting up a PC is to install Open Shell.

The feature set of ATI 2020 was OK, except for some missing features for *.tibx which are slowly being reintroduced. The CyberProtection features are not necessary for most users, are hard to manage and still behaves like beta software - needs a lot more polish. Should be an optional installation.

Ian

Enchantech wrote:

On the dynamic disk topic, dynamic disk came about because of the limitation of the FAT filesystems addressable space and the ever increasing size of hard disks.  Use of dynamic disks allowed the creation of Extended partitions.  Disk spanning is also a part of dynamic disks.  By removing dynamic disk from Windows the path is paved for a complete transition as some point to virtual disk.  Virtual disks are not bound to a partition structure like that of basic disks and that is where if big change is.  A virtual disk can be placed anywhere on a physical disk that has sufficient space.  That is the driver here.

I cannot comment on how the "dynamic disk" feature came about. I have not worked with those. But I can tell you that right now I have a 931.51 GB "Basic" disk that contains 1 "Extended partition" and within it a "Logical drive" of size 931.51 GB and it uses NTFS. In other words, you don't need a disk to be a "dynamic disk" to allow creation of extended partitions.

This much I know because I have worked with extended partitions extensively in the past, even manually examined and manipulated their internal structures in hex. I used what was then referred to as a "disk editor". Such a small disk (20 GB) could fit in a single file these days, many million times over. I had to do this when one of my disks got corrupted. That was a big pain, and I did not use any kind of backup at the time. I restored it to nearly 100% but it took me a few weeks time.

For all I know, dynamic disk is Microsoft's format for running software RAID. I could be wrong. Can you boot a Windows system from such a disk?

On the Storage Spaces topic, the tech was first introduced in the early days of WHS (Windows Home Server) version 1.  I experimented with the tech back then and became convinced that at some point it would be the norm.  I believe we are at that point in time now.  A lot has changed in the tech over the years.  I recently built a Storage Spaces device and have it in service at this time.  It uses the ReFS filesystem and consist of a 7 disk storage pool (array) that is cached by an NVMe SSD.  It works great and appears to Windows OS as one large disk.  The entire setup is virtual.  So this is an illustration (example) of the changes to come.  How ling to become mainstream?  That is debatable for sure.

Are you using Windows Home Server for this setup?

On the signature based/real-time topic please review the link below as it provides details of the differences.

Signature based vs. behavior based malware

Quote from the accepted answer on InfoSec SE:

Signature-based AV compares hashes (signatures) of files on a system to a list of known malicious files. It also looks within files to find signatures of malicious code.

Behavior-based AV watches processes for telltale signs of malware, which it compares to a list of known malicious behaviors.

The reason many AV products are add behavior-based detection is because many malware creators have begun using polymorphic or encrypted code segments which are very difficult to create a signature for. An easier way to detect these is to watch for a particular pattern of behavior to identify the malware.

They are both the same in that they are looking "for a particular pattern" to identify the malware. In the first example that pattern is static, in the second example it is dynamic (but still leaves a behavioral pattern or signature).

Here's the skinny on 32 bit Windows 10

Win 10 32 bit support

Ian,

Glad to see another who has had exposure to WHS and the original Drive Extender (now Storage Spaces).  In my opinion Storage Spaces is a vast improvement over that of Drive Extender.  The drawback to Storage Spaces currently is that to effectively manage the drive pool requires that you use PowerShell so that requires a learning curve.  You can use the Storage Spaces snap in but it is very limited in management ability.

I see... so it's only OEMs who will not have access to 32 bit Windows 10 anymore. Consumers and techies who buy and install Windows themselves will still be able to do so. That's kind of nice to see, that Microsoft is honoring us techies who want to have a choice. This is not the case with most GNU/Linux systems like Ubuntu, which are almost exclusively delivered over the Internet as ISO image files. They are not as much burdened by appealing to OEMs, yet somehow they can't give us a choice between 32 and 64 bit. Not that I personally need a 32 bit image, but it is strange when compared to Microsoft who is often thought of as evil and unforgiving and whatnot.

