Online Internet Storage

Internet based storage providers, providing storage that you can access across the internet.

Page Contents

• Introduction
• Feature summary comparison
• Virtual storage providers
• Other lists of virtual storage

Introduction

Some companies provide internet based storage (also often referred to as "internet based storage space", "remote file storage", "virtual storage" or "virtual hard drive"). Internet based storage is a simple means of sharing files (for example between home and work or with friends), for giving you access to your files from any location, and for off site backups.

Most sites that offer this service charge a modest fee and some will provide either a more restricted free service or a limited free trial. There are fewer internet based storage providers now than there used to be. When the first version of this list was put together there were a number of sites offering free storage space. Now most of those have gone out of business and others have converted to offering a commercial (i.e. paid for) service. Be aware of this before relying upon an internet storage device as your sole method of keeping backups - a service you pay for will be more dependable than a free one.

The information provided on this page is believed to be accurate, and is based on the information published on provider's website. Please check with each company before signing up. If you find any errors or omissions please report these via e-mail to: feedback@cryer.co.uk.

Feature Summary Comparison

The following table provides summary information on each storage provided included in the comparison.

Summary	Free service				Paid service
	Space	Trial	Share	FTP	Initial space	Max space	Max file size	FTP
DriveHQ	1GB	free			2GB	20GB	no limit
Mozy	2GB	free			2GB	30GB	no limit
Huddle	100MB	free			1GB	25GB/unlimited	no limit
Snapfish	no limit, but image files only	free			no limit - but image files only
Dropbox	2GB	free			50GB	100GB	no limit
Box.net	1GB	free			5GB	15GB	1GB
FileDen	1GB	free			5GB	15GB	1GB
ZumoDrive	1GB	free			10GB	500GB	no limit
Znail	1-5MB	free			20MB	50MB	no limit
AxiFile	150MB / file	free			no paid service
Sayabit	50MB - 100MB	free			50MB	100MB	no-limit
SwissDisk	50MB	free			100MB	5GB	no-limit
FileGenie	20MB	free			50MB	7GB	1MB - 4MB
TrueShare	7 day trial				3GB 30GB/Month	no specified limit	no limit
FilesAnyWhere	30 day trial				50MB	2GB	no limit
Pixagogo	15 day free trial				no limit - but image files only
Kodak Gallery	free for 12 months				no limit - image files only.		150MB images only
SafeSnaps	one month trial				no limit - but image files only
vhdisk	no free service				no limit
I2Drive	no free service				2GB	100GB	no limit

Terms:

Space

For free services the maximum amount of storage space that the provider will provide.

Trial

Whether the free service is provided on a trial basis only. "Free" indicates that the free service is free with no trial limitations (although the service provided will be less than that for the paid service), otherwise the length of trial is shown.

Share

Whether you can share files with others using the service.

Initial space

For commercial sites, the initial amount of storage space that the provider will allocate.

Max space

For commercial sites, the maximum amount of storage space that the provider will provide. Typically the provider will charge extra if more than the initial space is required.

Max file size

The maximum size of any individual file. Every storage provider will have a limit on the maximum file size, "no limit" either means that the provider has not revealed their maximum file size or that the file size limit is large enough not to be an issue.

FTP

Whether FTP or SFTP access to the storage space is provided. All provide a browser interface.

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Online ("Virtual") Storage Providers

http://box.net

Box.net is an online file storage platform that enables users to share, access and store important files online anytime, anywhere. Users can access or share their files from any computer or mobile device (no software required), so any files stored on the service can be retrieved or shared anywhere. Box.net currently has over a million registered users. They offer a free 14-day trial of paid services to new users, who can sign up for either a Plus, Individual or a Business account. Their main features include:

• Internet based file storage.
• Sharing files / folders on the internet.
• Upload files via a browser interface. If its more convenient you can upload your files simply by emailing them.

Their free service is their "Lite" plan. They offer a 14 day free trial of their "Individual", "Business" and "Enterprise" plans.

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http://znail.com

ZNail provide storage for free. They use a points system, with points being earned by either using the system or making a donation and the number of available points dictates how much storage you are allocated. For the free service the initial allocation is 5MB, but this can fall to 1MB.

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www.axifile.com

Host your files with AxiFile, providing free file storage that can be used without the need to register. Fast, reliable and completely free.

Files can be uploaded without the need to register. You will then be given two links. The first link is to download the file, and this link can be emailed to those you wish to share the file with. The second link provides you with simple administration on the file, providing download statistics and the option to delete the file.

