Cloud 100 GB. Location is also an important aspect.

Cloud file storage technologies are today considered an indispensable tool for a modern Internet user. Each of them has an account on one of cloud drives: Google Drive, Yandex.Disk or Mail.ru. Most have at least two of these services. In this article, we will look at the main network services storage of files, ways to increase disk space on them, we will give tips for their efficient and safe use.

What is cloud storage

Local drives and memory cards are physically connected to our computer or tablet by wires. Network drives are physically located in special server centers, where a stable power supply and a comfortable temperature regime are ensured. Communication with them local computer supports over the internet. When you log in through a browser or mobile client application to your cloud drive, the system displays a list of files on the server. When the user uploads a file from local folder My documents are in Cloud storage, the document is physically copied over the Internet and gets to the server.

Therefore, even after the physical destruction of the phone or computer, the files will remain safe and sound. They can be viewed through a web browser on any computer or tablet.

To assess the popularity of disk storage, it is enough to cite one fact of statistics. As of 2014, the most popular cloud was Google Drive. The repository works by default on everyone Android devices, except for Chinese, where access to Google is limited. Its users were 240 million people.

What can you use Cloud Disk for?

The main tasks solved by users using network storages:

Developers are constantly improving the security system of their services. The standard today is to store user files in encrypted form. Without a special key, this is a useless bunch of bytes.

The security of services should not be overestimated. In 2011, the reputable company IDC published its report, where it unsatisfactorily assesses the level of their secrecy and resistance to hacking. Experts recommended strengthening the level of authorization and encrypting files in storage and in transit. Most developers listened to the recommendations and made changes to their applications.

Logging into the Cloud Storage can be protected by two-factor authorization: specifying a password and confirming the login using your phone. But for most users, one password is enough.

When compiling this rating, the company's experts took into account technological solutions to ensure the security of user data and the presence of failures in the service in the past. Considering that all the storages presented in the diagram have been operating for more than 5 years, the history of the statistics of failure situations is comparable.

1. 1. Recognized as the safest OneDrive. Experts added to the advantages of the service innovative security system when the keys to encrypted files and the data themselves are stored on separate servers. By gaining access to only one of these arrays, the attacker will not be able to gain benefits. Recall that OneDrive is focused on the corporate market and is the default drive when subscribing to Office365. Subscribers are allocated up to 100 GB immediately, while free users receive only 6 GB.
   2. Named second in safety iCloud Drive. This cloud serves users of the apple ecosystem: iPhone, MacBook and other corporate solutions. Data encryption is performed here both during storage and during transmission. Overall, the storage is reliable and comparable to OneDrive in terms of security, but earned a negative point for failure in 2014. Many users were attracted to this scandal. The network went private photos of stars stored on their iPhone. if you use Apple technology, then you cannot do without a proprietary cloud. On it are performed backups data and system settings phone and laptop. With it, deleted photos and documents are recovered.
   3. Third place awarded Google Drive. Reason - insufficiently high degree of security when storing files . When transmitting data to the server and to the client device, the traffic is encrypted. In the pluses of the cloud, experts added two-factor authorization with password confirmation via SMS to the phone specified during registration. Experts note that in business accounts designed for corporations, Google Drive provides an increased level of security comparable to OneDrive. Regular users are advised to encrypt sensitive data themselves. For example, archive them with a password.
   4. Russian fourth place Yandex.Disk. Experts attributed a wide range of authorization methods to the security advantages of this cloud, including TouchID, PIN code and QR code. An important advantage for ordinary users- checking files for viruses . The transmission channel at the Yandex storage is encrypted, like that of competitors. The only serious failure is considered to be an error in the client program of the service under Windows, made by the company's programmers in 2013. Users were not left behind. They are allocated 200 GB of disk space for perpetual free use as compensation.
   5. Fifth place at the old-timer of the market - drop box. Its security flaw is no client-side encryption . Theoretically, this allows an attacker to intercept data in transit from a local device to a server. In 2011, there was a serious failure in the DropBox service. It only lasted 4 hours. During this period of time, it was possible to access the entire storage, and not just the data area of ​​a particular user. But we note that in 2011 there were simply no other competitors from the rating. DropBox was a pioneer in the field of network storage and had the right to make mistakes.