On another note... how will the "Protection" part of True Image 2021 continue to work perpetually if I get a "perpetual license"? Thanks to behavioral pattern recognition? Rather than static signatures? I mean it would require a subscription to continue to get virus definitions, and you obviously don't get that in a "perpetual license". Or am I missing something?...

More on perpetuality or longevity of software...

The Nero software I got from my friend is not version 7 but 8.

So I inserted this DVD (not a CD as I stated previously) in one of my Windows 10 PCs that has a CD/DVD burner, and fear enough, it reads it correctly and the setup screen appears if I double click on the device icon in File Explorer.

Bear in mind that this is a complete software suite! It's not just Nero Burning ROM (which is why I thought it was a CD rather than a DVD).

After running the installation (directly from the disc, which took a while to finish) I find Nero Burning ROM 8.1.1.1.

Version history on Wikipedia reveals that the first release of Burning ROM version 8 (8.1.1.0) was released on 1 October 2007. That was 13 years, 5 months, 1 week and 2 days ago from today.

Not only is the software working 13 years later on Windows 10, but the DVD disc has survived and is still readable! That's quite the contrary to popular belief that CD and DVD discs only last for about 5 years. I just recently saw some chart on some website of a DVD burner manufacturer (of course in their marketing, where else), stating that hard disks drives last for about 2 years, CD and DVD discs for about 5 years and the "special" M-Discs 1000 years. Whatever! Believe what you want or look at the evidence.

Here is what the rest of the installation process/experience looks like.

I don't like software that promote software of another party. In this case it's the "Ask Toolbar". This was a very common practice though back in the day. What I do really like is that unlike Acronis True Image from 2021, this Nero 8 software suite from 2007 offers me a choice of what to install and what not to install (including the ability to exclude the Ask Toolbar). Thank you Nero AG! I wish more software vendors were like this. Many were in fact, back in the day.

It should be obvious from the screenshot that this software suite includes "Nero BackItUp". What a lovely surprise! I need not look any further for a replacement. Here I have it for free, thanks to my friend. It also does not require any registration of any kind of account or Internet connection and activation. This is so called "pre-activated" software. I just need to put in the license key and pass the installation process and I'm good to go. If I want I can run around all my PCs now install this on every one of them. No one will know how many I have installed it on. But this software is from a time when software vendors trusted its customers/users, believing in their good faith to do the right thing and buy the correct number of licenses they needed (usually one license per install).

Here are some screenshots of the backup software...

I didn't come further with the wizard, I didn't have a disk to backup to at the moment. But you can see that you have file level backup as well as partition and disk level backup, as well as scheduling.

I just wanted to share these screenshots with you. There is of course a newer version of Nero BackItUp available, for those interested in it. This is another option I will consider. Whatever software I select will have to undergo some testing obviously.

Samir, I too probably copies of Nero software of similar vintage in my cupboard.  I would suspect that these may work normally with older Legacy / MBR systems but may have difficulties with newer UEFI / GPT ones.  It would worry me a little seeing the message that Nero can't lock any partitions without a drive letter, especially as these are likely to be vital for any successful recovery, though I guess if you can do both the Backup & Recovery from booting the Nero DVD or equivalent rescue media, then locking won't be an issue but disk size may be!

I can't comment on compatibility with UEFI and GPT disks. I have not come that far in my testing. But it would be asking a bit too much from a 13 year old software from two decades ago. What a shock it would be if it actually worked!? I mean it can backup partitions without a drive letter, it just that it won't be able to lock them during the backup process. Nevertheless, good old solid software like this rocks! You can still make image backups of other types of disks and partitions that do not contain any operating systems.

I have installed Nero on another PC and now I installed Ashampoo Backup Pro on my main PC. I find this one very user friendly, the creation of backups is all wizard based and they don't ask too many difficult questions.

It's also much more responsive than True Image has ever been! The first thing I notice is that it only takes about 5 seconds to open the main interface when the program is idling in the background. Compare that with 120 seconds it takes to do the same with True Image 2021!

