Aurora Backup · Backup for Windows
Aurora Backup backs up the folders you choose to an external disk, a second disk or a network folder, and keeps older backups too, so you can go back to any day. Once a week it restores random files from the backup and compares them with the recorded checksum, catching "there is a backup but it won't open" before you need it. Restoring is always free and never overwrites an existing file.
Three promises
The biggest problem with backup programs is a backup that will not open when you need it. Aurora Backup tackles that from the start.
Once a week, 20 random files are restored from the backup to a temporary folder and compared with the recorded SHA-256 checksum and, if the original has not changed, with the original. The result shows in the panel as "Test just now ✓", and you can run it by hand at any time.
We do not hold your data hostage: with no licence, or after it expires, your backups still open, preview and restore. Restoring never overwrites an existing file; if it differs, the restored file is placed beside it with "(restored)" added to its name.
Every write goes to a temporary file first, is flushed to disk, then renamed; the backup point is written last. If the computer shuts down or the program is killed mid-backup, your earlier backups stay intact byte for byte.
How it looks
You move between sections with the tabs at the top. The screens below are example views of the program's real English interface, taken in a rehearsal environment with test folders; the folders, names and numbers are sample data.
What it can do
Features with a Beta badge were coded and tested in a test environment but have not yet been fully tried in an acceptance run on a real computer.
You choose which folders to back up, where to (external disk, second disk or network folder) and how often (hourly, when files change, daily at a set time, or by hand); you can add exclusions. Source and target cannot be the same or nested, and the Windows folder cannot be a source.
If the target is on the same physical disk as the source, the program warns you: if the disk fails, both go. Whether the target is an external or a second disk is read from Windows' device information.
Files are split into 4 MB chunks; identical content is stored once, unchanged files are not read again, and no new backup point is written when nothing changed. Reparse points are not entered during a backup and cloud placeholders are skipped.
Everything from the last 24 hours is kept, then the last one per day up to 30 days, then the last one per week; expired ones are cleaned up. The latest state of every file and the newest backup point are never deleted. If the target fills up, space is freed from the oldest first; if that is not enough, the backup stops and earlier backups stay intact.
Optional: AES-256, HMAC-SHA256 and PBKDF2 (600,000 iterations) to strengthen the password; we did not write our own algorithm. In an encrypted backup the file names are not in plain text either. Without the password or the recovery key, which is shown only once, the backup cannot be opened.
You pick a moment on the timeline; new, changed and later-deleted files are marked in the tree; pictures and text are previewed and a whole folder can be restored at once. Existing files are never overwritten; every file is written to a temporary location and verified with SHA-256.
20 random files are restored to a temporary folder and compared with the recorded checksum and, if unchanged, with the original; the result shows in the panel. You can run it by hand at any time.
The backup folder gets protected permissions: no program running with normal rights, ransomware included, can delete, change or encrypt the backup files; reading (restoring) stays open. It asks for administrator permission and works only on local NTFS disks.
If you turn it on, a task that runs every 15 minutes without opening a window is added to Windows Task Scheduler; plans that are due are backed up. Turning it off deletes the task. On battery it is deferred by default. Creating and deleting the task were tested; a real 15-minute run has not yet been observed.
Taking an image of the whole Windows disk so you can restore everything if the computer will not start. It is not in this version because it needs a boot and recovery environment.
The interface is available in 21 languages; Arabic and Urdu are shown right to left. The translations passed automatic checks and a back-translation check; review by native speakers is still under way.