How to get more free cloud storage space

All cloud storages are commercial. Their main task is to earn the money required to cover the costs of supporting the development team and developing the server infrastructure. Therefore, a limited amount of space is provided to users for free. To get additional free space for storing photos and documents, you will need to meet certain terms of service or participate in promotions.

For example. Yandex.Disk offers 32 gigabytes of free space. autoload photos on mobile device.

Other cloud services also offer space expansion options for free:

• For inviting friends.
• For installing a cloud drive mobile application or program on a computer.
• Students and teachers for providing a photo of a student card or a pass to the university. Yandex.Disk allocates an additional 32 free gigabytes for this promotion.

Also, cloud file storage services provide free space through an affiliate scheme. For example, when buying laptops or tablets of a certain brand.

A universal way to multiply the space on cloud storage for free is to create several accounts.

How to install cloud drive on a computer

Three network storages are most suitable for a computer:

1. Google Drive. He is chosen active users GMail services and a powerful online document and spreadsheet editor - Google Docs.
2. Yandex.Disk. A good choice when you don't need to use Google services. This is a reliable Russian cloud drive, for which you can easily get up to 42 GB or more free space by turning on auto-upload photos on your mobile device.
3. OneDrive. Windows 10 desktop and laptop users get support for this network drive"loaded". If you have a Windows account, 5 GB of space is allocated on OneDrive. A folder of the same name is created in the This PC shortcut, synchronized with the cloud.

Installing the program on a computer is required only for the first two services. OneDrive support is implemented at the system level. Let's bring step by step instructions installing an application using Yandex.Disk as an example.

In every modern smartphone Out of the box, support for at least one cloud storage is included.

• Apple phones come with iCloud support for Reserve copy settings, system files and photo sync. Additionally, you can connect the Yandex storage using the downloaded and installed from the official store Apple apps programs.
• Samsung phones include support for two clouds at once: Samsung Cloud and Google Drive. Owners of smartphones of this brand have a Google account, like android users and a Samsung account for the manufacturer's proprietary services.
• Xiaomi phones out of the box support communication with Xiaomi's own cloud MiCloud. Everything works by analogy with the iPhone: backup copies are made on the network storage and photos from the camera are sent.
• Smartphones Windows phone come with OneDrive access enabled. If you have an Office365 subscription, the amount of available space is increased by 100 GB.
• Smartphones on Android from other manufacturers have support for one cloud storage - Google Drive.

You can purchase additional space by fulfilling the requirements of service promotions or by purchasing it with money.

Please note that Android smartphones support Google Drive, but Google Docs and Spreadsheets require separate mobile apps to be installed. There is also a client program from Google Drive for easy navigation through the network storage. The latter is most often preinstalled on the phone.

If the capabilities of the pre-installed NAS are not enough for you, install a third-party one. The most popular: Yandex.Disk, DropBox, Mail.ru.

We will show how to install an application for them using Yandex Drive as an example.

Come up with a complex password. Your private photos and videos are more likely to be leaked online if you come up with a simple password. A complex one can be generated using a special program or invented independently using the following algorithm: !-!123HELLO-WoRlD123!-!. Such a combination is easy to remember, but is a very difficult password to crack.

Encrypt sensitive data before uploading it to the network. It is dangerous to store passwords and keys to accounts in clear text. If you don't have a dedicated encryption program, zip confidential files with a password before sending them to the network.

Use dual authorization. A number of NASes support dual authorization. You need to enter a password and confirm the entry by sending a code from the SMS sent by the service. This procedure seems less convenient, but provides more data protection.

The history of cloud storage technologies

The phrase " cloud technologies” was first used in 1997. New World global network a new computational paradigm was required. Professor Ramnath Chellap of the University of Texas has proposed a shift to cloud computing as an alternative to increasing local computing power.

Real developments in part sharing The resources on the web date back to the year 2000. We owe the commercial launch of the service on the new cloud scheme of work to Amazon. This happened in 2002.

Google has become a pioneer in the implementation and development of cloud-based applications that work through a browser. New technology launched on the market since 2009.

The idea of ​​creating cloud storage on the Internet is described by its inventor Drew Houston as follows. The guy was sitting on the bus from Boston to New York, with a laptop, but without a flash drive, left at home. To overcome the poverty, he began to think about accessing files without wires and came up with an application that implements this idea. The first DropBox code is written, according to this version of events, right on the bus.

