Domain-name registration firm Register.com Monday added online backup to its list of services, targeting one-person and small-business Web sites.

Its Data Backup Services includes scheduled, automatic backups; encryption during transmission; and access to backed-up data 24/7 from any Net-connected computer, said the New York-based company.

Small businesses can purchase multi-user accounts, then assign access and storage privileges for both backup and sharing of files.

The 30-day free trial of the backup service is available at Register.com's Web site. Pricing ranges from $25 annually for 50 Mb for an individual, to $1,000 a year for 5 Gb for multiple users.

Online-backup rivals, such as IBackup.com, sell storage for considerably less; IBackup's 5 Gb plan for workgroups, for instance, runs $750 annually. Other outlets, such as Google and its Gmail Web-based mail service, also tout large amounts of online storage for free.