Cloud for storing large files. Best Cloud Data Storage

On the Internet there are often comparisons of various cloud storages, but they are not entirely objective, since most people are based on the storage capacity and the availability of clients for iOS and Android, and no one thinks about the data transfer speed. We decided to look at the 5 most popular “clouds” from personal experience and test them for the speed of uploading and downloading files.

Subjected to testing OneDrive, Google Drive, Yandex Disk,iCloud Drive, And Dropbox. Uploading to the server and downloading files was carried out exclusively through the web versions of the clients. All actions were performed through the Chrome browser on a Mac with an Internet channel of 100 Mbit/s. Testing the speed of cloud storage consisted of two stages - uploading a 1.28 GB file to the cloud storage server, and then downloading the uploaded file back to the computer.

As time measurements showed, the slowest cloud storage out of the five was OneDrive. It took 43 minutes 13 seconds to upload a 1.27 GB video to this “cloud”, and 37 minutes 18 seconds to download it back. The fourth place was won by the legendary Dropbox, which is actually the “father” of all cloud storage. It took him 19 minutes 33 seconds to upload the file to the server, and 16 minutes 19 seconds to download it.

Third and second places were shared between each other Google Drive And iCloud Drive. Measurements showed that the time it took to upload a 1.27 GB file to Google cloud storage was 3 minutes 2 seconds, while Apple’s iCloud Drive coped with this task in 4 minutes 39 seconds. In terms of download time for a similar file, Apple's cloud won with a result of 2 minutes 7 seconds (this is a record among all 5 cloud storages), while Google Drive took 2 minutes 49 seconds for a similar procedure.

The Russian one is in first place "Yandex Disk", which showed the best result in terms of upload time to the server, and second after iCloud Drive in terms of time to download a file to your computer. Uploading the 1.27 GB file to the server took a record 2 minutes 34 seconds, while downloading took 2 minutes 21 seconds.

For clarity, we have created a small table to make it easier to navigate the data. It turns out that the Yandex Disk cloud storage turned out to be the fastest in terms of upload time to the server, while iCloud Drive gave the shortest file download time.

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This note is intended for users strangers with cloud data storage - for those who do not know how to start using them.

Today we will talk about what a “cloud” is for storing files. Let's talk about choice. Let's try to create.

What is cloud file storage?

“Cloud” is space allocated to the user on the hard drive of a server located on the Internet. This space can be used like a regular folder, as if it were located on your computer.

Indeed, when you connect the cloud to your computer, a special folder is created on it. The peculiarity of this folder is this: everything that goes into it is immediately transferred to the cloud. In a word, the contents of the local folder are synchronized with exactly the same folder on the server.

What benefits does using the cloud provide to the average user?

For the average user, cloud data storage provides many interesting advantages:

At the moment, there are a huge number of storage facilities of various sizes. There are domestic and foreign. Foreign ones include Dropbox and Google Drive. From domestic ones - [email protected], Yandex.Disk.

It would be wrong not to mention Chinese technologies that allow the user to store more than a terabyte of data. Perhaps such proposals are suitable for some, but something inside tells me that it is not logical to store 1 TB of photos or documents on a server in China.

So, let's begin. If you have mail on Yandex, Mail.Ru, GMail - congratulations! You do not need to register anywhere else. Users of these services have access to cloud storage immediately.

For those who have a Google account - Drive.Google.Ru

For Yandex account owners - Yandex.Disk

At the time of this writing, 100 GB are available to us in our [email protected] storage since a promotion was held several years ago. Now, when you register for the service, you will be given not much, not little - 25 GB of cloud space.

On Yandex.Disk we have 10 GB of usable space, Google kindly provided us with 15 GB for three services - Photos, Mail, and Disk itself.

It would be a sin not to mention another foreign storage that is popular in Russia - Dropbox.com

Initially, this storage allows you to use only 2 GB of cloud space. But this volume can be increased several times almost in a matter of seconds after registration. You need to complete a few simple tasks, but more on that later.

Cloud storage client program

Every self-respecting cloud data storage service has its own application that allows you to automate all processes of storage, synchronization, and data management. All of the above services have applications for PC, MAC, iOS, Android, and Linux.