According to the founder of DropBox, Steve Jobs wanted to acquire the project at the startup stage, but was refused. Today the company is worth approximately $4 billion.

All subsequent network storages: iCloud, Google and Yandex, appeared much later. Their main promotion paradigm is the conditional free service. Part of the gigabytes the user receives immediately, free of charge and unconditionally. The rest must be purchased by subscription.

All owners of Apple technology receive 5 GB in their "native" iCloud cloud service. Due to various restrictions, using this cloud is not always convenient, and the allocated space quickly runs out, and iCloud does not get along well with other people's systems.

Additional iCloud storage pricing:

50 GB: 59 rub.
200 GB: 149 rub.
1 TB: 599 rub.
2 TB: 1 490 rub.

For convenient data exchange between different platforms, gadgets and users, it is better to connect to third party service. The choice of clouds today is very extensive, there are both old-timers of the market and daring newcomers, corporate players and small companies.

The conditions and tariffs for each service change quite often, we offer the most up-to-date information as of this moment.

dropbox

One of the most popular services is not very willing to distribute space in the cloud. When the company maintained and developed the Carousel and Mailbox applications, you could get several gigabytes of disk space for connecting programs to your account and uploading data.

Another 3 GB was given during testing of the automatic data upload function in the application.

Dropbox also had prize gigabytes when buying Android smartphones. However, they were issued for a year or two.

Now it doesn’t smell of such generosity, you will have to invite friends to get an extra place. Finding someone who hasn't signed up for Dropbox yet is a quest. There are schemes with the creation of fake accounts and changing the MAC address network card, but sooner or later fake friends are revealed, and a place in the cloud is taken away.

Prices for additional space in Dropbox:

1 TB: $9.99 ($8.25 if billed annually)
2 TB: $15 ($12.50)
Unlimited space: $25 ($20)

2 at registration + up to 16 GB (500 MB per friend).

Outcome: the most common cloud service is not as generous as it was a few years ago. You can expand the space only with the help of real friends who do not yet have an account.

Google Drive

Google initially provides 15 GB in the cloud (versus 2 GB for Dropbox), this will be enough for most users. In terms of popularity and prevalence, the services are almost equal, although initially the advantage was on the side of the "blue box".

Most cloud sync-enabled applications today work with both services.

If 15 GB is not enough, you can expand the space up to 1 TB! It is not difficult to do this, we are even ready. From my own experience, I can say that in a week or two you can contribute to the development of a cartographic service and get a bonus place.

Unfortunately, the space will have to be vacated in two years.

Sometimes Google holds one-time promotions that coincide with holidays or memorable events. Referral program is not provided.

Prices for additional space in Google Drive:

100 GB: 139 rub.
1 TB: 699 rub.
10 TB: RUB 6,990
20 TB: RUB 13,920
30 TB: 20 990 rub.

How many GB you can get for free: 15 at registration + 1 TB for 2 years.

Outcome: the cloud is maximally integrated with other Google services (mail, documents, photos) and the Android operating system, and upon registration they give a solid 15 GB. You can expand the place, but for a limited time.

Cloud Mail.Ru

A few years ago, the service literally blew up the cloud storage market, distributing 1 TB to users for a promotion. With all the shortcomings of the Mail.ru cloud ( low speed data transfer and the lack of WebDAV) many people now use this place to store a family photo archive or music collection.

There were other manifestations of generosity, when they gave 25 or even 100 GB during registration. Now new users are provided with only 8 GB in the cloud for free. More space is available only on a paid basis.

Given that mail.ru is a very popular mail service and most active Internet users have had an account for a long time, many have already received 100 GB or more for everything they need.

Prices for additional space in Mail.Ru Cloud:

64 GB: 69 rub. (57.5 rubles when paid for the year)
128 GB: 149 rub. (125 rubles)
256 GB: 229 rub. (190 rubles)
512 GB: 379 rub. (315 rubles)
1 TB: 699 rub. (582 rubles)
2 TB: 1 390 rub. (1,158 rubles)
4 TB: 2 790 rub. (2 325 rubles)

How many GB you can get for free: 8 GB upon registration.

Outcome: not the most convenient cloud with unstable speed. The Mail.ru mobile application is only getting a convenient and functional look. If you have not pumped the cloud here before, then now it makes no sense to start.

