To exchange files between computers and mobile gadgets, cables and flash drives are no longer needed. If devices have Internet access, files can “fly” between them “on the cloud.” More precisely, they can “settle” in cloud storage, which is a collection of servers scattered around the world (united into one virtual - cloud server), where users place their data for a fee or for free. In the cloud, files are stored in the same way as on a computer’s hard drive, but are accessible not from one, but from different devices that are able to connect to it.

Every second or third Internet user has already adopted cloud data storage technology and uses it with pleasure, but some still resort to flash drives. After all, not everyone knows about this opportunity, and some simply cannot decide which service to choose and how to use it. Well, let's figure it out together.

What are cloud storages from a user's point of view and how do they work?

If you look through the eyes of an inexperienced user, cloud storage is an ordinary application. All it does is create a folder on the computer under own name. But not simple. Everything you put into it is simultaneously copied to the same cloud Internet server and becomes accessible from other devices. The size of this folder is limited and can grow within the limits of the disk space allocated to you (on average from 2 GB).

If the cloud storage application is running and the computer ( mobile gadget) is connected to the global network, data on the hard drive and in the cloud are synchronized in real time. When working offline, as well as when the application is not running, all changes are saved only in the local folder. When the machine is connected to the Internet, access to the storage becomes possible, including through a browser.

Files and folders uploaded to the cloud are full-fledged web objects, the same as any content on Internet sites and FTP storages. You can link to them and share links with other people, even those who do not use this service. But only those to whom you have authorized it will be able to download or see an object from your storage. In the cloud, your data is hidden from prying eyes and is securely password protected.

The majority of cloud services have additional functionality - a file viewer, built-in document editors, tools for creating screenshots, etc. This, plus the amount of space provided, creates the main differences between them.

is a cloud data storage service that needs no introduction to Windows users. Of course, in the latest releases of this OS (in the top ten), it actually climbs on top of everything on the screen, since it is configured to autorun by default.

For Windows users, the advantage of the Microsoft OneDrive service over its analogues is perhaps only one - it does not need to be installed. You also don’t need to create a separate account for it—to log into the cloud, you just need to enter your Microsoft account information.

The owner of one Microsoft OneDrive account provides 5 GB of free disk space to store any information. To get additional volume, you will have to pay extra. The maximum is 5 TB and costs 3,399 rubles per year, but this package includes not only disk space, but also the Office 365 application (home edition). More affordable tariff plans are 1 TB (2,699 rubles per year - storage and Office 365 personal) and 50 GB (140 rubles per month - storage only).

Additional features of all tariffs:

  • Support for other operating systems - Mac OS X, iOS and Android.
  • View and edit documents using built-in Office applications.
  • Remote access to the entire contents of the computer (not just the OneDrive folder) on which the service is installed and your Microsoft account is used.
  • Creation of photo albums.
  • Built-in messenger (Skype).
  • Creation and storage of text notes.
  • Search.

Paid versions only:

  • Creating links with a limited validity period.
  • Offline folders.
  • Multi-page scanning and saving documents to a PDF file.

In general, the service is not bad, but sometimes there are problems logging into your account. If you are going to work with the web version of the storage (via a browser) and log into it under a different IP address than you used before, Microsoft sometimes runs a check that the account belongs to you, which takes a lot of time.

There have also been complaints about user content being removed from OneDrive when Microsoft suspected it was unlicensed.

is one of the oldest cross-platform cloud storage services. Unlike the previous one, it supports all major operating systems, as well as some less commonly used ones, such as Symbian and MeeGo. The service is very easy to use, works quickly and stably.

A DropBox user is provided with only 2 GB of disk space for free to store personal files, but this volume can be doubled by creating and attaching another account to your account - a work account (which can actually be personal). Together you get 4 GB.

Switching between personal and work disk space on the DropBox website and in the application is carried out without logging out of your account (no need to enter your username and password each time). A separate folder is created on the computer for both accounts - 2 GB each.

DropBox, as expected, also has several tariff plans. About free it was said above, Paid ones are “Plus” (1 TB, $8.25 per month, intended for personal use), “Standard” (2 TB, $12.50 per month, for business), “Advanced” (unlimited volume, $20 per month for 1 user) and “Enterprise” (unlimited volume, individually set price). The differences between the last two are in the set of additional options.