The only thing that makes it stall a little is when you select to create a new backup plan, it goes on to scan for drives and so on. My 12 partitions currently on the system largely contribute to that I think, but they could have made it a bit smarter in this regard.

Another positive surprise is that they use the open format VMDK files for creating disk images! That's much better than having to convert from TIB or TIBX that Acronis is using, to something you can use in other applications, including virtual machines. So advanced users should appreciate this.

The only negative remark about their use of VMDK files is that they are splitting the data up into multiple files, in addition to having several configuration and meta files all tangled up in a backup folder. Each backup plan has its own folder. This makes the file and folder structure a bit messy. Have a look at the tree below.

Ashampoo Backups
└───Testing
    │   __plan__
    │   __storageProperties__
    │
    └───2021-03-10 13-21-28
        │   Finished
        │   StorageSystemInfo.xml
        │
        ├───Disk Internal0 -- dm=0-22-f988e37b-22b7-4a86-9874-b6eea6079869
        │       AutoAdded
        │       Complete
        │       disk.vmdk
        │       disk.vmdk.lock
        │       GrainHashes
        │       TypeFull
        │
        ├───Disk Internal1d1c0be8f -- dm=1d1c0be8f-21-f988e37b-22b7-4a86-9874-b6eea6079869
        │       AutoAdded
        │       Complete
        │       disk.vmdk
        │       disk.vmdk.lock
        │       GrainHashes
        │       TypeFull
        │
        └───Disk P -- wvn=bfc49c22-2a0b-4d77-8961-2656b3e4d749
                -- How to open these files --.txt
                Complete
                disk-s00001.vmdk
                disk-s00002.vmdk
                disk-s00003.vmdk
                disk-s00004.vmdk
                disk-s00005.vmdk
                disk-s00006.vmdk
                disk-s00007.vmdk
                disk-s00008.vmdk
                disk-s00009.vmdk
                disk-s00010.vmdk
                disk-s00011.vmdk
                disk-s00012.vmdk
                disk-s00013.vmdk
                disk-s00014.vmdk
                disk-s00015.vmdk
                disk-s00016.vmdk
                disk-s00017.vmdk
                disk-s00018.vmdk
                disk-s00019.vmdk
                disk-s00020.vmdk
                disk.vmdk
                disk.vmdk.lock
                GrainHashes
                TypeFull

The name of the backup plan in this example is Testing and the folder Ashampoo Backups is created automatically as part of the backup plan creation process, but you can name it however you want.

You can map the main VMDK file to a drive letter so you can view it in File Explorer if you have VMware Workstation or Player installed (File > Map Virtual Disks). If you don't have that installed then you can use the interface in Backup Pro and have it mount your backup for you. I think it comes bundled with their own implementation of what VMware software does. So it works either way.

In regard to splitting up data in multiple VMDK files, it should be noted that it was not too long ago when Acronis did the same thing with True Image and TIB files, before they introduced TIBX files. I remember having problems with these TIBX files, where there were none with TIB files.

I think Ashampoo Backup Pro is a good contender. They even offer a more simplified and cheaper edition without "Pro" in the name. That's even more competitive in terms of price so it offers more value for money, if all you need is a very simple backup solution, without any of the overhead from running things like antivirus or antimalware components.

I don't know how it stands in terms of cloud storage, if they offer cloud storage of their own, but I know the program offers you to select things like Dropbox as the destination for your backup data to go to. So I think they fully integrate with these third party services rather than offer their own. I have not tested this yet (I don't really need it), but I don't think you will need to have Dropbox client installed as I suspect the backup software communicates directly with Dropbox and your account (a potential security concern).

You will notice that there is a "How to open these files" text file in one of the folders. I thought that was a nice touch. They tell you exactly what to do with this "mess" as I referred to it. So they are sort of trying to save their face here by giving us a helping hand, so I forgive them. Here it is in full...

How to open these backup files

Your backups are stored in a standardized format (VMDK) that is understood by
many applications. BUT, when you want to open them with a third party
software you should keep the following in mind:

1) The easiest way to access your data is with our own software. These
   instructions are only intended for people who absolutely want to use
   their backup data with a different application.