When installing such an application on any device, a special directory is created on it - a folder with the name of the cloud. Exactly what will go into this folder and will be synchronized with the cloud.

Applications allow you to import files from flash drives connected to a PC, and the mobile application can send photos taken with a smartphone to the cloud.

By installing the application on all your devices, you will get rid of many problems that arise when storing and moving data. For example, as mentioned above, photos from your smartphone will almost instantly go to the cloud and then to your computers - home, and, if desired, work. The same thing happens with documents - by saving unfinished work in the cloud, you can finish it at home. The benefits of cloud technologies are immediately visible.

You can download applications for Android and iOS in the corresponding stores, and for PC and MAC you just need to go to the repository website and download the client.

Connecting to Dropbox from scratch

Create a cloud for storing files

Let's try to register in the cloud data storage - Dropbox. To get started, follow this link. Fill in the fields: Name, Surname, Mail And Password, put tick agreement with the terms of service. Click the button <Зарегистрироваться> .

Immediately after this, you will be redirected to a page where you will be asked to download the Dropbox client. This has never happened before, apparently they decided to take the “bull by the horns” right away.

The web installer for the client program that needs to be launched will download. This is exactly what the following screen offers:

The client will begin downloading and its subsequent installation on your computer.

The completion of the installation will be indicated by a blue rectangular window asking you to start and open Dropbox.

Ahead of you are 4 or 5 screens with a story about the storage capabilities. You can read it, or you can skip it - you will find all this very well later yourself.

And now the long-awaited moment has arrived. A new folder has appeared on your computer - Dropbox.

Quickly log into your account

Let's go to your account on the Dropbox website. In order to do this quickly (without entering your username and password), open your newly created Dropbox folder, right-click on any empty space and select the item with the blue box icon "View on Dropbox.com"
The browser should open and after a couple of seconds, you will be taken to your storage account. What's interesting here?

Information

If we click on our name we will see detailed information about our capabilities.

Here we see that we are given only 2 GB of disk space for our needs. “Not enough,” you will say, and you will be absolutely right. 2GB is negligible for our time. Why do people use Dropbox?

Reliable
Cross-platform (MacOS, iOS, Windows, Linux, Android)
Free
Good download speed
Flexible file management options
View most documents in the web interface
Editing documents in the web interface
It is possible to “earn” additional space, but more on that below
Many sites allow their service to interact with your storage

Email confirmation

In order for us to fully use the data storage, we need to confirm your email address. If you have not received the letter, request it again right here, on the main page of the repository:

Let's check the mail - the letter is there:

Open the envelope and click on the blue confirmation button:

We will be redirected again to a page where we will be thanked for our confirmation:

Now, we can work with the cloud calmly.

Let's create a folder and “share”

Let's try to create a folder with any name. We will name the girl with whom we plan to exchange data using the cloud.

A small window will pop up in which:

Enter a friend's e-mail
Assigning powers to a friend
Let's share!

At that same second, Dropbox on your friend’s computer will receive a message that you have shared the folder with him, and if he agrees, your folder will be added to his account and become shared.

“Earning” additional space

Dropbox lets you expand your storage space with all sorts of promotions. For example, for each friend you invite (who installs Dropbox), you will receive an additional 500 MB of disk space.

And in general, it won’t hurt to complete all the tasks proposed by the system and you will be rewarded.

To be honest, 16 GB is apparently not the limit for a free account. Old account of one of the site's regular visitors:

Learn more about cloud storage capabilities

Create a direct link to a file/folder

It has already been written above that Dropbox, and any other cloud, allows you to flexibly manage and especially share files. One of the examples was already above. But what if you don't want to create a shared resource in the cloud with someone? Then you can simply send the link by mail, VK, Odnoklassniki, etc. Open Dropbox on your computer, right-click on the file you want to get a link to, and click on the appropriate item.

Home and work computers

Set up Dropbox with your account on 2, 3, or more computers and they will all sync! Home, work, visiting mom, grandma - it doesn’t matter. You can always finish your work by opening the required file.