In addition to storage, free users have access to:

  • Document collaboration service DropBox Paper.
  • Ability to share links and create public folders.
  • Log of file changes with the ability to restore them to the previous version (up to 30 days).
  • Commenting on files - both your own and other users, if the file is available for viewing.
  • Search function.
  • Receiving notifications about events (customizable individually).
  • Automatic uploading of photos from the camera (by the way, DropBox provided users with additional space for enabling this option some time ago).
  • Select full or selective synchronization.
  • Encryption of data during storage and transmission.

The possibilities of paid tariffs can be listed for a very long time, so we will only note the main ones:

  • Remotely destroy data from DropBox on a lost or stolen device.
  • Limit the link's validity period.
  • Two-factor account authentication.
  • Setting access levels to different data.
  • Enhanced HIPAA/HITECH class information protection (secure storage of medical records).
  • 24/7 technical support.

DropBox, if not the best, is a very worthy service. Despite the small amount of free space by today's standards, it is used by millions of people around the world.

Mega (Megasync)

As is clear from the description, Amazon Web Services is aimed only at the corporate sector and is not intended for storing albums with photographs of cats, although it is possible that someone uses it for this too. After all, cloud file storage - Amazon Glacier, like Yandex disk, provides users with 10 free GB. The cost of additional volume is $0.004 per 1 GB per month.

Comparing Amazon Glacier with the web resources described above is perhaps incorrect, since they have slightly different purposes. The functionality and capabilities of this service are determined by business objectives, including:

  • Uninterrupted operation, increased reliability.
  • Compliance with enhanced data protection standards.
  • Multilingual interface.
  • Unlimited volume (expansion for an additional fee).
  • Ease of use and flexible settings.
  • Integration with other Amazon Web Services.

Those who are interested in Amazon's capabilities can read the complete documentation for AWS products, which is located on the official website.

Mail.ru

It ranks second or third in the popularity rating of file web storage among Russian-speaking audiences. In terms of its range of capabilities, it is comparable to Google Drive and Yandex Drive: like them, it contains web applications for creating and editing documents (texts, tables, presentations) and a screenshoter (a utility for taking screenshots). It is also integrated with other Mail.ru projects - mail, social networks “My World” and “Odnoklassniki”, the “Mail. Dating”, etc., has a convenient file viewer with a flash player and is also very affordable (for those for whom the allocated volume is not enough).

Free disk space size cloud Mail is 8 GB (previously this figure changed several times). The premium tariff for 64 GB costs 690 rubles per year. For 128 GB you will have to pay 1,490 rubles per year, for 256 GB - 2,290 rubles per year. The maximum volume is 512 GB, which will cost 3,790 rubles per year.

Other functions of the service are not much different from similar ones. This:

  • Shared folders.
  • Synchronization.
  • Built-in search.
  • Ability to share links.

The Mail.ru client application works on Windows, OS X, iOS and Android.

Cloud storage is a proprietary web service for owners of smartphones and tablets of the same manufacturer. Designed for storing backup copies of data from mobile devices - multimedia content, OS files and other things at the discretion of the user.

Client Samsung app Cloud is pre-installed on phones and tablets released later than the second half of 2016 (more precisely, after the release Samsung Galaxy Note 7). Registering an account on the service is only possible through it, apparently to weed out outsiders.

The free storage capacity is 15 GB. An additional 50GB costs $0.99 per month, and 200GB costs $2.99.

iCloud (Apple)

- a favorite among cloud data storage users of Apple products. Of course, it’s free (though not very spacious) and integrated with other Apple services. The service is designed to store backup copies of data from iPhone, iPad and iPod, as well as user media files, mail and documents (the latter are automatically synchronized with the contents of iCloud Drive).

Free capacity iCloud storage is 5 GB. Additional storage retails for $0.99 for 50GB, $2.99 ​​for 200GB, and $9.99 for 2TB.

The iCloud client app supports Mac OS X, iOS, and Windows operating systems. There is no official application for Android, but owners of devices based on this OS can view mail from the Apple cloud on their device.

The top parade of cloud storages is completed by a Chinese service. As you can see from the screenshot, it is clearly not adapted for you and me. Why is it needed then, if there are domestic, European and American analogues that are more familiar to Russian-speaking people? The fact is that Baidu provides users with a whole terabyte of free disk space. For this reason, it is worth overcoming translation difficulties and other obstacles.