Yandex.Disk

At the moment, Yandex is the most active player in the cloud market. There are regular promotions and giveaways of bonus space to expand the initial 10 GB.

Users can receive bonuses when buying and using equipment different brands or by connecting to Yandex partner services. You can read about all current and past promotions.

Now the next "distribution of clouds" is taking place, you can get +32 GB to the already available space. To do this, it is enough to include automatic download photo in mobile application. A few minutes after activating the option, the bonus will be received and you can turn off the upload.

Prices for additional space in Yandex.Disk:

10 GB: 30 rub. (25 rubles when paying for a year)
100 GB: 80 rub. (67 rubles)
1 TB: 200 rub. (167 rubles)

How many GB you can get for free: 10 at registration + 32 GB for the promotion.

Outcome: an excellent domestic player in the cloud storage market with good speed and handy application. Promotions are regularly held for free pumping of your cloud.

OneDrive

Microsoft's service recently cut space for new users and dumped many old ones who didn't have time to confirm their desire to use the previous volume. So instead of 15 GB in OneDrive, only 5 GB is now available.

A serious corporate service does not deal with such nonsense as referral links and promotions with partners. You can get a bonus place only when buying devices or applications from Microsoft.

Pricing for additional OneDrive space:

50 GB: 72 rub.
1 TB: 269 ​​rub. (224 rubles when paid for the year)
5 TB: 339 rub. (283 rubles)

How many GB you can get for free: 5 GB upon registration.

Outcome: use OneDrive service it is convenient in exceptionally rare cases when there is no need to synchronize data with mobile operating systems (competing solutions clearly win there), and the emphasis should be on working with Microsoft products, in particular with the Office 365 service.

Mega

The cloud service, originally from New Zealand, offers 50 GB immediately for all new users. No restrictions and pitfalls, just take and use.

There is a convenient mobile app, encryption at a good level, and a paid extension can be paid using Bitcoin cryptocurrency.

Prices for additional space in Mega:

200 GB: €4.99 (€4.16 if billed annually)
500 GB: €9.99 (€8.33)
2 TB: €19.99 (€16.66)
4 TB: €29.99 (€25)

How many GB you can get for free: 50 GB upon registration.

Outcome: for those who need a lot of space at once and without additional movements.

What to choose

Storing files online much more reliable than on your computer. One major virus and all your photos and videos from your vacations, celebrations, your wedding, your memoirs, your unfinished book, important documents, and other files you hold dear have been destroyed. It would seem that there is nothing worse. But this could be avoided if all the files that are dear to you were stored not only on your computer, but also on the Internet.

There are many online services sites to store your files online. If you try to find such services in search engines, you can find at least a hundred free file storage sites online. Eyes run wide, which one is better to choose. In this article I will tell you about more popular, reliable, convenient and roomy

Where to store files online?

Below I will give you a list of services that I myself have ever used and that inspire the most confidence. This list will be useful as ordinary users Internet, and site owners who are looking for where you can upload files of various sizes.

1. Yandex.Disk. Today, one of the most popular and convenient services for storing files on the Internet. Yandex cloud has very user-friendly interface both from a computer and from a mobile application. Most documents (office, pdf, images and videos) can be viewed in a browser right inside the disk interface without downloading them to a computer for this. Links to files from Yandex.Disk are easy to share with other people (in a couple of clicks), and they can also be attached to emails while writing a letter. To upload files, you must have your Yandex account. Upon registration, you get 10 GB of free space on Yandex.Disk for your files. Also, by registering using my link and installing the program, you will receive another 1 GB on Yandex.Disk for free. The storage period for files on Yandex.Disk is unlimited. Cloud storage from Yandex is perfect for storing large files for a long time.

2. [email protected]. A simple and convenient service for storing your files online. Gives each new user 25 GB of space in their cloud. The storage period of files is not limited. The interface of this storage is not so convenient and has its limitations compared to the previous competitor. You can increase the amount of available space for a fee, from 499 rubles. For more detailed conditions, see the help section of the service.

