• Cloud folder. How to make your own cloud storage

    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 its 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, the 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 quite 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 one (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 pricing 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. 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).

    The size of the free disk space of the Mail cloud is 8 GB (previously this figure has 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 to store backup copies of data from mobile devices - multimedia content, OS files and other things at the user's discretion.

    The Samsung Cloud client application is pre-installed on phones and tablets released after the second half of 2016 (more precisely, after the release of the 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 iCloud storage capacity 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 with some email addresses. 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 exactly 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.

    Data storage devices have come a long way in evolution. If it all started with bulky floppy disks that could hold a very small part of information, then modern flash drives have tens of thousands of times more memory, while maintaining their compact dimensions. But more recently, even they were replaced (formally speaking, of course) by an even more advanced device for saving and transferring data. We will talk about it in this article.

    Cloud services

    When we talk about some more advanced form, we mean the so-called cloud technologies. This is a completely new and much more promising medium, if you can call it that. Its essence lies in the fact that the data that we upload to the cloud is not stored anywhere in a concentrated form. They are distributed over a service that is united by a large number of physical servers. This, firstly, allows you to store many times more information on them than one specifically dedicated server could accommodate; secondly, such technology has a huge number of advantages.

    And there is nothing complicated about how to create a cloud for storing files. Today, this type of virtual media is used by both professional programmers and authors of Internet projects, as well as ordinary users who have a folder with photos.

    And in this article we will discuss not only how to create a cloud for storing files, but also talk about it itself and its features.

    Advantages and Disadvantages

    Let's start with the shortcomings. We will start from the end of our point, since cloud solutions really have fewer negative sides than positive ones. If you are looking for how to create a cloud for storing files, then you probably agree with this statement. The main disadvantage is the need for an Internet connection.

    This means that if you do not save the necessary information on a portable device and end up in a place where there is no network access, you simply will not be able to retrieve the information and read it. That is, you can work with the cloud only with an active connection to the network or files on your hard drive.

    The second negative point is the fee for memory expansion in the cloud. Users must use the service on a subscription basis by paying certain fees each month. It all depends on how much data you use. In free mode, for example, you can get 2 Gb from the same Dropbox service, and if you pay $10 a month, this space will increase to 1 Tb. For $15, location restrictions are removed from your account. So, as you understand, the fee is symbolic, so for many it will not be a problem.

    Service Providers

    Other services (for example, Google Drive or Yandex Disk) also have their own tariff plans. For Drive, 15 Gb are allocated for free, for $2 - 100 Gb, for 10 - 1 Tb, for 200 - 20 Tb, and for $300 per month - 30 Tb of data. Google Drive, unlike Dropbox, has wider functionality, allowing you to edit files in convenient applications of your own design.

    Yandex.Disk allocates 10 GB for 30 rubles per month, 100 GB for 80 rubles, and 1 terabyte of memory for 200 rubles.

    There is also a cloud from Mail.ru, whose users are allocated 25 GB of space to host files for free.

    Getting started

    So how to create a cloud for storing files? First you need to decide on the service. They have some differences. As mentioned above, Dropbox and Yandex Disk are services that allow you to simply store files in your cloud disk space without worrying about their safety. You can create a cloud for storing Mile files, like other services, only after registering an internal account.

    These services (with the exception of Dropbox) create one account for the user across all platforms. This is convenient, since a person can have both mail and Yandex, Google or Mail. For Dropbox, you will have to create an account separately.

    The second stage of how to create your own cloud for storing files is visiting the storage from a browser or on a PC, phone, tablet. You can choose the platform you work with, and as a result, your account will be synchronized across all devices.

    Form

    In fact, using a browser or a special application is a rhetorical question. Of course, the program allows you to create a cloud for storing Yandex, Google, Mail or Dropbox files much more conveniently and quickly. But, of course, this is additional software that needs to be downloaded to your device. It's much easier to use a browser. So, you will have to go to the service website, log in - and you will see all your files.

    Safety

    Having described what negative aspects cloud services have, as well as which companies provide them, we will begin to list the advantages and benefits of such services.