View and edit any type of document

Almost any storage allows you to view any document - video, animation, photos, office documents of almost any format. The latter can also be edited directly in the cloud (for example, if there are no office applications on your home computer, or for example, you want to quickly edit from a tablet). Documents are opened by simply clicking on the file on the cloud site. An additional option allows you to switch to editing mode.

Taking screenshots

Taking a screenshot with Dropbox is easy. Yandex.Disk has a function for instantly editing them, which Dropbox cannot boast of. And yet, in order to save the screenshot to the folder C:\Users\Username\Dropbox\Screenshots you just need to press a button on keyboard.

You can immediately “share” the screenshot using the method described above and send it to a friend. All screenshots for this note were taken using Dropbox and processed in regular Paint.

Transferring pictures from a smartphone to storage

If you have the Dropbox app installed on your smartphone, you can configure it in such a way that your pictures and videos are instantly sent to the cloud, and therefore to your home computer.

Interaction with web services

Many web services that work with files (for example, online audio file converters) make heavy use of cloud storage to speed up the download and upload of audio, photo, and video files. You provide a link to a file in the cloud, and in a matter of seconds it “migrates” to the editor. After editing, you provide access to the cloud, and the file is uploaded to the cloud in a couple of seconds. You can leave the service, and the client will download the file from the storage to your computer.

A good example is the service for cutting and merging audio files www.mp3cut.ru, which is on the first line for the request “cut a song online.”

As you can see, it supports downloading from two popular storages, plus VK (why not cloud storage?).

Conclusion

We really hope we were able to help you. Cloud technologies are the future and have already arrived. Remember the same ChromeOS - without the Internet it is not much of a useful operating system, but connect to the network and it will flourish. Everything is built on cloud technologies.

Why this particular storage facility was chosen today has been written above. The purpose of this article is to briefly describe the capabilities of file storage. They are built according to the same principle. The difference is in volumes, speeds, appearance, etc. Try, register, install, work. Your data will always be safe and secure, no matter what happens.

If you are interested in a more detailed description of Dropbox, or would like to see something similar for other cloud storage services, write in the comments

A cloud is usually a large object that occupies a large area. In the technical field, a cloud is a virtual remote service that provides users with data storage, application hosting, or physical space virtualization. Nowadays, cloud computing is used not only by large but also by small companies.

There are mainly three types of cloud services.

SaaS(Software as a Service, software as a service) - providing users with access to other public clouds of large organizations to store their data, for example, Gmail.

PaaS(Platform as a Service, platform as a service) - providing the ability to host and run applications on their clouds, for example, Google App Engine allows users to host their applications.

IaaS(Infrastructure as a Service, infrastructure as a service) - allows you to virtualize any machine and, using the client, the user can get the feeling of a real machine.

Cloud storage means storing the user's local files on special dedicated servers on the network that are designed for this. CompuServe was the first to offer its customers 128 kilobytes of disk space that could be used to store their files. Now this area is at the stage of active development and due to potential threats such as loss of data or information, hacking, and other similar cases, many organizations are releasing their cloud solutions that guarantee data confidentiality, this strengthens confidence in the success of cloud technologies.

In this article we will look at several solutions in this area. We will focus on open source software that is used by a huge number of people and large organizations. We will analyze only the best cloud services of 2016.

In the list of the best cloud storage services, OwnCloud is one of the first places. A Dropbox replacement for Linux users, it provides many features similar to those of Dropbox. Just like Dropbox, OwnCloud allows you to sync files between your local computer and a remote server.

Since it is an open source solution, users can get unlimited free storage space for their data by hosting this software on their server. The project started in January 2015 with the goal of providing an open source replacement for private, closed cloud storage. It is written in PHP, JavaScript, and is available for Windows, Linux and Mac OS, and there are also mobile applications for Android and iOS.

OwnCloud uses Webdav server for remote access and can integrate with a large number of databases, including SQLite, MariaDB, Oracle Database, PostgreeSQL.

A large number of functions are supported, such as encryption, file storage, music streaming, content sharing via URL, Mozilla synchronization server, RSS aggregator for reading news feeds, one-click installation of programs, viewing videos, PDFs, editing office documents and much more.