3. Google Drive. An excellent service for storing multimedia files (photos, videos) and for text documents, presentations and spreadsheets. Initially, this service was positioned as a service for storing office documents and was called Google Docs. Later it was transformed into a full-fledged cloud Google service disk for storing files of any type and large volumes. Google Drive has tools for creating and editing text documents, excel tables, presentations - a great alternative Microsoft Office, which allows you to work with your documents from any computer connected to the Internet. Google Drive gives you 15 GB of free disk space. It is possible to set sharing access to your files or restrict them from everyone. A very convenient, safe and reliable service for storing your files online. It is possible to increase the amount of disk space for your files up to 1 TB (1000 GB) for $1.99 per month.

4. Picasa Web Album (Closing May 1, 2016). Another Google product. Designed to store your photos online. In addition, you can download and install the Picasa program on your computer, which will clean up your computer. In the Picasa program, you will see all the photos that are stored on your computer, even those that you have long forgotten about. With Picasa, it will be very convenient for you to upload your photos to the Internet, directly from the program. I uploaded my first photos to the Picasa web album, back in 2008, and they lie quietly there to this day. In 2015, Google launched the Google Photos service, which became an analogue of the Picasa service. In 2016, the decision was made to close Picasa and focus all efforts on one product - Google Photos.

5. Drop box. If you don’t have a flash drive at hand to which you need to quickly transfer files, upload your files to virtual flash drive dropbox. On the this service you will be prompted to download a program, after downloading and installing which, a synchronized DropBox folder will be created in the "My Documents" folder of your computer. You can drop any files into this folder, after which they are automatically saved on the Internet. You can access these files from any computer by logging into your DropBox account or a synced folder on your computer. With DropBox, you get 2 GB free of charge for your files. You can increase the amount of space for free if your friends register in DropBox using your link, for each of which you will receive 500 MB extra space, until your account has 16 GB.

6.QIP files. Allows you to store any type of files on the Internet. The service provides 2 GB of free space. The storage period of files is not limited. You can increase the amount of available space in this service by inviting new members.

7. Evernote- an amazing service with the motto "Remember everything". Evernote allows you to quickly save any information on the Internet, organize it and synchronize it between all devices from which you access the Internet. The service is designed to store on the Internet small text, handwritten, audio notes and photos taken by your phone, which are immediately uploaded to your Evernote account on the Internet. Incredibly convenient service that allows you to save all important information online and have access to it wherever you are. In one of the following articles I will describe this service in more detail.

Below you can see a table in which I have described the most important characteristics each of the above services. With the help of this table it will be easier for you to choose where to store your files online.

Internet storage services

Many users have heard about cloud storage, but could not choose one cloud storage. And now there are already a large number of free cloud storage with a large amount. All of them offer similar functionality, but there are still differences.

Just in this article, we will look at the best cloud storages of 2018. And we will also try to help you decide which cloud storage is better. To do this, we will compare cloud storage 2018 and analyze the main features and differences of each of them.

Google Drive

• Free 15 GB available on Drive
• Setting public access and the ability to comment on documents
• Integration with other Google services

Google Drive is the perfect choice for owners of a device running an operating system. Android systems, since it is integrated there. But all Google account holders can use Google Drive cloud storage.

And also there is support for all platforms and the ability to use the storage directly in the browser, namely to edit files directly from the cloud.

Price: 15 GB free. 100GB for $1.99 per month. 1 TB for $9.99/month.

Cloud Mail

• Available free 8 GB
• Setting up sharing
• Edit files directly from the browser
• Support for all popular operating systems

Thanks to the promotion from Mail, in order to popularize the cloud, many users were able to take a gift of 1 TB of cloud space, which is enough for a lifetime. And speaking in general, over the years, Cloud Mail offers its users less and less space.

If we talk about the functionality, then everything is fine here. Thanks to Microsoft services it became possible to edit documents directly from your browser. And multi-platform support makes Mail's cloud storage top of our list.

Price: 8 GB free. 1 TB for $12.3 per month.

Yandex Disk

• Free 10 GB cloud storage available
• Integration with Office Online with the ability to edit documents

Cloud storage Yandex Disk used to give 10 GB of space for free, and now it does. In this regard, everything is stable. An interesting feature there is support a large number formats and integration with Office Online.

You can use Yandex Disk both in the browser and on any operating system by downloading official app. And also for users of mobile devices, it is possible to use automatic uploading of photos and videos to the cloud storage.

Price: 10 GB free. 1 TB for 200 rubles. per month.