Registration on Baidu Cloud is significantly more labor-intensive than competitors. It requires confirmation with a code sent via SMS, but SMS from the Chinese server does not arrive to Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian numbers. Our fellow citizens have to get by by renting a virtual phone number, but that’s not all. The second difficulty is that an account cannot be registered for some addresses Email. In particular, on the services gmail (Google is blocked in China), fastmail and Yandex. And the third difficulty is the need to install the Baidu Cloud mobile application on your phone or tablet, since this is what 1 TB is given for (when registering on a computer, you will receive only 5 GB). And it, as you understand, is entirely in Chinese.

Aren't you scared? Dare - and you will be rewarded. Information on how to create an account on Baidu yourself is available on the Internet.

In the computer world cloud is called a virtual environment that allows you to store and work with data via the Internet and without the participation of local storage devices. Simply put, the cloud is a collection of servers connected to the World Wide Web, where you can save your files and, in some cases, install applications. Key features of cloud storage:

  • storing data on several servers at once. If one server fails, they will be accessible from others.
  • availability of data from anywhere in the world. You can access your data from any computer that is connected to the Internet.

Advantages

Using the cloud is very convenient for several reasons:

1. You can access and edit the file from different devices: work laptop, home computer, tablet. At the same time, you do not need to replace old copies with new ones and think about where and what you changed, so as not to overwrite the required copy.

2. The cloud serves as a backup storage. You can store files on your computer and copies of them in the cloud. Thus, you provide excellent insurance in case of loss of information on your computer (disk failure, virus infection, laptop theft, etc.)

3. Possibility to save disk space on your computer. Nothing prevents you from dumping 15 GB into Google Drive, some more into Yandex Disk and another part into Dropbox. In this case, you can delete files from your local storage and free up enough a large number of place if you urgently need it.

4. Reliability. The cloud is an infrastructure of many redundant servers. Your information is stored on multiple sites at once and the risk of data loss in Google Drive or OneDrive is much lower than if stored on a computer.

Hi all!

Perhaps most of us have at least once encountered such a problem as a lack of free space on the PC hard drive or an urgent need to access the necessary files, documents and photos.

Of course, a standard flash drive can save you in such a situation. But how often have you forgotten a flash drive at work, at home, with friends, or even lost it? And flash drives often break down.

It is much more convenient and reliable to store your information in the so-called cloud storage. I’ll tell you today what it is.

What is cloud storage?

Cloud file storage is a special remote server.

Many Internet resources allow users to store personal information on their server.

This service is provided both for a fee and free of charge. Of course, services with paid services provide the most opportunities, but free ones can also be very comfortable.

Cloud storage is a place where you can store your data, which you can access anywhere and at any time. Naturally, provided that the Internet is available in this place.

You can use the cloud after installation special programs or directly from . Nowadays, applications for accessing files on a server can be installed not only on a computer, but also on a tablet or smartphone.

Advantages and disadvantages

Everything is clear about what cloud storage means, but what are its advantages? Main advantages this method data storage is:

  • Easy access to any files and documents;
  • In the event of a complete crash of the operating system, the content uploaded to the cloud will remain safe and sound;
  • All data can be stored forever;
  • Most Internet services provide these services completely free of charge.

Of course, in addition to the advantages, such a storage system also has certain disadvantages.

Some services are not able to provide encryption of information during transmission. This affects the security of sending your data.

The speed of operations depends on your Internet provider or operator mobile communications, which provides Internet communication services.

But despite all this, one cannot but agree that the advantages of cloud storage are much greater than the disadvantages.

Google Drive

Google Drive cloud storage gives the user as much as 15 GB of space. If you need more, you can additionally purchase up to 30 TB.

Those who have repeatedly used services from Google, for example, google doc, will feel comfortable here. Besides, Google app Drive is available not only for Windows OS, but also Mac OS, Android, iOS.

Read more about this storage.

Mega

Mega is a young but very promising cloud file hosting service created by Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom.

Advantage of this service before others like him - complete confidentiality and data protection. Important features of the service:

  • encryption of all data in the browser using the AES algorithm;
  • the ability to exchange encrypted files between users;
  • keys to files are not published, but are transferred only in Friend-to-Friend mode.