    So, for example, you can create a corporate file storage cloud for your business. This is very convenient: your employees, using their accounts, could make edits in some files at the same time, having access to a single repository. This way, there would be no need for you to sync all projects.

    Extensions

    We have already mentioned that each of the services has the possibility of expansion. In fact, if you pay a certain amount (equal to the cost of this or that option), you actually get more space. However, most often, such services are not of interest to private users for posting photos. Most likely, business owners and developers are interested in such solutions.

    This is especially true for entrepreneurs who fear the seizure of company servers or searches by intelligence agencies. It is very easy to prevent these actions if you close access to your files in time. Since in reality all the information is in the cloud, even seizing your computer will not help retrieve it.

    File durability

    So, you know how to create a cloud for storing files for free. All providers have a free access mode, that is, they allocate some space on their services for users free of charge. As a rule, this volume is enough to publish some personal photos and something personal. Thus, such data placement can significantly free up space on your PC.

    But there is another very important positive factor to remember. If you want to create a cloud for storing files (Google, Yandex - it makes no difference), remember: this data will always remain available. They won't be deleted by the system, so you don't have to worry about, for example, physically damaging your computer. After all, in the end, all the information can be downloaded again from the cloud, where it will feel great.

    That is why now everyone has so actively begun to upload their most important, most valuable and worthwhile information to the Internet. On the one hand, it may seem strange that all the most valuable things are uploaded to the network, but on the other hand, this information will be available only to one account owner. Therefore, there is no need to worry about them.

    Cloud technologies continue to develop. Now the amount of memory that becomes available in free mode is also growing. So perhaps very soon customers will be able to access unlimited space for just a dollar... Time will tell!

    Cloud data storage services have become a real panacea for everyone who wanted to access their data from any device from anywhere in space. We happily moved our data to the clouds and use them successfully, only occasionally reading with caution the latest news about iCloud and Dropbox hacks. Some people are initially haunted by the fact that the cloud is controlled by “someone”, but not by the user himself. These are exactly the kind of enthusiasts who made OwnCloud.

    What is it

    A “cloud of your own” is nothing more than personal storage running on your own web server or website. The main feature of OwnCloud is that it is free and open source. In general, if the above-mentioned hosting platform is available, the user will need approximately 5 minutes to deploy his own Dropbox-like storage, and without sophisticated coding - no specific knowledge is needed. In addition, the user gets access to applications (text editors, task lists and other useful things) that other project participants create for their own needs.

    Hello everyone. With the development of computer technology, the storage capacity for our data increases. On the computer we store our photos, videos from various events, important documents and a lot of other valuable information. For all this, sometimes there are not enough installed hard drives. You have to buy either an internal additional hard drive or an external one. But recently, the quality of data storage devices has decreased somewhat. The average period of work is 4-5 years. There is an opinion that manufacturers intentionally do this so that they buy new disks with a larger capacity.

    Therefore, today the problem of preserving our data is very relevant. The Internet offers us some services that provide users with cloud storage for data storage. These are Dropbox, Yandex Disk, Microsoft OneDrive, Google Drive, Cloud Mail.ru and others. We have already described Yandex Disk in detail in the article “”. Today we will get acquainted with another service - Cloud Mail.ru

    Cloud storage (Cloud) is a data storage model that is provided to the user online. That is, in simple terms, a kind of virtual disk where you can store and manage your information.

    The Mail.ru Cloud service is available to any user registered on mail.ru. If you do not yet have such an account, or if you have lost your password.

    Go to your mailbox and click on the link at the top “”

    And select Cloud.

    When we first enter this project, we are given information about this service.

    By uploading files to the Cloud, you will have access to them from any mobile device through the application. More on this below. In the meantime, let's press

    What’s convenient about using cloud services is that your data will be stored securely, even if your computer, laptop breaks down, or your hard drive burns out. We tick the box indicating that we agree to the terms of the license agreement. Click " Get started»

    Initially, each person is given 25 GB free of charge. You can upload files up to 2 GB in size. If this doesn’t seem enough to you, you can switch to paid plans, which for a fee increase the total size of cloud storage, and also upload files up to 32 GB. To switch to a paid tariff, click on the button " Connect tariff", then select the desired tariff and follow further steps. We will remain on the free plan.