2) DO NOT MODIFY THE FILES. If you want to access them, please make a copy
   and open that copy instead. If these files are modified by another
   application then this can corrupt your backup data!

3) The data may be split up into multiple files. The main VMDK file that you
   need to open in your software is called "disk.vmdk" (without a number
   in the name). But please keep in mind that the other files are just as
   important and must not be deleted, moved or renamed!

4) If you chose to store the backup data in compressed form (the default)
   then some applications may have problems accessing the files, even
   though the compressed data format is also a standard one. In particular,
   even though the VMDK format was invented by VMware, compressed VMDK files
   cannot be used directly in VMware. They must first be converted with a
   special tool that VMware provides.
   However, other applications may be able to also use the compressed VMDK
   files directly. You can just try it and see if it works with your
   software.
   If it does not work then we can provide you with instructions on how to
   convert the files into an uncompressed format that is understood by more
   applications. Simply contact us and we will be happy to help.

So you just need to learn to work with this file and folder structure. It's not too terrible really. In terms of longevity and data portability it should enable future data forensics to make use of and extract the data. I mean if the company behind the software goes bankrupt or is acquired by a competitor and its product line is terminated. (Something that may not be possible with proprietary formats like TIB and TIBX.)

I see... so it's only OEMs who will not have access to 32 bit Windows 10 anymore. Consumers and techies who buy and install Windows themselves will still be able to do so. That's kind of nice to see, that Microsoft is honoring us techies who want to have a choice. This is not the case with most GNU/Linux systems like Ubuntu, which are almost exclusively delivered over the Internet as ISO image files. They are not as much burdened by appealing to OEMs, yet somehow they can't give us a choice between 32 and 64 bit. Not that I personally need a 32 bit image, but it is strange when compared to Microsoft who is often thought of as evil and unforgiving and whatnot.

So as this 32 bit hardware is replaced by 64 bit by the manufacturers the phase out will take place.  I give it 5 years before is will be obsolete.

On another note... how will the "Protection" part of True Image 2021 continue to work perpetually if I get a "perpetual license"? Thanks to behavioral pattern recognition? Rather than static signatures? I mean it would require a subscription to continue to get virus definitions, and you obviously don't get that in a "perpetual license". Or am I missing something?...

I think you are mistaken here.  Real-time protection is performed by the application as long as the protection feature is turned on in the product.  Only an internet connection is required for that therefore, the protection should continue to work.  In the case of signature based definition download that is something that certainly can be stopped.  It would not be logical for any malware company to pull the plug on supporting malware definition however.  The fallout from that would be disastrous!

Comments on Nero Backup:

First, it is no surprise that the software installs and runs without issue.

As for the backup feature, I would say that it works for creating a backup.  The question is does it work for a recovery?  I would be reluctant to trust it in use on a UEFI/GPT system because of the warning it gives about not being able to lock and unlettered partition.  That warning infers that an unlocked partition may become corrupted during the backup process.  Count me out.

Comments on Ashampoo,

So this solution creates backups in virtual file format, imagine that!  So the move to virtual is happening before your very eyes.  How long before this becomes mainstream?  Sooner than you think?

Samir wrote:

For all I know, dynamic disk is Microsoft's format for running software RAID. I could be wrong. Can you boot a Windows system from such a disk?

Dynamic disk and virtual disk share a lot in common.  They work on the same basic principals.  Disk spanning can be thought of as a form of raid but without redundancy.  In other words spanning renders a raid 0 like disk array.  Yes you can boot from a dynamic disk.  Will a dynamic disk boot a UEFI/GPT system?  Not sure as I haven't tried it.  In theory it should.  The requirement in any case here is that the OS install would need to be made after the disk was converted from basic to dynamic.  This would make all partitions on disk a "dynamic group" which is a requirement for booting a dynamic disk.

Samir wrote:

Are you using Windows Home Server for this setup?