For data storage, Mega provides you with up to 50 Gigabytes for free. Also, if necessary, you can additionally purchase:

  • 500 GB for $10 per month,
  • 2 TB for $19 per month,
  • 4 TB ($30 per month).

In terms of disk space, Mega is the most profitable among cloud services.

But due to certain shortcomings, this service still loses, for example, in terms of synchronization with other devices.

Cloud mail.ru

A promising “cloud” from Russian developers from Mail.Ru Group. Here you can store any information, share it with other users and synchronize it across all devices.

The cloud can be used both through the web interface and through mobile applications for iOS and Android. In applications for mobile devices, the function of auto-uploading photos from an iPad or iPhone is available. By activating this function, you will automatically transfer photos created using the device to the Cloud.

You are immediately given up to 25 GB of free disk space.

Yandex.Disk

An excellent free service from good old Yandex, which allows you to save your files and share them with other users on the World Wide Web.

From the very beginning, Yandex.Disk gives the user 10 GB, which is much less than in other services. Additionally you can buy:

  • 10 GB for 30 rub. per month,
  • 100 GB for 150 rubles per month,
  • 1 TB for 900 rubles per month.

Also, as a bonus, you can additionally be given:

  • 50 GB for shares with partners
  • 512 megabytes for each friend you refer (in this way you can increase the volume to a maximum of 10 Gigabytes).

It is important that Yandex.Disk can be integrated into Microsoft Office 2013, that is, you can immediately save documents to the “cloud” of this service.

There is also a business version of Yandex.Disk, which differs from the standard one in the presence of an API and certain functions to improve security.

Read more about Yandex disk in.

Dropbox

This cloud file storage allows users to store their own data and share it with each other with a password. That is, in order for your friends to see the files that you prepared for them, you will have to tell them the password for the document.

The main account gives you 2 Giga for free. Additionally, you can purchase 1 terabyte for 10 euros per month. By signing up for a “Business” account (12 euros per month) you can get as much space as you need.

Dropbox works great on both PC and mobile devices. Unlike other similar products, this application does not copy edited files to the server, but transfers only the modified, pre-compressed part. This makes Dropbox much faster than its competitors.

Read more about dropbox.

I told you about the most popular services. There are also little-known ones; you can search for information about them on the Internet.

Finally, I want to tell you about one great course that helped me increase my knowledge in the field of computer technology. We are talking about a course called “ Secrets of productive work at the computer».

Thanks to it, in a short period of time you will learn how to backup the data contained on your PC and restart it yourself operating system, make the most of the benefits of the Network, etc.

How much does it cost, you ask? Just some 1,490 rubles! If you are unable to master the course material (in the unlikely event), all your money will be refunded. If so, then why not try it?

I hope the article was useful to you?! Share the link to it with your friends on social media. networks. Subscribe to the blog newsletter to receive notifications about new editions. See you!

Sincerely! Abdullin Ruslan

Can't be ignored new service Mail.ru Group company - cloud data storage: [email protected]. By providing each user with 100GB of disk space for free, this cloud storage has left all possible competitors far behind. Having an account - Mailbox in mail.ru, we get full access to this remote data storage. Using the cloud through the web interface: cloud.mail.ru, that is, working with the cloud in any browser, without any additional registration, you can select files up to 2GB on your computer and upload them to the cloud server.

Let's see how to work in the cloud.

On the service page, on the “Cloud” tab, a content management system is conveniently implemented in the form of buttons: files and folders in the cloud. Click the "+Upload" button to add - copy files from your computer to the cloud. Using the "Download" button, we perform the reverse operation - upload a copy of the file from the remote server to your computer.

Having received the link in the letter and clicking on it, our recipient will be taken to the mail.ru cloud project page, where he can safely download the file from the cloud to his computer. Upload and download speeds are not very fast, but quite acceptable for files up to 2GB.

To upload files to the cloud maximum size in 32GB you need to install the Mail.Ru_Cloud program on your computer. This application is also completely free and can be downloaded from home page service:

Click on the desired device type, in the next window select the operating system and save the executable file Mail.Ru_Cloud.exe to the appropriate directory where we keep our distributions. Select the current version of the program.

Double click to launch the executable file. We select the language, after which the standard program installation wizard opens. We go through the steps of the installer one by one, clicking the “Next” buttons. At the same time, we leave the directories and all settings as default. Easy to install the application.