Mega

• Free 50 GB available
• Simple user interface
• Availability of applications for different operating systems and extensions for browsers

A really generous offer and a simple user interface make Mega cloud storage a leader. There is a convenient mobile application that allows you to directly upload files and photos, as well as synchronize with a client on your computer.

Mege claims that all data is encrypted locally on your device before it reaches the cloud servers. The company also opened source your client to allow experts to check for vulnerabilities.

Price: 50 GB free. 200 GB for €4.99 per month.

One Drive

• Free 5 GB available
• Integration directly into Windows 10
• Integration with Microsoft services

One Drive cloud storage, formerly known as SkyDrive, is integrated into the Windows 10 operating system explorer. This means that you do not need to download additional applications, and you can use it immediately after installing the Windows 10 operating system.

Plus, there are applications for all popular operating systems. To use the cloud, you just need to create an account Microsoft entry. Automatic synchronization operating room clouds Windows system 10, says that you can already use the One Drive cloud without knowing it.

Price: 5 GB free. 50 GB for $1.99 per month.

• Available free 2 GB expandable
• Support for all popular operating systems
• Ability to set up sharing
• Ability to recover deleted data
• Availability of an affiliate program

Dropbox cloud storage offers a fairly tiny amount of 2 GB of free space for free. Agree, this is quite small when compared with direct competitors. But you can upgrade to 16 GB for free by linking your Dropbox to social networks and inviting friends.

An interesting feature is the support of all known operating systems. Great popularity has great popularity in educational institutions and companies, because it is very convenient in its way.

Price: 2 GB free. 1TB for $10/month with Dropbox Plus.

Which cloud storage is best

Many users are interested in the question of which cloud storage is better. The answer is simple, it all depends on how you use cloud storage, namely for what purpose it is used.

If we talk about simple synchronization of photos with mobile device, then Dropbox, Mail Cloud, Yandex.Disk, One Drive are in the lead here. If you need a cloud storage for study and work, then you should pay attention to Google Drive. It all really depends on your needs.

In order to help you decide on the choice of cloud storage in 2018, we will small comparison cloud storage in 2018.

Cloud storage comparison 2018

And it is also worth mentioning the distinctive cloud storage company Google. Namely, the fact that you have the opportunity to connect many different add-ons to your cloud, ranging from PDF converter and ending with lightweight audio and photo editors, as well as the ability to program in a number of languages.

conclusions

In this article, we have collected the best cloud storages of 2018 for you. And also tried to help you which cloud storage is better to choose by comparing cloud storage in 2018.

As a result of the comparison, there are two favorites, Mega - with its large volume and Google Drive - with the ability to connect different extensions. But if you were in time for a promotion from Mail, where everyone could get 1 TB of cloud space for free, then the Mail cloud is most likely your favorite. Also, if you use Samsung smartphones, where 50 GB of space is given in the Dropbox cloud, then you don’t have to look for new clouds. The main choice, as always, is yours.

The cloud is a service where data can be stored and easily managed. That is, you can upload your files to it, work with them directly on the Internet, download them at any time, and also transfer them to another person.

Any user can get such a service at their disposal absolutely free of charge. In fact, it's own HDD in the Internet.

You could say it's something like local disk computer, but only with the ability to use it on any device with an Internet connection. Plus, you can transfer files to other users by simply sending them a download link.

So, the cloud is needed to:

• Store files and folders with files
• Work with them on any computer or smartphone with Internet access
• Easily and quickly transfer files to other people

Thus, it replaces flash drives, disks and other devices for transferring information.

That is, I can upload the files I need to such a service and work with them on any other computer with the Internet. It can be documents, books, music, videos - in general, any files.

Initially, they are available only to me, but if I wish, I can make some of them public. Then they can be downloaded.

That is, a special Internet address (link) will be generated, where the file can be saved to the computer. I can send this address to any person (for example, via Skype or via mail), and the person will be able to download my file.

Where and how to get a cloud

There are sites that give users the cloud. It's like with mail: there are sites where you can get it. We go to such a site, register and get a cloud service for storing data.

We are allocated some specific free volume. On some services, it is a very decent 50-100 GB. If you want more, then it's for the money.

And you can register several times and, accordingly, get several free volumes. Everything is free, everything is legal!

The easiest way to get a cloud is to do it where you have mail. The fact is that the largest mail sites (Yandex, Mail, Gmail) distribute such services for free. You just need to want.