The latest version of OwnCloud 8.2 adds several new features such as an improved design, the ability to notify users, and a time limit for storing files in the trash.

2. Seafile

Another file hosting based on open source software. It is written in C and Python, the latest stable version is 4.4.3, released on October 15, 2015.

Seafile's best cloud storage providers provide a desktop client for Windows, Linux, and OS X, as well as mobile clients for Android, IOS, and Windows Phone. Along with the free implementation of the Community Edition, released under the GPL license, there is a professional edition under a commercial license, which provides additional features - some user protocols and the ability to search for text.

The project switched to open source distribution in July 2011, which attracted a lot of attention. Its main functionality is data synchronization, with an emphasis on security. Key features: online file editing, differential synchronization, minimal network bandwidth usage, and client data encryption. It is these features that have made this software popular in many foreign universities: University of Mainz, University of Berlin and University of Strasbourg, as well as among many people around the world.

3. Pydio

This is a free cloud storage, or rather file hosting, formerly known as AjaXplorer. Its goal is to provide its users with file hosting, file sharing, and synchronization. The project was started in 2009 by Charles DeJue and since 2010 has been supplied on all NAS equipment from LaCie.

Pydio is written in PHP and JavaScript and is available for Windows, Linux, MacOS, and also Android. There are now about half a million downloads from Sourcefoge. The service is endorsed by companies such as RedHat and Oracle. This is one of the most popular cloud storage services on the market.

Pydio itself is simply a kernel that runs on a web server and can be accessed through any web browser. Webdav's interface makes it an ideal online file management solution, SSL/TLS encryption makes data transfer secure and maintains privacy. Also available is a text editor with syntax highlighting, audio and video playback, integration with Amazon S3, FTP, or MYSQL, an image editor, and file and folder sharing using public URLs.

4. Ceph

Ceph was originally developed by Sage Well as a PhD thesis, but in the fall of 2007 he continued working on the project and expanded the development team. In April 2014, Red Hat took part in development. Currently, eight versions of the program have been released, the last release took place on April 7, 2015. This is a distributed cluster written in C++ and Perl with a high degree of scalability and is also freely available.

Data can be brought into Ceph as a block device, a file, or as an object via the RADOS gateway, which supports Amazon S3 and OpenStack Swift.

These free cloud storage services are data secure, scalable and reliable, here are the additional features:

Network file system with high performance
Compatible with virtual machine clients
Object-level mapping

Syncany, released about two years ago in March 2014, is one of the lightest on the list - the best cloud services of 2016 for data storage and file sharing systems. Currently under active development by Philipp Heckel and available as a command line tool for all systems. The GUI is still under development.

One of the most important things about Syncany is that it is just a tool. Therefore, you need to have your own storage accessible via FTP, SFTP, Webdav, Samba or Amazon S3.

6. Cozy

This tool provides not only file access and synchronization, but a complete package of features that will help you build your own application platform.

Like Syncany, Cozy provides flexibility to the user in terms of disk space. You can use your personal servers or trust data to Cozy servers. To function properly, this software requires two more projects - CouchDB for database storage and Whoosh for indexing. The program is available for all platforms, including smartphones.

The main features that make this solution one of the best: the ability to store all contacts, files, calendar in the cloud, and synchronize all this between a laptop and a smartphone.

Another notable feature is that Cozy is lightweight. A version of Cozy Light has been released that can even run on Raspberry Pi or cheap VPS hosting.

7. GlusterFS

GlusterFS is a network file system for storing files. The project was originally developed by Gluster Inc, but has now been taken over by Red Hat. Following a 2011 lawsuit from Gluster Inc, RedHat renamed its product Red Hat Gluster Storage. It is available for most platforms: Linux, OS X, NetBSD, OpenSolaris. The project was used as a basis for scientific research.

GlusterFS uses a client-server model, with servers deployed as storage clusters. The client can connect to the server using a native protocol over TCP/IP, Infiband or SDP and store files on the GlusterFS server. To ensure data storage reliability, file-based and replication-based data mirroring, load balancing, disk caching scheduling, etc. are used.

