Free Online Storage

Free online storage sites allow you to store your photos, videos, documents and any other files for free. Securely store your files online at an offsite facility. Access your files from any computer, anywhere, anytime. Online storage sites allow anyone to create an account and store computer files free of charge. See the list below for more details. With the popularity of online storage sites, though, there are many options to choose from. There are a few that stand out from the crowd, however. The following are worth looking at:

As more people keep more of their important documents on their computers, online storage sites have seen a remarkable surge in popularity. People keep not only financial, personal, and business documents on their computers in digital files, but the majority of people also have nearly all their family photos on their computer as well. Using an online site to backup all of this important information and important moments is one of the safest ways to be sure that you do not lose any of it should something happen to your hard drive. Online storage sites are completely secure and guarantee that you will not lose a thing should anything happen to your home or primary computer.

With the popularity of online server backup companies, though, there are many options to choose from. There are a few that stand out from the crowd, however. The following are worth looking at:

Mozy: With 2 MB of online storage available for free, you can fit most of your documents and photos here. If you cannot, they charge a small price for additional space, and also has a different version available for business use. Mozy makes it easy for users to set backup times in advance and the site will do the rest for you. However, you do have to download software from Mozy for it to work.

Carbonite: Carbonite does not charge you a penny for the first 15 days that you use it. While the storage space is unlimited, you cannot store files over a certain size. You do not have to set backup times, as Carbonite is constantly updating and encrypting the data on your computer and uploading to their data system. It is also possible for you to allow others access to your files if you want. Carbonite makes other features available to users for a fee.

Box: Though you can only store up to 1 MB of data at Box, it does have the advantage of letting you access your files from nearly anywhere. If you wish to pay for the services of Box, however, you will have more storage space available.

Dropbox: Dropbox is unique in that it allows you to use one account to backup the files from more than one computer. The backups are done at the same time, and every time you use Dropbox to online backup a file all other computers will update as well. For this reason, it is one of the most user-friendly and intuitive online storage sites available.

Backing up your files with an online storage site can be the move that saves you or your business from a complete disaster. By taking just a few minutes to research and consider the online storage sites that are out there you could be saving yourself from a huge headache and years of lost work.

There are a growing number of free online storage services that have been made available over the last several years. While free online data storage is great in theory, it isn't always the best solution. There are a number of variables to consider before deciding whether or not a free service will necessarily be the best option. Here are 5 things to consider when choosing a free online storage site.

1. Amount of Data You Will Be Allowed to Store
The first thing you should consider is how much data you will actually need to store. In most cases, free online storage services will have a limit between 1 GB and 10 GB of storage space. This will likely be enough if all you are storing is documents, images, and maybe a few video files. On the other hand, if you are looking to find a free online storage service which can store all of the information on your computer, then you will likely end up needing to pay for a premium service.

2. The Size of Files That You Can Upload
Another variable to consider is the size of files that you will be uploading. Some online storage services have a limit on the size of any single file that you will be allowed to store. This means that just because you have 5 GB of storage, doesn't mean that you can upload a single file that is 5 GB.

3. Are There Limits on Monthly Bandwidth?
You should also take a look at whether or not there are any limits on the amount of bandwidth you can use in a single month. With a free service there likely will be. The reason that your monthly bandwidth limit is important is twofold. First, it could limit how much access you will actually get to the files you upload. Second, if you are sharing uploaded files with friends and family, then they could access your data too often and surpass your monthly limit. When this happens, you simply will not get access to any of your files until the next month rolls around.

4. How Long Can You Keep Your Account?
Many people assume that every free online storage software can be used indefinitely. While this is true for a large majority of them, some free services are actually little more than a free trial for a paid service. Again, this normally isn't a problem, but it's something to keep an eye out for when making your final decision.

5. Would a Paid Account Actually Be Better?
Finally, you should take him few moments to decide whether or not a paid online storage account would actually be more beneficial. These accounts will not only allow you to store much more information, but also tend to have more features which will make the entire process easier. For example, they may automatically backup any file on your computer that gets changed. As a result, your data being stored online is always up-to-date. This also means that you won't have to upload any of the data yourself, because it will be taking care of its own.

There are a lot of benefits to using a free online storage space, however that doesn't mean that is the right solution for every situation. While it still may be your best option, looking into a paid service may offer you some additional benefits that you haven't yet considered.