That is, you do not even need to register. Just open your mail and indicate that you want to receive the cloud. They give it to you right away.

Websites that give away clouds for free

Yandex.Disk is a cloud service from Yandex. If you have mail there, then you have such a disk. Free and forever given 10 GB.

To get Yandex.Disk, you need to open the yandex.ru website and go to your mail. Then open the "Disk" tab (at the top).

You will be greeted and offered to download special program to a computer for convenient operation with Yandex.Disk.

It is better not to do this right away - you can always install it later. I recommend that you close this window and first learn how to use Yandex.Disk without a program.

That's all! Upload files, sort them, share, delete. In general, you already have a cloud. It even has some files and folders already loaded with files for example.

For further access to Yandex.Disk, you need to follow all the same steps: open the yandex.ru website, open your mail, go to the "Disk" tab.

And you can install and configure a special program "Disk for Windows" and use the cloud directly from your computer - without going to the site yandex.ru

Mail.ru cloud is a service from the mail.ru mail site. 25 GB is free.

To get this goodness, you just need to have mailbox mail.ru. If it is, then you also have a cloud.

To enter it, you need to open the mail.ru website and open your mail. Then click on the "Cloud" button at the top.

Your personal cloud service will open. Some sample files are already loaded into it. You can remove them, or you can leave them. In general, your cloud is already ready to go.

You can use it directly, via mail, or you can download and install a special application (program). Then the cloud will be available directly from the computer - a shortcut will appear on the Desktop for its instant opening.

Google Drive (Google Drive) is a service that is "attached" to gmail.com mail. 15 GB is free.

To get into it, you need to go to your email inbox on the site gmail.com. Then click on the picture with small squares next to your name (top right) and click on the "Disk" item.

Perhaps after that Google will ask you a couple of questions. A little lower, in the pictures, it is shown what he should answer in this case.

After that, your personal cloud will load. It will already have a folder with several files. You can delete this folder with all its contents, or you can leave it as you wish.

So, the disk is ready to go. You can start downloading!

It opens in exactly the same way - through the mail. And you can install a special program. Then it will be available from your computer.

It seemed to me that this cloud is much more difficult to use than all the others. Not everyone will understand. But there are certain advantages that other services do not have. For example, right in it you can create a document, presentation, table, form or picture.

That is, a program for creating a file will open directly on the Internet desired type. It is quite simple and allows you to both create a file and save it to Google Drive, as well as download it to your computer in the desired format.

Such programs can be used instead of Word, Excel, Power Point. It is very convenient when you have to work on a computer on which they are not installed.

Which service is better

As various tests have shown, the "mail" clouds, which I just talked about, are superior in quality, convenience and free features to all other similar services.

I will not go into details, but the places were distributed as follows:

Therefore, I recommend that you still use one of these services. If you don't have e-mail box none of them, you just need to register. You will have a new mail (which, by the way, is not necessary to use) and a cloud.

Of course, there are other sites where you can get a cloud service for free. But most of them have free versions There are some annoying restrictions.

But there is one that compares favorably with all the others (including postal ones). It is best for transferring files to other people. Address: mega.co.nz

Mega - it makes sense to use this service for those who place files for download. The fact is that through special loader programs such as MiPony, they can be saved to a computer very quickly and easily. Much easier and faster than other cloud services. 50 GB is free.

Initially, the site opens on English language. To switch to the Russian version, click on the Menu button (top right), select Language from the list, then click on Russian and on the Save button.

Just in case, here are two more good cloud services:

Dropbox - 2 GB allocated for free.

One Drive - 7 GB free.

How to manage the cloud

You can manage it on the very site where you received it. Log in there with your username and password, go to a specific section and get access to the cloud.

And you can do it even easier, more convenient and, most importantly, much faster: with the help of a small application (program).

Each service has its own, that is, you need to download it from the site where you have the cloud.

This application allows you to quickly and easily upload, watch, download files and folders with files from your cloud service. It takes up very little space, and you can install such a program on any computer or smartphone (not just yours).

How to install the application. Open your cloud and there will be a link or a download button in a prominent place. The pictures below show where such a button is in the "mail" cloud services.

Download the program file and open it. Installation will begin. Below is an illustrated instruction for each "mail" service. Do everything as in the pictures, and the application will install.

