As part of my backup strategy and to ensure I have everything I need on multiple PCs when I travel, I make sure my data is always synchronized between my desktop and laptop. I've been a longtime user of Microsoft Briefcase and Microsoft SyncToy to do these operations, but Briefcase is limited and very slow, and SyncToy is confusing. Could there be something better out there?

I gave GoodSync a whirl and I'm happy to report that it does indeed fill the bill quite nicely. Just hop over to the Good Sync website, install the software, and you're off and running.

To synchronize folders, simply select two that you want to link up, one on the right and one on the left of the interface. If you only want files to go in one direction, you just click on the arrow between the two folders. Bi-directional syncing is the default, which will ensure that all files remain in both folders. (Note that you don't have to install the software on the second machine.)

Clicking Analyze makes GoodSync determine which files are missing or changed in either folder. When it's done, you can click Synchronize to sync 'em up, or dig deeper and decide what you want GoodSync to do on a file by file basis. It works like a dream.

GoodSync can sync between two PCs, two hard drives on one PC, removable media like a USB thumbdrive, or even an FTP server if you have access to one. My only complaint with the software is that you can't schedule it to run automatically, which could be very useful for those of us who forget to do our syncs.

A free version is available (granting you 20,000 file synchronizations every 30 days), and a license for unlimited use is $20. It's definitely worth a download if you use the same files on multiple PCs.