Another useful feature is that the data is stored in native file systems such as ext4, xfs, etc.

StackSync is a Dropbox-like tool that runs on OpenStack, designed to solve the problem of organizations to sync all their data in one place. It is written in Java and released under the GPLv3 license.

Its structure consists of three main components: a synchronization server, OpenStack, and a desktop or mobile client. The server handles metadata and logic, OpenStack is focused on data persistence, and desktop clients help users synchronize data with their personal cloud.

SyncStack uses various data optimizations that allow the system to scale to meet the needs of thousands of people to efficiently use cloud resources. Additional features: RESTFull API as a Swift module, which allows you to use mobile applications and applications from third-party developers to synchronize data. There is also a separation between data and metadata making this solution very flexible for deployment on different configurations.

Another prominent entry on the list of the best cloud storage services of 2016, Git-annex is a file synchronization solution developed by Joy Hess and released in October 2010. This solution also provides file sharing and synchronization, but does not rely on any commercial service or central server. It is written by Haskell and is available for Android, Linux, OS X and Windows.

Git-annex - manages the user's GIT repository without saving the session. Instead, it only stores links to files in the GIT repository, and manages the files associated with the link. It also provides file mirroring, which is necessary when restoring data.

In addition, this service provides instant access to files as soon as you need them. It should be noted that git-annex is available for many Linux distributions, Fedora, Ubuntu, Debain, etc.

10. Yandex.Disk

Yandex Disk is a cloud storage system and synchronization service released in April 2012 and available for all major platforms, including Windows, Linux, OS X, Android, iOS and Windows Phone. It allows users to sync their data between different devices and shares it with everyone on the internet.

Yandex Disk provides its users with many different functions: a built-in flash player, sharing files between users by exchanging links, synchronizing files between different devices, unlimited storage time, WebDav support.

11. Bitcasa

Developed by Bitcasa Inc, a California-based company, this is another cloud service for data storage and synchronization. Available for Windows, OS X, Android and Linux. Not all components of the program are open source, but it is still related to it, since it uses projects such as gcc/clang, libCurl, OpenSSL, APR, Rapid JSON, etc.

The main features are file storage, sharing, and encryption, which makes data storage much safer. It is these features that make it popular among customers from more than 140 countries around the world.

12.nas4free

NAS stands for Attached Network Storage or connected Internet storage. 4free means its free and free nature. The program was released in May 2012. This is a network server for storing data, with a user interface written in PHP. It supports i386/IA-32 and x86-64 architectures.

Nas4Free supports sharing between multiple operating systems, ZFS, data encryption, protocols such as Samba, CARP, Bridge, FTP, RSYNC, TFTP, NFS.

Unlike other programs, nas4free can be installed and run from USB, and can also be run from Live USB or LiveCD. Nas4free has won several awards, Project of the Month (August 2015) and Project of the Week (May 2015).

conclusions

These were all the most interesting and best cloud services of 2016 for data storage and synchronization, they have either already gained great popularity over the years or have just been released and are ready to make their huge contribution to this industry. Our review of free cloud storage is complete. If you know of other great cloud services that you or your organization uses, please post in the comments.

Users and businesses will continue to move away from bulky and expensive servers and instead choose the cloud to store files. Given the variety of storage options available, you should choose carefully.

Lifehacker suggests paying attention to services that provide maximum free space with reliable data protection and high-quality service. Prices shown are for starter plans only.

Price: 2GB free, 1TB for $8.25 per month. The standard Dropbox Business subscription costs $12.50 per month per user.
Applications:
Russian language support: There is.

Initially, this cloud storage giant only gives you access to 2 GB of free space. But it can be easily expanded to 16 GB: just link accounts on social networks and offer a referral link to several friends.

A Dropbox Business subscription allows you to use your corporate account for collaboration, and also gives you unlimited space for your personal account. Moreover, you get a number of advanced features like file recovery and customization of access levels.

Price: 15 GB free, 100 GB for 139 rubles per month.
Applications: Windows, macOS, iOS, Android.
Russian language support: There is.