The AxiFile service is great for sharing files. It is not suitable for long term storage (because files are removed if 30 days elapse since being requested) or for managing a collection of files (because each file must be managed individually).

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www.drivehq.com

DriveHQ offers 1GB of storage space for free and this includes a rich set of extra functionality including storage, backup, sharing, publishing, and FTP. Their main features include:

• Internet-base file storage.
• Sharing files / folders on the Internet.
• Publishing your files / folders, hosting websites and FTP sites.
• Free web-based email, private group BBS, and more.
• Online video playback, and online photo editing, which includes batch-editing, rotating, and other special effects such as adjustment of brightness and contrast.
• Online backup, both scheduled and real-time.

The free service is for personal, non-commercial use.

Note:

1. There are two levels of free membership - "Free account" and "True account". To have a "True account" requires either a non-generic email address or the deposit of $10. The "True account" is otherwise free and has no download limit.
2. The cost of the paid service varies according to the amount of data download per month.

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www.dropbox.com

To use dropbox you start by downloading the dropbox installer application, this application takes you through the sign up process. This is all very simple and straight forward. What you end up with after the install is a folder (called "Dropbox") and anything you place in that folder is automatically stored on the dropbox servers and is thus available anywhere else where you choose to install the dropbox application.

If you do not want to use their installer then you can create an account on their website. You can upload and download files using the web interface so you do not need to install their application if you do not want to - although having a shared folder on your local computer does make it very much easier to use.

You can upload and download files using the web interface so you do not need to install their application if you do not want to - although having a shared folder on your local computer does make it very much easier to use.

ZumoDrive offer a very similar service to that of Dropbox.

Back to comparison of storage providers

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www.fileden.com

FileDen operate four types of accounts: Free, Silver, Gold and Diamond. The paid accounts provide a photo album feature, but this is not available to users of their free service.

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www.filegenie.com

Provides a number of packages. The greater the subscription the more storage provided and the larger the permitted size of individual files. Used to provide a free service, but this seems to have disappeared.

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www.filesanywhere.com

Provides a free 30 day trial, their service must be paid for after that. Cost varies according to space requirements. These start at 50MB.

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Huddle Collaboration

Huddle is primarily an on-line collaboration service. Huddle allows you to share more than simply your files, but also your calendar and task lists. Huddle attempts to address the need to be able to brainstorm with people from multiple cities or countries, allowing comments and discussions on ideas or projects. With Huddle you can do this and more. It is a leading collaboration tool, allowing you to manage projects, upload and share documents and other files, with anyone anywhere.

Since Huddle is much more than a simple file sharing service the following table (which provides a standard way of comparing storage providers) does not give an indication of the collaborative nature of Huddle. Other than their "Free" and "Personal" accounts, their other account types are aimed at businesses and teams.

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www.i2drive.com

I(2) Drive no longer offers a free service. All of their storage products are now paid. Each account comes with a monthly transfer limit, which (for their cheaper accounts) is equal to the storage provided on the account.

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Kodak Gallery

Kodakgallery has a primary focus on printing digital photos (either as traditional photos or on mugs, cards, calendars and the like). They also provide a photo gallery service where you can share your photos with family or friends.

Their service is suitable for sharing, viewing, storing and printing digital images. It is important to note that their service is geared specifically to images (i.e. image files and video files) and it cannot be used for any other type of file storage.

They provide free storage for 12 months. This can be extended by making a purchase from them - each purchase extends the storage to another 12 months from the data of purchase. Alternately they do provide a premium based service which does not expire. Video files may be subject to additional restrictions on length of storage.

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Mozy.com

Mozy provide a different approach to online-storage. Their storage offering is aimed primarily at providing free backup of data and files. When you sign up they provide an application that runs in the background which ensures that those files and folders you have selected are regularly backed up. This backing up is done across the internet, so it is essential that you have an internet connection. Their free service is aimed squarely at providing a reliable backup. This service is not suitable for exchanging files between users or computers (with the obvious exception of when you come to need to restore your files from the backup). Files are backed up using secure encryption, so its vital that you don't loose the key used to encrypt the files.

Free remote backup is finally here! Download and install Mozy to ensure your data is safely backed up at a secure, remote location. Mozy is a secure, automatic remote backup service for any PC in any home or office. It's simple to install and configure. No external hard drive, expensive subscription services, CD's or DVD's to burn. All you need is a broadband connection and you are ready to go!