Measured, written down
On 11 October 2026 an acceptance run was done on a real computer with administrator rights: on the computer's C: drive with test folders and on a 57.8 GB USB stick. Your real files were not used; the data backed up is small (10.5 MB and 111 MB).
| Tested | Result | How it was verified |
|---|---|---|
| First backup (5 files, 10.5 MB, including a long path and Turkish names) | Backed up; no new backup point was written when nothing had changed | All chunks verified: 5 chunks, 0 errors |
| Restore | Files came back byte for byte identical | Compared with the originals: 5 files identical, 0 faulty |
| Second restore to the same folder | No file was overwritten | 5 files skipped as identical, 0 restored |
| Restore test | 5 of 5 files opened | Compared with the recorded checksum and the original |
| Encrypted backup | File names are not in plain text; a wrong password was refused | Restored with the recovery key in a different data folder (simulating another computer) |
| Force-closing the program during a backup to the USB stick | No half-written point; the earlier backup stayed intact | Backup point verification: 0 errors; the next backup completed and reported the unfinished work |
| Both backup points on the USB stick (111 MB) | All 30 chunks verified, restore byte for byte identical | 6 files, 0 faulty |
| Unlicensed user edition | One plan and a manual backup worked; a second plan and encryption were refused; restoring stayed free | Program output: the licence-required code and the restore result |
| Task Scheduler task | A 15-minute task was created, verified and deleted | The task XML was read; the task running on its own was not observed |
| Immutable copy | Protected permissions were set with administrator rights, the owner became Administrators, a backup was taken | Owner and permissions were read back |
What we leave out on purpose
The most dangerous thing in a backup program is looking as if it protects something it does not. So we say the following plainly.
Open files locked by another program (for example an open Outlook data file or a database) are not backed up in this version. Aurora Backup skips them and lists them as skipped in the report; shadow copy (VSS) support is not there yet.
When restoring, if the disk already holds a different file with the same name, it is not overwritten; the restored file is placed beside it with "(restored)" added. If it is identical, it is left alone. Path escapes, device names and reparse points at the target are refused.
If you lose both the password and the recovery key of an encrypted backup, the backup cannot be opened, and we cannot open it either. The recovery key is shown only once and the password is never written anywhere.
Limits
Knowing what a backup program cannot do matters as much as knowing what it does. We say these up front:
One copy of a backup is not enough: for important data we recommend keeping at least one backup somewhere else as well, for example away from home or on an online service.
Free use and licence
Restoring, previewing and backing up by hand (one plan) are free. A licence is needed for more than one plan, scheduled backup, encryption and the immutable copy. Aurora Backup is not sold separately: it comes with the Aurora One Licence.
For everyone
Free
Set up a plan, back up by hand; restore whenever you need to.
All programs, one licence
Let backups run on their own. The same licence covers every Aurora One program.
Aurora One Licence This program is covered by the Aurora One Licence: one licence for every Aurora One program.
See pricingSystem requirements
FAQ
Once a week Aurora Backup restores 20 random files from the backup to a temporary folder and compares them with the recorded SHA-256 checksum; the result shows in the panel as "Test just now ✓". You can also run it by hand.
For this test to run on its own, you need to turn on scheduled backup (licence).
Yes. Older backups are kept too: on the Restore tab you pick a moment on the timeline, see the files as they were then, preview them and restore them. By default they are kept for 90 days; you can also choose 30 days, 1 year or without limit.
No. If a file with the same name differs, the restored file is placed beside it with "(restored)" added; if it is identical, it is left alone.
Partly. With the immutable copy on, a program running with normal rights (ransomware included) cannot delete or encrypt the backup files. But it cannot stop malware that has gained administrator rights. For full protection, safely remove the external disk after the backup.
Open files locked by another program are skipped in this version and reported. Closing the program and running the backup again is enough.
Backing up, restoring and verifying happen on your computer. The program uses the internet for licence verification and update checks; for the licence, only the licence key and a digest of the device ID are sent. Nothing from your files is sent.
Yes. You can set up a plan, back up by hand and restore; a licence is needed for scheduling, encryption, the immutable copy and more than one plan.
Aurora Backup is not sold separately; it is used with the Aurora One Licence, which covers all Aurora One programs. Download and sales are not open yet.
Our other products
All of our products are designed for Windows and are local-first.
Representative interface
Windows 10 and 11 (64-bit)
Status: Sales and beta applications are not open yet
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