One of the most obvious options for owners of Android devices, since the application is natively installed on smartphones and tablets based on Google's OS. However, due to the considerable amount of free storage, the service may also be attractive to owners of other devices.

Among the disadvantages is that the interface of the browser version is not the simplest. But Windows and macOS users can download a much more convenient application.

3. Mega

Price: 50 GB free, 200 GB for 4.99 euros per month.
Applications:
Russian language support: There is.

Another service with a generous free plan and an interface that supports drag-and-drop files. Mega has a convenient mobile application for downloading files, as well as desktop clients for synchronizing them.

According to the company, all data is encrypted on your device before it ends up on the servers. The Mega client source code is available on GitHub and can be reviewed by any expert. Therefore, the statement inspires confidence.

Price: 10 GB free, another 10 GB for 30 rubles per month.
Applications: Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, LG Smart TV.
Russian language support: There is.

The cloud from Yandex works quickly and stably, and is constantly acquiring new functions. The service has a high synchronization speed. The platform's capabilities are built into some third-party applications.

Despite the presence of clients for all popular desktop and mobile platforms, the Yandex.Disk browser interface is also very practical. The service also has very good opportunities to expand space through partnerships with companies. For example, if you are a Muscovite and use the OnLime tariff plan from Rostelecom, then the disk capacity increases by 100 GB.

Price: 5 GB free, 50 GB for 140 rubles per month, 1 TB for 269 or 339 rubles when you sign up for a personal or family subscription to Office 365, respectively.
Applications: Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Xbox.
Russian language support: There is.

The former SkyDrive is built into standard Windows 10 File Explorer. There's no need to download an app - everything is already downloaded for you.

The operating system's built-in Photos app can use OneDrive to sync all your pictures between devices.

When installing a client for macOS, you should take into account not the most positive reviews about it.

In addition to the regular pricing plans, Microsoft has Office 365 Personal and Office 365 Home. Both subscriptions include 1 TB of cloud storage, full versions of Office apps for Windows and macOS, and a host of other benefits. The second option gives 1 TB to five users at once.

Price: 8 GB free, 64 GB for 69 rubles per month.
Applications: Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Windows Phone.
Russian language support: There is.

The closest analogue of Yandex.Disk in terms of available features, web version interface and supported platforms. Loses to its main competitor due to its extensive referral program. Among the advantages is a larger amount of free storage.

Among other things, the service has a tool for quickly creating and saving screenshots in the cloud.

Price: 5 GB free, 50 GB for 59 rubles per month.
Applications: Windows.
Russian language support: There is.

5GB of free space may not be enough, but iCloud is the most convenient way to back up your iPhone photos.

The service is integrated into the Finder program on macOS - the desktop of all MacBooks. Documents created through the iWork office suite are also saved in iCloud and can be synchronized between devices. The platform also has an official client for Windows, with which you can keep files on your PC up to date.

8.Box

Price: 10 GB free, 100 GB for 8 euros per month. Business subscription costs 12 euros per month.
Applications: Windows, macOS, iOS, Android.
Russian language support: There is.

The platform quickly gained popularity and is supported by a number of popular work services, such as Google Docs and Office 365. Box desktop clients allow you to not only synchronize, but also edit files.

The company is actively promoting business subscriptions. It is the one that appears in the center of the screen when you click on the registration button. This plan gives you access to advanced collaboration features and unlimited cloud space.

Price: Free setup and use, space prices vary by hosting provider. Nextcloud Box costs 70 euros.
Applications: Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android.
Russian language support: No.

The company itself is not a cloud storage provider, but does offer free software for setting up the cloud on your own server. The main advantage of this option is speed. You can also enable encryption and not worry about files leaving your home network.

If you do not have experience in setting up servers, you can buy a pre-configured option - Nextcloud Box. Inside the device there is a 1 TB hard drive. It easily connects to an inexpensive single board computer. True, in order to get your hands on a mini-server, you will have to use the services of third-party companies: there is no direct delivery to Russia and the CIS countries.

Price: 2 GB free, 250 GB for $9 per month.
Applications: Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android.
Russian language support: No.