    By default, some files are already installed in the cloud. What to do with them is up to you. Leave it or not if you want. To delete these files, check the box next to them. To select all files with one click, check the general checkbox at the top left. Now we can delete, download, copy or move all files to another folder. The top right buttons set the sorting and view: tile and list.

    When you hover your mouse over any file, you can download it and receive a link to it to share with your friends and acquaintances.

    The mail.ru cloud allows us to create new files that will save automatically in storage. This is a simple text document (Word document), a table (Excel) and a presentation. As an example, consider creating a document.

    To do this, press the button “ Create" and then select " Document».

    The new document will open in a new browser tab in an editor much like Word. The functionality is the same as the editor from Microsoft. All changes that you make to this document are automatically saved on the server in the Cloud.

    To rename a file, go to the File tab

    And select the appropriate item.

    Close the current browser tab and go to the Cloud. Our First document was successfully saved.

    Now, in order to return to it and continue working with this file, we click on it.

    It will open as if in preview. Using the arrows ( 6 ) you can view the remaining files. You can perform the following actions with the document: send this file by mail, return to editing ( 1 ), get a link to it ( 2 ), by clicking on which your friends will be able to download this file; remove to cart ( 3 ) (Attention! Files that have been moved to the Cloud Recycle Bin are only stored 14 days, after which they are automatically deleted), open the file in full screen ( 4 ) and download ( 5 ) it to your computer or laptop.

    In the same way, you can create an Excel table and presentation. The actions are similar to those described above.

    Creating a folder

    Before uploading our files to the Mail.ru Cloud storage, you need to create one or more folders. This will help you later not to search for the desired file among others. Thanks to folders, all data will be sorted.

    Then we give the name " Music»

    And click " Add" That's it, our folder is created.

    How to upload files to Mail.ru Cloud?

    Now let's go into this folder and add one .mp3 file.

    There are 2 ways to upload files to the Mail.ru Cloud. First: use the button " Download", a window will open in which you specify the file to download through Explorer. Second way quicker. Just open the desired folder and drag the file to the cloud folder " Music" All uploaded files pass antivirus check. In a few seconds the file will be uploaded to the Cloud.

    Play music.

    The Cloud service has built-in audio and video players. To play the newly downloaded file, left-click on it.

    And click on the small play triangle. If for some reason the music does not play, then click on the name of the song in the lower left corner. The audio player with the selected song will automatically launch in a new tab. In the same way, you can watch the downloaded video file online. Here you can perform the actions that we considered using the example of a text document: delete, receive a link, send by mail, download to your computer.

    Download Mail.ru Cloud on your computer and mobile devices.

    In order to have access to your data at any time, we created an application for both PCs and tablets and smartphones. Applications make it possible to add and manage your data without going to the service. In this case, all files are synchronized on all devices. Let's assume that if you copied or transferred a file to the Cloud via your computer, it will also appear in your application for your smartphone, laptop and tablet.

    How to install Cloud Mail.ru?

    To download Cloud mail.ru for your device, select the application for your operating system smartphone, tablet or computer

    Let's look at an example of an application for a desktop computer or laptop. Click on the link " PC Application" The installer will download to . The installation process is standard, follow the installer's instructions.

    When you launch the application for the first time, the following window will appear.

    Select your system that is installed on your computer. Most often this Windows.

    Next, you will be asked to specify a folder that will be synchronized with the mail.ru Cloud service. Create a special folder in advance and use the button Review indicate it. In order for the application to be added to startup, check the appropriate box. Click Continue.

    Now, in order to send a file or folder(s) for storage in the Cloud, you just need to select the necessary files or folders, then through the context menu (call via the right mouse button) we select what we need: copy or transfer.

    The folder or file will be moved or copied to the folder we created

    Now this folder is available to you from any device.

