Brads Electronic Projects Forum

I'm thinking about free online storage. We had a server upgrade that had a glitch and I can't use my thumbdrive at work because it makes my computer freeze up.

Another annoying thing was that I would write stuff at work and some of the workers who didn't take the initiative decided to start editing and adding to my files which I felt was rude. I literally have to lock my files to prevent editing and when I did that, newer and newer versions of my files started showing up. I've always had my files backed up on a thumbdrive but I can't use my thumbdrive as of lately.

Our boss said to save the files we want during the last hardware upgrade because we got new computers but didn't offer any method on saving them.

Even though we have virus protection, one of the users managed to install a virus at work so I can't turn the old computer on anymore because they want to limit the damage.

I think it is safer to store my work files in the cloud rather than lose them due to one method.

www.dropbox.com
www.mediafire.com

There has been a recent conversation over at Digital DIY about dropbox.com

I like the way it integrates with existing technology (windows). Jon goes into much more detail about the site, and its probably worth the read if your interested?

To be honest it's something I have never used but can certainly see the benefits of using such a service.

It would be great as a backup if for nothing else.

I use Mozy. The set-up menu locks up during its calculation of what I already have online which is a pain. I haven't had to download anything yet, so I can't comment on the time it will take to do that.

I think they may be good for general files but I would be concerned about leaving intellectual property in there unless it was encrypted.

There were days I sweated it out because I thought I lost my thumbdrive and you don't want people having your information and some banks charge to have a safety deposit box. I could use something like this on days I forget a thumbdrive.

The other alternatives is to use password protected thumbdrives or use True Crypt:

http://www.truecrypt.org/

Anyway, safety deposit boxes are thought to be secure too, right? What would happen if I put a dead fish in one of them? They wouldn't drill it out, right? Your answer determines whether you believe it is safe or not.

Chuckt wrote:I think they may be good for general files but I would be concerned about leaving intellectual property in there unless it was encrypted.

Intellectual Property is a different matter and on-site storage is probably best in that case.