Cloud storage

[Dangermouse]

My PC is getting old at 3 years and what with the smart phone and tablet in the house I am switching it on less and less and thinking that I really am not sure if I will replace it. As with any family I have a considerable number of photographs of the children and holidays etc that I want to back up and I was wondering if doing so on a "cloud" would be an option?

Anyone using cloud storage? is there only one cloud or are there several? are they free or do you pay a fee etc,

Any thoughts welcome
DM

[dromia]

I have used Google docs, now Google drive, for three years or so, not my favourite company, but they provided what I needed.

As well as storage you can use their office software and create your work in the cloud as well so no need for that software on your computer which meant to me I could travel with a small electronic note pad for internet access. It is also usfull if you need to share files with others.

I also buy an extra 80 gig of storage at around £15/year, the free package comes with 5 gig of storage. I use this mainly as an addittional back up for important stuff, I was really thankful of this when both my back up drive and my hard drive both died within hours of each other.

I found it easy to use and does all that I need i just find their upload a bit slow however in seems to pick up and continue OK in the event of a severance of connection

[dodgyrog]

I'm using Dropbox as it is free and I can can share selected documents easily.

[ovenpaa]

Dropbox is free up to 2GB and can be accessed from anywhere and virtually anything with internet access. I use my Dropbox with my iFone, Kindle, Laptop and also at customers if I need access to data or drawings.

https://www.dropbox.com/

I will not use Google for any storage other than a Gmail account which acts as a dump email address. My decision is based on who they are and how they operate.

[Charlotte the flyer]

You could also consider a USB hard drive as well as the cloud, in computing it's good practice to have multiple backups. Plus you don't need an internet connection to get your stuff back, it's a tangible asset that you can hold in your hand / put in the safe etc. They are about £60 for the cheapest ones.

[Individual]

There is Drop Box, Google, Amazon and many others. They all work in a similar way. They all have a free quota of around 2-5 Gb. If you can be bothered you can probably find enough free cloud storage to save most of your stuff, by using up to the free limit on all of them, but then you have to remember where you have put it all sign01

As well as protecting against device failure, there is now the worry that a desperado might nick your kit from your home, increasingly that means along with all your family memories. Cloud storage is one solution. You could also check out network storage box for home (£200 or so), access it from all your devices, back it up to the cloud - and lock it in the gun safe when you go away :-)

[techguy]

I use dropbox, and i upgraded to the 100GB package. I think it cost me about £70 for a year.

I have it syncing all my computers, boing, ipad etc. It's great if you can justify the cost. (or free if you have less to backup)

[Dangermouse]

Thanks for all the replies, I will have a look at the named options and see what looks the most intuitive.

DM

[User702]

Please do be aware that anything stored in the cloud should effectively be considered not private.

Dropbox has had issues in the past with security (around the storage of passwords on their systems if I remember correctly) and I would not be surprised in data could be held in other countries if required by local laws. Spideroak is another option if you would like to consider something like Dropbox but with a little bit more of a privacy title.

If you are really wanting to be paranoid (or sensible), you might consider using some sort of encryption prior to storing it in the cloud, possible using something like TrueCrypt as an encrypted volume on the drive.

The alternative would be, as Charlotte suggested, use a USB drive of some sort and plug it into the tablet as an external disk. My cheap Android tablet supports external USB devices and that comes in handy for music and films when I am away.

[spud]

:goodjob:

Dropbox is free up to 2GB and can be accessed from anywhere and virtually anything with internet access. I use my Dropbox with my iFone, Kindle, Laptop and also at customers if I need access to data or drawings.

https://www.dropbox.com/

I will not use Google for any storage other than a Gmail account which acts as a dump email address. My decision is based on who they are and how they operate.