No I am not using WHS for the Storage Spaces device described.  I am running Win 10 Pro for Workstations to support the ReFS filesystem however.

Samir wrote:

They are both the same in that they are looking "for a particular pattern" to identify the malware. In the first example that pattern is static, in the second example it is dynamic (but still leaves a behavioral pattern or signature).

The difference is not that patterns exist, the difference is that in the later the pattern changes on its own making it much more difficult to detect.  To date only real-time protection is up to the task of detecting these variants.  So this is why malware protection vendors offer real-time protection.  Again my question is, which one provides the best protection?

Cross reference to topic: perpetual license

Well, this is a sad day.  I'll keep looking to see if I can find a way to buy 2021 on a perpetual so I can "ride it out" as long as possible before switching to another solution.  :(  I have 2019 today, and I do like the software (and was going to buy 2021 today, which is what landed me here when I couldn't find my normal upgrade), but, no way to more subscriptions, just not going to happen.  I know why Acronis wants to do this, subscription revenue is much more valuable on Wall St compared to episodic revenue.  And once you have your user based "locked down" on subscription, you can also pull back a lot of development resources, no reason to worry about the "next big feature", when you have a captive audience who has to pay if they want to keep the software from self-destructing.  

I get the why, but, Acronis, the pricing?? It's just obnoxious!  I'm glad I read closely, because the price you're charing for a 1yr sub is almost exactly what I'm used to paying for an upgrade (that will run forever).  Typical sub pricing is ~ 1/3rd the perpetual price, if you were selling TI for ~30 bucks before, the sub should be 10/yr, not 30/yr!?!  That's just way out of line with typical perpetual vs sub costs.  Look at O365,  99/yr for 6 computers worth of Office vs 149/yr for Office Home and Student (perpetual).  It's less cost (for the first year) for 6X as much software.  Or, put another way, the first year, if you want all 6 computers, the cost for sub is 99 and the cost for perpetual is ~900.  That's a well priced subscription service, not "lets take our perpetual price and make that the yearly price".  That's ridiculous/highway robbery.  

I've been happy with Acronis for a long time, and 2019 works well for me, so I'll keep using it until it breaks or until I can find a way to buy a new version on perpetual.  Others have complained about the speed and stability, I've had very good luck with both, so, good job on the software.  And, good luck on the sub model, but, you won't be getting me as a customer anymore, not at that price.  I, like many others here, don't want a boatload of new features (and please, no more software claiming to "defend" my computer, my goodness am I sick of that).  I want more speed, more reliable backups, better recovery and support for new features in Windows.  You do that, I'll give you the upgrade fee every few years.  

Enchantech wrote:

Posters,

Interesting conversation you are having here.  As for myself I am not ready to agree or disagree with anyone here.  Rather, I would like to point out a few things to get some feedback from you.

I notice that it is current belief among those posting here and elsewhere in the forum that current cyber threats of all types are signature based threats for which anti-malware vendors develop definitions to identify those signatures for detection and remediation.  Currently there are considerable more threats being introduced over the internet that are not signature based and are perpetuated on a real-time basis.  Detection of these threats can only be achieved currently on a real-time basis through behavior based techniques which is the basis of Acronis cyber protection at this time.  Other vendors including MS are using real-time protection methods at this time.  How these methods differ is not entirely clear at this time.  How do you feel about this?  Do you feel that MS has the better solution to real-time threats?  Do you feel that other third party vendors offer better protection for such threats?

 

On another note, there are at this time advances in computing that should usher in many changes that we as users will need to contend with.  These advances will change most of what we consider the norm today much like the advancement of malware threat above.  For example, I have read that in the next Windows 10 version release support for Dynamic Disks is being dropped.  The replacement for dynamic disks will be Virtual Disks.  Do you use dynamic disks or virtual disks now?  How do you feel about a shift away from data storage in a traditional media way being changed by this seemingly small change? 

 

Lastly, if you invest in software at this time that is perpetual and computing tech changes to a newer filesystem, newer storage technique, and these changes render your perpetual license obsolete, was that a wise investment?  Would it have been better to hold a subscription license that offers a discounted pathway to support changes like those discussed here?