Another English-language platform that has long operated under a zero-knowledge protocol. It was implied that the company interacts with user data without disclosing its content in any way. Recently it turned out that there are some caveats here, and SpiderOak abandoned its main feature. But this did not stop us from striving to provide files.

The repository has clients for all popular desktop and mobile platforms. You can use the web client, but for privacy advocates this is the least preferred option because it gives away your password to SpiderOak employees.

Price: 5 GB free, 2 TB for $52.12 per year with special offer, then $69.5.
Applications: Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Windows Phone.
Russian language support: No.

The product supports constant synchronization of all your files - even those stored on network drives. The web interface allows you to share data by mail, Facebook and Twitter.

The advantage of IDrive is that files deleted from the computer from the cloud do not automatically disappear. The company also has a service called IDrive Express: if you lose all your data, they will deliver a hard drive to you for quick recovery.

Price: 10 GB free, 500 GB for $3.99 per month, pCloud Crypto encryption price: $3.99 per month.
Applications: Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android.
Russian language support: There is.

The service has restrictions on the speed of downloading files, but there is no limit on their size. The storage can be used from any platform - through an application or website.

The company is registered in Switzerland, a country known for its strict privacy laws. For an additional amount, you can use the pCloud Crypto service to encrypt individual files.

Various information storage services have been very popular among users from all over the world for quite some time.

And this is not at all surprising, because such services are extremely convenient.

They allow you not to use the physical memory that is on your computer, phone, tablet, flash drive or any other storage medium, but to download everything to such storages.

By the way, they are also called cloud ones.

This name is due to the fact that the user, having a login and password, can use data from storage on all of his devices.

This feature is a big help for anyone who is constantly running out of memory and cannot expand it.

In addition, these repositories can be accessed by several users at once.

This means that now a person does not need to dump information onto a flash drive and go with it to his friend to download the necessary files to him.

Now you just need to upload everything to the information storage service and simply send your friend a link to a specific file.

Among such services there are those that have very extensive functionality.

Some of them are installed on a computer and give the user the opportunity to use the storage as a regular hard drive.

This means that he will see the same folders that he usually sees, but all the information will not be on the hard drive, but on the “cloud” (on a distant server).

But there are also services that are a simple site where you can upload a file and receive a link, without any downloaded files and folders on your computer.

The first ones are called cloud storages, and the second ones are called file sharing services.

Benefits of use

So, any information storage service makes it possible to store all information not on a hard drive or any removable storage device, but on a distant server.

The advantages of this approach are quite obvious and are as follows:

If these are cloud storages, the user will be able to use all files very conveniently and quickly. In Figure 1 we can see an example of using clouds from mail.ru. In each folder, the corresponding inscription is displayed on the right side (highlighted in red).
By clicking on it, we find ourselves in a folder with files. It looks exactly the same as any other folder. And you can edit all the information in the same way. But, as we understand, all this is on the server, in this case, from mail.ru.

Files can be accessed from different devices by different users who have access. This already applies to both types of storage.
In the case of the cloud, editing information on one device will be reflected equally on all others that have access.
Information is uploaded to the server very quickly.
Doesn't take up memory on all your devices. Accordingly, information does not clog up memory and does not slow down the operation of devices (usually, when too many files accumulate, this greatly slows down the operation of computers and gadgets in general).

Of course, you have to pay something for such services. Actually, this is the main characteristic of information storage services.

The second most important is the amount of allocated memory, that is, how much information you can download.

In the case of articles on the Internet, advertising also plays a role.

We will divide all such services into two categories – file sharing and cloud storage.

Cloud rating

So, clouds are information storage services that allow you to access files on a server in exactly the same way as regular folders on a computer.

To do this, you just need to download the installation file of the corresponding repository.

According to various opinions of users that we were able to collect on the Internet, the best such storage facilities are Google Drive, Dropbox and Cloud mail.ru.

Let's consider their main features.

No. 1. Dropbox

In general, Dropbox is simply the most popular cloud storage service in the world. And all because this service is one of the first such sites.

There may have been others, but the creators of Dropbox invested heavily in advertising and are now reaping the benefits of their once successful actions. Only 2 GB are available for free here (15 GB on Google Drive).