Yandex.Disk:

Mail.ru cloud:

How to use the app

After installing the application, a shortcut to the program appears on the desktop. With it, we will work with the cloud.

When you first start the program, you will be asked to enter data from the cloud. Type in your email address and password. Then you agree to the terms of service and click "Login".

Now, when you open the program icon, your cloud will open directly on your computer - in a regular folder.

Also, along with the opening of the application, its icon appears in the tray.

This is where the computer clock is - in the lower right corner of the screen (on the taskbar, where the rest of the icons are).

This icon can be hidden under a small arrow next to the alphabet.

With it, you can control the application. To do this, click on it with the left or right click mice.

File/Folder Synchronization. This is the most difficult part to understand, but it must be understood in order to successful work with application.

The meaning of synchronization is that the computer or smartphone on which the application is installed must connect to your cloud and upload files from or to it.

This process must be completed, otherwise we will not be able to use the downloaded data. Synchronization takes place over the Internet. That is, without the Internet, it is simply impossible.

Consider the following situation. My cloud already has downloaded files and folders with files.

By the way, initially, upon receipt of the cloud, it already has some information. So if you didn’t delete it on purpose, then there are several files there.

I installed the application on my computer, opened it, entered my username and password. Cloud folder opened. So, all the data that was originally on it should be uploaded to this folder. That is, my cloud and computer must be synchronized.

It turns out that all the files that are on the cloud are downloaded to my computer in this very folder. And if there are few of them and they are small in size, then this process will happen quickly - I may not even notice it.

But if the files are large, and my Internet is not very fast, then synchronization will take some time.

In practice, it looks like this: I open the application shortcut and see an empty folder, although I know for sure that there are files on my cloud.

Usually in this case, users start to get nervous - they worry that their files have been deleted. In fact, they are all there. And we do not see them because the synchronization procedure has not yet been completed.

And this can be verified. When synchronization is in progress, the application icon (the one in the tray) seems to be moving.

And if we click on it, then in the menu that opens there will be an item indicating the progress of the process.

In fact, at this moment, files are downloaded from the Internet. That is, the Internet itself may be slower because of this.

Synchronization can be turned off if necessary. To do this, click on the application icon in the tray and select the appropriate item from the menu. By the way, there you can completely exit the program.

In general, while synchronization is in progress, the files will not be available. The same thing happens when you transfer information from your computer to the cloud.

How to upload a file (folder with files) to the cloud. To do this, you just need to copy required files, and then paste them into the application folder.

Copying / pasting occurs as usual, but after that all transferred files should be synchronized. Otherwise, they will not be uploaded to the Internet on your cloud.

In the Mail.ru Cloud application, this process happens instantly. Moreover, even for large files (from 1 GB).

In the Yandex.Disk program, synchronization takes some time, but it still happens quickly.

With a fairly slow Internet connection, a 1 GB file downloaded in just a few minutes. If you uploaded it directly to the cloud (without an application), this process would take more than an hour.

But Google Drive is lagging behind in this regard. Apparently this application works on a different technology, and synchronization takes the same time as a normal file upload.

My results may differ from yours. Perhaps your synchronization process will be faster or vice versa slower than mine.

How to download a file (folder with files) from the cloud. All files that you want to download to your computer or phone from the application must be fully synchronized.

You can transfer them to your computer by simply copying them. That is, open the application, copy the necessary files and paste them into the folder of your choice on the computer. That's all! A couple of seconds - and the files are downloaded.

Disadvantages of cloud services

Everything has both pluses and minuses. And cloud services also have them. I will list the main ones:

1. Memory consumption. In other words, the work of cloud services "strains" the computer. In the case of Yandex.Disk and Cloud.Mail.ru, the load is insignificant, but Google Drive is rather voracious. Modern computers this may not be noticed, but the old ones will have to puff.

2. Safety. Since the cloud is an Internet service, there is always a certain possibility that your files may fall into the wrong hands. Certainly, modern technologies data protection, this probability is minimized, but there is always a risk. Moreover, the service is public.

3. Need Internet. Without the Internet, you will not be able to use any cloud service.

Additional Information

In case the information provided in this lesson is not enough for you.

Every cloud service has detailed instructions by use. Users do not particularly favor it, but it really has a lot of useful and interesting information.