 

Looking forward to all responses.

I still use 11.5 as it is tried and true. The only thing I have to use ATI2021 for is M.2 drives. 11.5 was so good and uses .tib files. It also allows backup and restore of Bitlocker drives and strips off the Bitlocker encryption but while off-computer uses Acronis 256bit encryption  - perfect. It restores easily, not like ATI2021. If I find a way to have 11.5 recognize M.2 drives I'll go back and let my subscription lapse.  Bitdefender is so much more effective at security, and like 11.5, is tried and true. Trying to bundle bloatware in with a product that WAS good defeats wanting to keep buying it. Fortunately, the ISO file will always be perpetual. I still have all copies and updates/iso from True Image 8 forward. If I find a problem with the newer ones I can revert. Even Bitdefender tries to load a VPN but it can be easily turned off so you can use a good VPN. You need that option with ATI2021 and forward or you will lose clients.

Hello Everyone,

on behalf of the Acronis company, I'd like to share some clarification regarding this decision. Cyberthreats are becoming more sophisticated and difficult to detect as cybercriminals use advanced technology, such as AI and automation, to improve the effectiveness and frequency of their attacks. Modern cyber protection requires constant vigilance, which means our solutions must be continuously updated to protect our customers from modern threats. Acronis is committed to ensuring our customers’ valuable data, applications, and systems are protected from risk at all times.

With this objective in mind, Acronis will only sell subscription-based licenses effective April 1, 2021. This policy guarantees that our customers will always run up-to-date versions of our solutions and avoid any gaps in defense, while allowing Acronis to concentrate on delivering superior cyber protection in real time.

I guess many users will vote with their feet to competitor products in the light of these changes!

I have purchased my last copy of Acronis True Image yesterday from German Amazon. It's the perpetual license for True Image 2021 ("Standard" edition) for 5 PCs and costed 99.29 EUR with 4.79 EUR in shipping.

I am looking forward to getting my hands on this golden nugget. But I have promised myself, no more subscription plans. So unless Acronis decides to change its mind about the subscription only model, this will be the last version of True Image running on my PCs.

I have realized that there are no alternatives out there that completely satisfy my wishes and preferences. For me it's not only about the number of features, never has been. I much appreciate the look and feel of the interface, and I only need a few core features that do their job well.

As Michael has stated above, I don't need a boatload of features. Next to a subscription only model, the second thing that puts me off from a product is when the company decides to add value to it by overdoing it and adding too many unnecessary and undesired features.

If you feel the need to launch a successful "Cyber Protection" (anti-virus, anti-this, anti-that, ta-da-da) product, then by all means launch it as a separate product line and code away to your heart's content. But don't just tack it onto a successful flagship product just to get it out the door. That's arrogant, selfish and the very definition of bloatware.

My license key arrived before Monday. It arrived on Friday actually, I just have not had time to post an update.

Unboxing of True Image 2021 for 5 PCs Perpetual License Box

The package from Amazon arrived very quickly, a bit more quickly than what I'm used to. One of the little plastic tabs that serves for sealing the box was dissolved, like it's been tampered with? But I think it's safe to say this is because the box was squashed. This is per usual Amazon mishandling of retail product boxes (and products in general), they often don't wrap them in a packaging box and just slap a label directly on the retail box (makes it a horrible looking gift). But in this instance, they used one of their A3 hard cardboard envelopes. Still, it doesn't look very presentable. On the other hand there was no CD/DVD disc in there that could get broken, just a number of loose paperwork (product key, quick start guide, stickers, etc.). The sheet of stickers was a cute touch!

It's hard to think that I had to go through this trouble and waste paper, transportation cost and impact on environment, for something I could have gotten directly from Acronis as a digital download.

What I found very interesting here is that they send you this postcard kind of thing where you can request a DVD disc if you want. It doesn't say how much it costs? I assume it is free of charge? You just write down your product key, name and address and send the card to Acronis Germany GmbH, Landsberger Str. 110, 80339 Munich. The only charge I see is the cost of a single post stamp.