Install and open the application from the icon on the desktop or from the Start menu. We enter our program account mailbox in mail.ru, with confirmation of the license agreement. In the next window, create a cloud synchronization folder. The directory can be left as default, but it is better to organize such a folder, not on the system drive "C". Click the "Continue" button. After this, the program window closes.

The application is running. By double-clicking on its shortcut on the desktop, we open the folder we selected for synchronization with the cloud. Right-click on the program icon on the taskbar, open the context menu and see that synchronization is in progress. That is, files previously uploaded to the cloud are copied to the created synchronization folder on the computer:

So, at first the sync folder may be empty.

You can read where it is and how to configure the taskbar on the page: setting up the Start menu.

By creating a synchronization folder on your computer, you can copy files up to 32 GB in size to it. After the files are copied, the synchronization process with the cloud begins - uploading files to a remote server. The download time will depend on the speed of our Internet connection. This way you can upload files with a total volume of 100GB to the cloud.

Once files are copied to the cloud, you can access them from any computer by connecting to the World Wide Web. There is no need to carry removable media with you: disks, flash drives. In the cloud you can also long time Securely save backup copies of the necessary files. And, today, the cloud - best option for sending large files.

Important feature The [email protected] service is a check of all files and folders uploaded to the cloud by Kaspersky antivirus. This prevents malicious content from spreading online and helps protect users' data and devices. If a file is infected with malicious code, the antivirus displays the message: “The file is infected with viruses.” It will be impossible to obtain a link to such a file. And, having received a link to an infected file, it will be impossible to save it to the cloud and download it to your computer.

Easy, intuitive service functionality, 100GB of free disk space on the server, solid anti-virus support from Kaspersky Lab make [email protected] the undoubted leader in cloud storage and data synchronization on the RuNet.

If you use cloud storage, then you probably know that you can upload files of a limited size to the cloud, for example, on mail.ru the limit is up to 2 gigabytes. In this article you will learn how to add a file of any size to various cloud storages.

The cloud can be used different ways. You can use a special application that is installed on your computer, and with the help of it you upload files to cloud storage.

But, minus this method is that this application creates a specific folder (cloud storage folder). Everything would be fine, but this folder, in addition to sending files to the cloud, also duplicates them on your computer. Thus, taking up space on your computer’s hard drive.

To prevent this from happening, we have to delete the application and upload files directly to the cloud using a browser. Well, that's what I personally do.

And this is where we run into the file size problem. Cloud mail.ru does not allow you to add files larger than two gigabytes. What to do? What if, for example, our file weighs 3 gigabytes? Now, I will tell you how to deal with this.

We split the file into several archives

It is necessary to split this file or files into several archives. You can use any data archiving program. I use the program "7-ZIP".

  • I select the required file.
  • I right-click on the file.
  • The context menu opens. I point to the “7-ZIP” item and select “Add to archive”.
  • The archiving settings window will open. Here you need to find the item “Split into volumes of size (in bytes)”. In this item you need to set a value that allows you to add the file to the cloud. It all depends on which cloud you are going to add the file to. For example, I want to add to mail.ru, they have a limit of no more than 2 GB. So I set the value, say 1900 MB.
  • Then click “OK” and archiving begins.

The bottom line is that the file we need will be divided into several archives, and the size of each archive will not exceed 1900 MB. This will give us the opportunity to upload all created archives to the cloud.

How to combine archives to get whole information

Now let's look at how we can get complete information from a file divided into archives.

Let's say you needed a file that you uploaded to the cloud. How to use it?

  • Download all created archives (archives of this file).
  • After you have downloaded everything, select all the archives that make up your file. This can be done by holding down the left mouse button and scrolling through all the archives. Or, you can left-click on the top archive, hold down the “Shift” button and left-click on the bottom archive. All files will be highlighted.
  • Right-click on any of the archives and a context menu will open.
  • In this menu, point to “7-ZIP” and select “Extract here”.

That’s it, after unpacking, this file will be in this folder, in the form in which you archived it.

Thus, by splitting files into archives, you can add any files, even huge ones, to the cloud. The main thing is that there is enough space on the cloud.

Below is a video in which I showed how this is all done. Oh, by the way, if you don’t have an archiver program, then you can use free program"7-ZIP". Here is a link to her official website.

Hope, this note was useful to you. or to the channel "Instructor PC".