In my package the Link Navigator utility failed to properly install the bundled backup software from Memeo Inc. However, I did find a rudimentary backup program, AutoBackup, on the shared disk and installed that. According to Buffalo technical support, AutoBackup is an older program that shouldn't have been loaded on the shared disk. I was able to download a copy of Memeo from Buffalo's technical support.

Memeo includes a license for one PC (it does not support the Mac). Additional licenses are $29.95 or 3 licenses for $49.95.

Once installed, Memeo is mindlessly easy to use. Users create a backup name, choose a destination device and can check a button that encrypts the backup (which substantially slows down the backup process). The software runs the backup immediately, continuously updates it as you make changes to your data, and maintains up to three historical versions of each file.

Memeo does not include an option to compress backups to save disk space. Also, the software can only back up to the shared drive, not from it. So if you maintain a shared folder on the network drive, Memeo can't back up that data to a local disk or to another shared storage device. Steve Owens, vice president of business development at Memeo, says a new version that supports that capability should be available early in 2007.

For those so inclined, the LinkStation offers a wealth of configuration options, available through a password protected user interface. You can restrict folder access by creating user accounts and groups and you can set folder permissions to allow read only, read/write or no access for each user or group. LinkStation was the only product I tested that integrates with Active Directory, Windows Server Message Block or Windows NT domain controllers to authenticate users. That feature might be helpful to some small businesses, but I suspect it will be beyond the needs of most home and small offices.