They could not pre-pay (Port Payé) for the post stamp like any such card? I remember fondly that I got a number of this kind of cards from Steinberg (another software company) back in the day when this was still a common practice.

Well, at least they are not charging (or so it seems) for the DVD disc. The same disc costs extra when you purchase True Image from the Acronis online store. I think they still offer that, even now as part of purchasing a subscription plan. I just find it interesting that they would require extra payments be mode for the DVD if you purchase the True Image via one sales channel, but not when purchasing the same product via another sales channel. I'm not complaining, after all I have the better deal here, I just would like to see equal opportunity for all customers (DVD disc free of charge on request).

Still, I thank Acronis for making the True Image 2021 perpetual license available! Even if it means I have to order a box containing some paperwork from abroad. It's better than nothing. With this 5 PC activation key I'm done buying Acronis True Image till at least 2026. (Unless of course Acronis releases a newer version that's purely focused on backup function and none of this cyber nonsense, and of course return to perpetual license model and improved core product in general.)

It's worth noting perhaps that the same product key can unlock the English version of True Image. So there appears to be no regional or local restriction in that sense. My boxed (paper) product is intended for Germany, but I'm using it with English version of True Image.

After installation and providing the key, True Image requested that I sign in with my Acronis account or create a new one. Otherwise I would not be allowed to use the product? None of what I will be using it for will require a constant contact or even periodically checking in with Acronis servers. This is like when you buy a brand new printer, and the maker says you should register the serial number to your own name. At least those registrations are options, but in this example they are saying you must do so.

One of the first things I did was to disable the every form of "Protection" I could. From the looks of it the 30 day trial that comes with this perpetual license of True Image 2021 Standard Edition is a marketing description for "Cyber Protection"? Why play this name guessing game, why could they not simply have named it for what it is "Cyber Protection" so I know what I'm getting a trial of instead of "30 days of full access to a new generation of security engine". New generation!? Full access?! Engine?! Facepalm... my goodness! It's like the entire marketing department had a say on this. It's all set up to confuse the unknowing consumer (consumer first, user second).

Hopefully it will stay off permanently and not appear off and then continue to work in the background and consume resources. Before I could turn it off it had already found some doubtful vulnerabilities in a number of programs.

Billius Black wrote:

If it's one thing a subscription plan should enable and make easier, it's your ability to scale the license according to your needs. I mean what makes it impossible to have a 2 PC or a 4 PC license?

Very good point! Thank you for that comment!

Exactly! Why is this impossible? I will tell you why it's impossible. It's because this new "subscription" True Image is nothing but a boxed retail software product that has turned into a subscription purely for economic reasons (greed).

A product is purchased (ownership); a service is subscribed (rental).

Unlike Netflix which is a service, True Image is still not a service but a product.

I have written earlier about this, it's one of the things that caused me to stop paying for my True Image subscription. I had True Image 2019 and 2020 on a subscription plan. But I only had 3 PC activation slots and then I wanted to enroll 1 more PC so I can use True Image on that as well. So I needed True Image on 4 PCs.

I contacted Acronis support and they in turn tried to persuade the Acronis sales team (I think they are based in USA) to offer me a price reduction for the 5 PC subscription tier because it's been no more than about 6 months since I renewed my current subscription plan. Nope, they could not be persuaded. They wanted me to pay in full for the 5 PC subscription plan. That's how greedy, inflexible and ungrateful they are for having me as a customer for the past 10 years or so. So I said no thank you, I will cancel my subscription, and so I did.

Also, as I recall it, I could not cancel it myself, it had to be done through the support agent. There was some special web page, I think it was the CleverBridge payment processing and software distribution company site, and I think the agent gave me a special URL with a token that allowed me to log into that system where I could click to cancel my subscription. Otherwise it would have renewed automatically and money would have been withdrawn form my MasterCard that I used at the time of purchase.