After using these two GB (and this usually happens very quickly), you will have to pay an additional $100 for 1 TB. However, this payment will only be valid for a year.

After it ends you will have to pay again.

To be honest, Dropbox’s functionality is quite standard. You need to download the installation file, install the program on your computer and see the Dropbox folder on your computer.

After each update, this folder will be synchronized with what is stored on the server. The Dropbox interface itself looks as shown in Figure 2.

No. 2. Dropbox interface

In general, Dropbox remains as popular simply because most users simply do not know about the existence of other much more functional storage facilities.

No. 2. Google Drive

Google Drive or simply Google Drive is very popular among corporate clients. It is also very popular among those who need such a service for work.

For example, freelancers often create reports on the work done using Drive.

Its huge advantage is that you can work with all files without any downloads or installations - everything happens online.

The algorithm for working with Google Drive is as follows:

Let's go to Google. Click on the additional functions icon (highlighted in red in Figure 3). In the menu that opens, select “Disk” (highlighted in green)

No. 3. Google.ru and menu of additional functions

All basic actions are immediately available in the disc menu. This way you can go to the folder with files that the user himself created earlier. This happens by clicking on the “My Disk” button (highlighted in red in Figure No. 4).
You can also go to user-accessible files (highlighted in green). Or you can create a new file using the “Create” button (highlighted in blue). Let's try to do the latter - click on the “Create” button.

No. 4. Google Drive main menu

After this, we will see a menu where possible options will be available (shown in Figure No. 5). Here, each type of file corresponds to the main Microsoft Word package. For example, the “Google Sheets” item is the same Excel.
When you open it, we will see almost the same window as in Excel (shown in Figure No. 6).

No. 5. Menu of options for creating a document in Google Drive

No. 6. Google Sheets window

Only in this case, two or more users can work with the same table (or any other document) simultaneously.

In this case, everyone will see online the changes they make to the document.

Notice! In fact, there are simply no analogues to Google Drive in this regard. In other cloud storage services, users will not be able to see changes that are happening right now. In general, a very, very functional service!

No. 3. OneDrive

Quite standard cloud storage from Microsoft.

The main characteristics of this information storage service are as follows:

the maximum amount of information that can be stored on OneDrive for free is 5 GB;
for those who are eligible for a free update and Windows 8 users, 25 GB are allocated, and for those who use Office 365 – 1 TB;
Business version available;
for each folder you can determine whether it will be accessible to everyone, not accessible to anyone, or there will be some intermediate value between these boundaries;
support for Office Online (this means that the user will be able to use the office suite online, similar to what happens in Google Drive, although here this feature is developed somewhat less well).

OneDrive supports a huge number of formats and a lot is written about this on the official website of this product.

Although, any other information storage service can boast of this advantage.

In any case, the main thing that attracts the client's attention is the cost of service. As mentioned above, you can store only 5 GB for free.

The “Basic” package for 50 GB costs only 72 rubles per month.

The package that includes the use of Office 365 for 1 TB costs 269 rubles per month.

No. 4. iCloud

iCloud is one of the by-products of Apple. In 2011, it was released as a replacement for MobileMe. To use you need to have an Apple ID, that is, be a user of Apple products.

You can purchase one by registering and purchasing something from the iTunes Store.

iCloud works on Windows, OS X and iOS operating systems. iCloud is not a traditional cloud storage service, which is just a place to store data.

This is a large user package that includes a calendar, contact list, notes, reminders, iPhone search app and more.

In principle, for users of phones or any other non-Apple devices, iCloud is of absolutely no interest.

But for the lucky owners of apple products, this is a very useful product.

And the main advantage of iCloud is that if you lose your phone, using this service you can, if you don’t find out its location, then restore all your personal data.

Apple users get 5 GB free of charge.

Prices for tariff plans vary for different countries. For example, in Russia, 50 GB costs 59 rubles per month, 200 GB – 149 rubles and 1 TB – 599 units of national currency.

No. 5. Yandex.Disk

In the video at the end of the article you can see detailed instructions on using the cloud from mail.ru. The use of other similar storage facilities is almost the same.