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www.pixagogo.com

Pixagogo - Elegant Online Albums Easily Shared With Family and Friends. Pixagogo provides unlimited online photo storage, sharing photos in elegant highly customizable albums and seamlessly integrated photo printing. The only restriction is that it is for image files only, but the site is optimised for images and offer many features specifically for image files such as on-line albums and capability to order prints.

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www.safesnaps.com

Safe Snaps provides a service for automatically backing up digital photos across the Internet.

Their service is limited to image files, but is advertised as having no storage limit. You will need a broadband connection to use their service. They do not provide a means of sharing these files with other users.

Prices are in US dollars or UK sterling.

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www.sayabit.com

Sayabit is primarily a file sharing solution rather than a storage provider. The distinction is that any files uploaded are potentially available for anyone else to see and don't need to be explicitly shared in any way. In practice the only people who can view the files you have uploaded will be those with whom you have shared the URL - each uploaded file is given a distinct and unique URL. Security is provided for as you can password protect each file should you want to (although the default is for files to be unprotected).

Sayabit describes itself as a links based file storage service, and this is quite an apt summary of the type of service they provide. Once registered, you can upload images, documents and files into your own space and Sayabit provides you with a unique URL for each of them. They also providing the facility to provide shortened URLs instead of long ones. What this means in practice is that you can upload files and you can access them via the web. If you share that URL with someone then they can also get access to your file. So Sayabit is primarily a file sharing solution rather than a solution providing dedicated private storage.

You can increase the storage they provide (up to a limit) by referring your friends. When you sign up you are given a named-subfolder, and should you choose to subscribe to their paid service you are guaranteeing that your subfolder name will remain yours.

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Snapfish

Snapfish are an online photo printing service. They are owned by HP, so have a reputable name behind them. Whilst their primary business objective is to sell prints of your digital photos they also provide free photo storage.

Snapfish operate a number of regional sites, so when you visit their website start by selecting your location.

whilst promotional details vary from time to time, Snapfish typically offer a number of free prints with your first order.

As well as providing a browser interface to upload (and view) your images, they allow allow you to email your pictures to them. This requires that you send from the email account that you have registered with them.

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www.SwissDisk.com

SwissDisk is encrypted end-to-end and offers free 50Mb accounts as well as a paid service.

From the SwissDisk website: "At SwissDisk, we protect sensitive information and enable compliance with data privacy and IT governance regulations. Our portable encrypted file-systems provide online storage, backup, and remote access to (private key) encrypted solutions that are integrated into the desktop environment and accessible using any web-enabled device."

SwissDisk place great emphasis on the security of your data, and files are uploaded and downloaded using a secure (SSL) connection. That said, its still a simple process to upload and share files.

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www.trueshare.com

Established in 2003 as EasyFTP.net, TrueShare provides business class online file management and backup services allowing unlimited users. Send, receive, backup, store and access all file types. TrueShare is used to transfer graphics files to vendors, receive audio files from clients, store pictures and videos, distribute spreadsheets to co-workers, keep offsite backups of your databases, send power point presentations and marketing materials to client prospects, share product information sheets with remote employees, centralize bid document distribution to contractors, and so much more. This can all be accomplished from anywhere, at anytime, securely with TrueShare.

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www.vhdisk.com

vhdisk is a relative newcomer to the online storage market, having opened in October 2011.

vhdisk.com (or Virtual hard disk online file storage solution, to give it its full name), promotes itself as offering unlimited space and traffic for a single monthly fee.

Whilst there are no set limits on the amount of space that may be used, the number or size of files that may be uploaded, the terms and conditions allow them to impose restrictions if they deem it necessary. This is quite reasonable and is consistent with other online storage providers.

Back to comparison of storage providers

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www.zumodrive.com

Note: ZumoDrive is due to be closed in June 2012. It will be replaced by MotoCast, but existing ZumoDrive accounts will not be migrated across.

Zumodrive provide a web-based interface to your storage. They provide an installable utility which makes your storage space appear as a removable drive. The utility once installed will step you through the process of signing up, part of this process involves designating any folders that you want to be able to link to your "ZumoDrive". You can then share your files simply by installing their application on each pc and then logging in using the same account details.

Dropbox offers a very similar service to that of ZumoDrive.

Back to comparison of storage providers

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Other lists of storage providers

There are a number of lists of virtual storage provider on the net. The following is a sample:

• www.prospector.cz/Free-Internet-services/Online-storage-space
  Large list of free online storage providers.

If you know of any other internet based storage providers that you would like to see listed on this page or wish to report any errors on this page then please e-mail: feedback@cryer.co.uk.