Steve Smith wrote:

Bob, to keep this brief, I have had support case 04577504 open with Acronis since August 2020 for 2 different issues with Cyber Protect, one originally because it couldn't be enabled, then after several new builds, because it couldn't be disabled - which happened on 2 different PC's.  The case never reached a satisfactory conclusion and has been archived last week because I am unwilling to spent more time on it.

I have disabled all the Protection features on my main PC via powershell scripts but my reason for doing so was not related to high CPU usage but because despite 'turning all protection off permanently' all the associated background services were still active & running!  That is simply not acceptable!  Off has to mean OFF and not relegated to the background!

I originally came to the Acronis Forum to find the answer a question related to Acronis Cyber Security and found this thread.  If you are able to share your powershell scripts for disabling Acronis Protection features, I would be appreciative if you'd share them.  

But, I'll get back on topic here.  After months of research, trial, and error, I concluded that Acronis was the absolute best backup software for my home office environment.  I've been a loyal customer since 2011.  You've seen me through some troubled times and have provided incredible mentorship.  I will always be appreciative of that, Steve.  So, like you, the Acronis 2021 Perpetual License will be my last purchase from Acronis.  
 

Also like you, I haven't ever and will not now use software as a service via subscription, especially if that is targeting people who want real time threat updates.  I use MalwarePro combined with Windows Defender.  I also practice safe computing.  So I also want to thank you for sharing your replacement options research.  I value your opinions, so let me know which one you settle on.  I'll badger you on that forum in the future.  <smile>

Guys, this thread has been great reading.

One thought though, all through this thread you discuss changes to disk format - storage names etc. Changes to perpetual to annual licences for Acronis products. 

I run Microsoft/Windows programs mainly in VM's so I can back them up easily, don't have to re-install Windows & programs, without compression etc and can navigate internally to retrieve files etc. Acronis is used only for the managing O/S. But I then have some VM's that are not used often.

All your comments/discussions are great points but one thing escapes me, no one mentions that Microsoft with Windows 10 insists, yea insists that I update each VM when it gets old. It then states that if I don't update to the latest version, I might lose access to programs etc.

So at some time, Windows itself will block me from access to backups etc. unless I keep upgrading. Thats worrying.

Will Acronis do the same?

Mike, like yourself, I too run multiple separate VM's, each with a variety of different versions of Windows ranging from 95 through to 10 where I too have to remember to update those versions of Windows that still receive regular updates, i.e. Windows 10 21H1 and the raft of recent fixes it has needed!

This behaviour is very different to the way Acronis works and there are users running a wide range of different versions of True Image who have resisted the need to update to later versions. My own oldest active version is ATI 9.0 running in a Windows 2000 VM, but also have 2015 through 2021 used in a variety of VM's and physical PC's.  All of these perpetual licensed versions of ATI will continue to work for as long as the version of Windows where they are installed allow them to do so.

Note: my main purpose of using ATI in these VM's is not for active backups but rather for testing and recreation purposes.  It is much simpler to make a copy of the VM to another drive than running a backup!

Returning to the subject of this topic about perpetual licenses - this move by Acronis will render future versions of True Image to be subscription only and that change will render the application useless for its core purposes of Backup or Cloning if users do not maintain their subscription - this is entirely opposite how perpetual versions work 'forever'!

I was a long time user of Acronis True Image and was absolutely disgusted when they tried to force useless bloated software and subscriptions on their loyal users.

So I looked around and found a program called R-Drive Image that does all the things the old Acronis True Image used to do, and it's inexpensive and comes with a perpetual license. I've had it for about four months now, and used it to backup and restore both NTFS and Ext4 file systems, and it works perfectly.

It's a shame that Acronis became convinced it's users were ignorant of reality and drove so many of us away. But evidently they're making more money that way.

Or at last think they will.

Robert Muncrief  There is a thread in the Off-Topic forum called Reflecting on a Post-ATI World, where users are sharing their recommendations and experiences with alternatives to Acronis True Image (now ACPHO).  If you have the time and inclination, I would invite you to post about your experiences with R-Drive Image there.  It might be useful information for others who are unhappy with recent developments at Acronis.