    How to attach a file from Cloud Mail.ru to a new letter

    Now, when creating a new letter, you can attach not only files from your computer, but also from the Cloud. To do this, simply click on the Cloud icon.

    After this, the file can be sent by mail to your friends and relatives.

    Let me finish here. We looked at the main points of working with Mail.ru Cloud. I hope this information will help you save your information from any computer or hard drive failures. If you have any questions, leave them in the comments. Also write what cloud storage services you use. Until next time. Good luck to you.

    A BOOK is a way of talking to many people through time.

    Having a cloud file hosting service has become a must-have these days, and we are spoiled for choice with a wide range of services to store copies of important files, such as Dropbox, Google Drive, Box, etc. However, they all have one common drawback. Storage space is limited and, ultimately, they remain a third party that you are forced to trust with your (sometimes sensitive) files.

    So why compromise when there is an obvious solution to this problem? Thanks to the growing contingent of developers, it has become possible to create your own cloud file hosting service. This way, there is no need to deal with a third-party server, and your files are guaranteed to be visible only to you. Introducing 8 tools to create your own cloud. They all offer unlimited space and several features that public cloud file hosting services do not offer.

    Please note that some of these require you to become familiar with the process of setting up your own server. After looking through the list, you will notice that the installation process is not that simple.

    We have previously introduced Bittorrent Sync as a tool for moving large files anonymously. But did you know that it can also be used to create your own cloud? You just need to configure the folder to act as storage so that you can sync all files on all devices using Bittorrent Sync.

    Supported Platforms: Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, FreeBSD, iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Kindle Fire.


    PClouds will solve the issue of creating a personal cloud file sharing service, making it possible to easily share files between OS X and iOS. The program is recently out in beta and requires registration, but it looks solid, it's also easy to use, and it lets you create a personal cloud in the Apple ecosystem without going through iTunes. There is also a simple file manager application for mobile devices. There are no plans to develop for other operating systems.

    Supported Platforms: Mac OS X, iOS.

    Incredibly versatile, ownCloud is a free, open source app that does more than just replace Dropbox for data sharing. Along with data storage, the application offers many others: calendar management, task list, document editing and much more. you can install OwnCloud with instructions.

    Supported Platforms: client available for Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, iOS, Android. The server software is installed using a web installer.


    Seafile is another open source option, marketed as a tool for file synchronization and online collaboration. You can use the cloud service SeaCloud.cc or set up resident servers. There are two types of the latter: Open Source and Business ($25 per year). In the application you will find a multifunctional online file editor, version control, a multi-platform for file synchronization, and more.

    Supported Platforms: client available for Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, iOS, Android. Server software is available for Windows, Linux, Raspberry Pi.


    Like OwnCloud, Cozy's goal is to provide the ability to serve data using its own network applications. According to the developers themselves, Cozy allows you to turn the server into something like a personal Google App Engine. The developers encourage users by promising to develop this in the future and to combine many different services and utilities in one bottle.

    Supported Platforms: images available on Virtualbox, Raspberry Pi, OpenVZ, Cubieboard2, Cubietruck.


    AeroFS is an open source application for enterprise users that offers collaboration tools as part of its service package. The developers also offer a free version for personal use with support for three users. The service prides itself on high synchronization speeds and no data transfer limit. You just need to install the AeroFS client on the device to start the synchronization chain.

    Supported Platforms: Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, iOS, Android.


    SparkleShare uses Git to serve data. This means you'll get the full history of your files, as well as many other things that come with Git. This is an ideal solution if you have documents that require multiple changes. However, the application does not handle large files very well.

    Supported Platforms: Client available for Windows, Mac OS X, Linux. And uses a Git server to store data.


    Like SparkleShare - and as the name suggests - git-annex also uses Git for file management, but "without checking the contents of the files on the Git server." This means that the application is better suited for large files, which Git is designed to handle. This application is usually a command line application, but for those who are not very experienced with it, there is a simpler alternative version.

    Supported Platforms: Server software available for Windows, Mac OS X, Linux.

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