We put five free online storage services, which let you upload your files to a 'virtual hard drive' and access them from your other devices, to the test to find out just which is the best one for you.
SpiderOak
SpiderOak has the professional look of a cloud-sync system designed for enterprise users who need to back up gigabytes of files across a broadband connection. It was first launched its product in December 2007.
How it works
SpiderOak's client works like a hard drive backup application.
Every computer that you link to your SpiderOak account appears under a menu within the SpiderOak desktop client. Clicking on a computer's name will open up a branching list of the folders and files that you have uploaded to your SpiderOak account. You can download, erase and perform other maintenance on your files by interacting with this virtual computer network in the same way you would with a typical file manager program.
You can set backups and syncing of files and folders to happen automatically on a regular schedule.
You can grant other people access to your files or folders by setting up a 'ShareRoom', which is a password-protected link that the SpiderOak desktop application will generate for a file or folder you designate for public sharing.
What's good
The application has a feature that groups the files on your local computer's hard drive into categories ('Documents', 'Movies' ,'Music', 'Pictures' etc). You can then back up the files in any of these categories to the SpiderOak servers, provided you have enough space on your account. But you can also use SpiderOak to select specific files and folders that you want to sync across multiple computers.
What needs to be fixed
The SpiderOak desktop software may be a bit of overkill, with more features than you need if all you want to do is sync a few folders and files between your online storage space and local hard drive. But, regardless, its overall user interface and functions are easy to use.
Bottom line
SpiderOak seems to have been designed to be mainly an online hard drive backup system rather than a simple service for syncing files and folders to the cloud. Thus, you would probably get the most out of it if you paid for additional online storage space and had all of your computers that are linked to your SpiderOak account connected to the Internet with enterprise-level broadband.
Product Specs
OS: Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7, OS X 10.4 or later, various Linux distros
Mobile apps: None
Storage size: 2GB
Maximum file size: None
Daily data-transfer limit: None
Paid plans: $10 (£6.39) per month or $100 (£63.90) per year for each additional 100GB
NEXT PAGE: ZumoDrive
Comments
Pete Vicentini Jr. said: This is my top ten http1sttechguidesblogspotHowever all of them have free basic service but the magic is in the paid service
James said: Please re-read or read for the first time the article Each service reviewed offers free basic storage in addition to paid greater capacity services No scam here
Loadof said: The very first line of this article The 5 best free online storage servicesYet these are not free The writer of this is clearly an incompetent idiot or is a scammer simply schilling product
Scottgauld73 said: Drop box is horrible I loaded up videos to share with my photos and they sit there and buffer constantly when trying to watch from a mobile device I dont mind paying for but want a service that doesnt slow down the speed or transfer rate for video making it unwatchable
Monica said: Then theres CloudMe 3GB free and up to 19GB with referralsGreat Swedish based European storage alternative
Jon Snow said: Online data storage are much more reliable and long lasting when compared to local solutions provided you find a good host heres a list of some of the better ones Some of them were mentioned in this article toohttpwwwetechmagcom20121
Matt Egan said: Me neither An odd one To be investigated
Simon said: Not sure how this ended up in my inbox as one of todays top stories However it does highlight just how much has changed over the last two years and a revised review might be warrantedFor my own purposes I am usingSkydrive which floats my boat at least
adrive said: Been using Adrive 50Gb free storage for over 5 years to back up my other backups of photos And never lost any files with them Other services dont offer enough free storage Interface may be antiquated but works and is free Company also been around a long time and seem to be going strong 5 stars from me coz its a true free service
Bullitbiter said: Ive been told there is a possible new player coming onto the market that gives you the option to pay for what you use between 1GB to 1TBIm not 100 sure but i think its due to launch this year 2012 and i think the domain name is wwwEpicCloudingcomAnyone else heard of them or have any more info on themPS by the looks of it there facebook shows they have just set up a new accounthttpswwwfacebookcompagesCraig
Fooman said: hold on a minute maybe Im missing something Isnt this supposed to be a list of the best 5 FREE storage services Whats all this subscription stuff then Bit misleading or maybe we get paid
Jay Olson said: DropBox
ochionnaith said: Lost all my dataI signed up last year very happy with the marketing pricing and the way the service operated However in December all my data was lost and opendrive have been unable to restore provide access to a backup etc I was devastated as a lot of the items I had stored were single copy and are now apparently lost forever If a provider fails in the single most important and basic premise of its service in not being able to guarantee the safe storage and easy return of data how can they be trusted I am surprised that I have not read more about this on the web as a co-worker has had the same experience The response from their customer service team has been very poor I received a response to my query as to where my files were blandly informing me that the files were lost and no further efforts would be made to restore them there was no follow up offer of refund or it appears any determination on behalf of opendrive to find a successful solution Trust Not so sure
Vaultscape said: Thanks for the detailed research and testing Howard In my opinion Dropbox is the best free online storage service Its user interface is extremely easy to understand and its uploading speed is fast too
free online storage said: A file transfer service providesa number of packages to opt as per ones requirementTo know perfectly howto send a file you should go through the plans and packages carefully asdescribed on the service providers website free online storage
angelo dane said: I think he means that you need a review update
Social Media Marketing Blog said: All Cloud services are great in services these services are veryhelpfulforweb mastersand business organizations tostore data on internet
Starscream said: I use Iozetacom and Ive never had any problems with my backed up files
JoeGP said: Your various links on the bottom to Dropbox opendrive dont work at least not anymore they just send you back to the first pageOh and 1GB thats not storage thats pocket change i know its free but so is a rusty bicycle with flat tires
Miketwrs said: DropBox and SugarSync are the bestcloud storage companiesTheir systems are reliable but easy to useUse this link to open a DropBoxaccount amp you will get an additional 250Mb of free spacehttpdbttrzorpr6Use this link to open a SugarSyncaccount amp you will get an additional 500Mb of free spacehttpswwwsugarsynccomrefeTo receive the bonus you have todownload and install the Dropbox or SugarSync software