Acronis True Image is a proprietary

backup In information technology, a backup, or data backup is a copy of computer data taken and stored elsewhere so that it may be used to restore the original after a data loss event. The verb form, referring to the process of doing so, is "wikt:back ...

imaging Imaging is the representation or reproduction of an object's form; especially a visual representation (i.e., the formation of an image). Imaging technology is the application of materials and methods to create, preserve, or duplicate images. ...

cloning Cloning is the process of producing individual organisms with identical genomes, either by natural or artificial means. In nature, some organisms produce clones through asexual reproduction; this reproduction of an organism by itself without ...

and

cybersecurity Computer security (also cybersecurity, digital security, or information technology (IT) security) is a subdiscipline within the field of information security. It consists of the protection of computer software, systems and networks from thr ...

suite developed by Acronis International GmbH. It can back up files, data, clone storage media and protects the system from

ransomware Ransomware is a type of malware that Encryption, encrypts the victim's personal data until a ransom is paid. Difficult-to-trace Digital currency, digital currencies such as paysafecard or Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency, cryptocurrencies are com ...

. In 2021, the product was renamed to Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office before being renamed back to True Image in 2024.

Backup and restoration

The product can back up a

computer A computer is a machine that can be Computer programming, programmed to automatically Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (''computation''). Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic set ...

, selected disks or selected files to a local location or to a data center operated by Acronis. Data is stored within a proprietary image file.

Backup

Local backup

It can create two types of backup archives: (1) files and folder backups (which consist of user-specified files and directories (but not the metadata of the disk or partition)) and (2) full system images (which consist of files, directories and disk metadata). The software can perform full, differential and incremental backups: * Full: Creates a new backup archive every time and backs up everything specified by the user. * Differential: Backups only backup the changes made since the latest full backup. * Incremental: Only backs up the changes made since the last incremental backup. Incremental backups are a chain and loss of any one of the incremental backups renders the entire backup useless.

Cloud backup

Users can specify to store their backup archives in Acronis's data centers around the globe.

Restoration

Acronis True Image allows users to restore files from a full disk or a file-based archive using either a preinstallation media with Acronis on it or from within the user interface of the program.

File system support

The software can create full disk backup archives of several file systems including:

NTFS NT File System (NTFS) (commonly called ''New Technology File System'') is a proprietary journaling file system developed by Microsoft in the 1990s. It was developed to overcome scalability, security and other limitations with File Allocation Tabl ...

(Windows);

FAT32 File Allocation Table (FAT) is a file system developed for personal computers and was the default file system for the MS-DOS and Windows 9x operating systems. Originally developed in 1977 for use on floppy disks, it was adapted for use on ...

(Windows 9x and removable media); Macintosh systems ( HFS+ and APFS) and Linux systems (

ext2 ext2, or second extended file system, is a file system for the Linux kernel (operating system), kernel. It was initially designed by French software developer Rémy Card as a replacement for the extended file system (ext). Having been designed ...

ext3 ext3, or third extended filesystem, is a journaling file system, journaled file system that is commonly used with the Linux kernel. It used to be the default file system for many popular Linux distributions but generally has been supplanted by ...

ext4 ext4 (fourth extended filesystem) is a journaling file system for Linux, developed as the successor to ext3. ext4 was initially a series of backward-compatible extensions to ext3, many of them originally developed by Cluster File Systems for ...

; ReiserFS, and Linux Swap). Acronis uses sector-by-sector copy when a non-supported filesystem is backed up.

Encryption

The backup archives can be encrypted to reduce the risk of unauthorized access using either: none, 128, 192, or 256-bit AES encryption. On modern systems, higher bit encryption algorithms do not noticeably impact backup or restoration performance rendering the selection of weaker options pointless.

Technical limitations

Managing backup archives created using the Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office software can be challenging for expert users who want to use it in conjunction with other software to manage their backups. The software does not recognize when backups have been deleted using external software. The compatibility of backup archives is not guaranteed between products that are not within the same version.

File format

Prior to Acronis True Image 2020, the file format used for storing backup image or file data was the True Image Backup file format (TIB). True Image 2020 added an additional format: TIBX that provides additional functionality.

TIB

The TIB (.tib) file format is used for storing the backup image data for all True Image versions especially prior to True Image 2020. The TIB file can be forensically identified by looking for a file signature of CE 24 B9 A2 20 00 00 00 or B4 6E 68 44.

TIBX

The TIBX file format, added in Acronis True Image 2020, addresses limitations with the TIB format such as replacing the

MD5 The MD5 message-digest algorithm is a widely used hash function producing a 128-bit hash value. MD5 was designed by Ronald Rivest in 1991 to replace an earlier hash function MD4, and was specified in 1992 as Request for Comments, RFC 1321. MD5 ...

hashed password with another mechanism to mitigate brute force attacks.

Disk cloning

The product supports

the contents of a

SATA SATA (Serial AT Attachment) is a computer bus interface that connects host bus adapters to mass storage devices such as hard disk drives, optical drives, and solid-state drives. Serial ATA succeeded the earlier Parallel ATA (PATA) standard ...

NVMe NVM Express (NVMe) or Non-Volatile Memory Host Controller Interface Specification (NVMHCIS) is an open, logical-device interface specification for accessing a computer's non-volatile storage media usually attached via the PCI Express bus. The in ...

storage media to another. The product will adjust the size of the partition(s) to ensure that they fit on the destination storage device. Some hard disk manufacturers (including

Western Digital Western Digital Corporation is an American data storage company headquartered in San Jose, California. Established in 1970, the company is one of the world's largest manufacturers of hard disk drives (HDDs). History 1970s Western Digital ...

, Crucial and Seagate) provide customized variants of Acronis True Image with their drives that allows the user to clone their existing disk to another disk but with the caveat that the disks typically have to be of the same manufacturer.

Cybersecurity

In 2016, active ransomware countermeasures, blockchain-based notary services, and electronic signing (premium version only) were added to the product. In 2020, security features (i.e., integrated advanced anti-malware features including real-time protection, vulnerability assessment, anti-virus scans, web filtering, and

videotelephony Videotelephony (also known as videoconferencing or video calling) is the use of audio signal, audio and video for simultaneous two-way communication. Today, videotelephony is widespread. There are many terms to refer to videotelephony. ''Vide ...

app protection) were integrated into the product.

Naming

Prior to Acronis True Image 9, their business-focused product Acronis Backup or Acronis Cyber Protect shared the same name as their home product (i.e., ''True Image)'' with the minor exception that the business versions were called Acronis True Image Server. Later server backup software was renamed ''Acronis Backup''. In 2021 Acronis renamed the home product to ''Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office''. It was renamed back to True Image in 2024.

References

{{Authority control Backup software Proprietary cross-platform software Disk cloning