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The option for online storage services is many. Let us take a look at the popular one out there. Google Drive will create a new revolution in the field of Cloud Computing. And it will definitely get more users than the other existing services in the market because of its features. With these cloud storage option available in the web, the loss of user’s data is going to history but the safety and the misuse of data is still a matter of concern.

In almost every personal computer there are some important data stored like some office files, some business files or some personal family photographs. If due to some reason your hard drive of your PC or laptop crash then probably your job is under threat or you lost your important data altogether or you suffer a big loss or you may lose your some memories. Also, it is not practically possible to store all the data in CD or DVD and keep these always.

But all these problems are solved with some sites including latest introduction of Google Drive which gives to store data online for some amount or free of cost. Also the advantage of online storage is that one can access its data from any location on different platform. Dropbox is the first service for this purpose but with the entry of Google Drive and Microsoft Live SkyDrive the market of online storage is becoming hot.

Here a brief introduction of these storage sites:

Dropbox

Dropbox is an online storage service that has been there for a long time. The best part about Dropbox is that it has the best developer ecosystem which is not present in other services. Dropbox supports the maximum number of the platform as compared to other services.  Content on this site can be accessed from Desktop and Laptop, iPhone, iPad, Android-based smartphones, and Blackberry devices. It also gives the facility to download free apps to share and see files on your mobile phone. Dropbox only gives 2 GB of space for data storage but this space of storage may increase up to 16 GB if you invite friends. The Dropbox folder which is present in the PC updates automatically all the stored files. In this online storage one can also access the stored files or data with the help of Web file manager.

The important fact about Dropbox is that it is also available for Window XP and Linux but this is not the case with Microsoft SkyDrive. Through the desktop client, you may upload the files of any size, while the limit of file to be uploaded via a web browser is 300 MB.

Other features of Dropbox are

1. Dropbox preserved file or data for 30 days, which means that you can recover or restore your file which is deleted accidentally or intentionally.

2. Dropbox maintains a detailed log of every single change on the stored file or account.

3. Dropbox has selective sync features. For instance, if you have multiple computers the Dropbox will copy all your files across all computers with an option of selectivity. Means Dropbox selectively synchronizes files to the selected computer only. So you are able to customize your Dropbox for file sharing on different computers.

4. With the mobile apps of Dropbox you are able to save your files on your mobile for offline use.

5. Has built-in file viewers like office documents, PDFs, video, and images.

Google Drive

Google Drive offers 5 GB of free data storage and you get 20 GB extra for $2.49 per month. It supports for various platforms like PC, Mac, Android Phones, and tablet PC.

Some of the features of Google Drive are

1. It supports a web mobile version so you are able to access this service via your mobile phone.

2. Has built-in file-viewer like office documents, PDFs, video, images, Photoshop mock-ups, and AutoCAD drawing. Also, provide to see these files without the need for extra software on your computer or another platform.

3. Google Drive also offers to preserve your file, which means that you recover or restore your file which is deleted accidentally or intentionally, but not specified the time duration of this preservation of files or data.

4. Google Drive provides two layers of protection, so unauthorized person can’t reach to your Google Drive data even in the case they know your Google username and password of your Google Account. This dual layer of protection is not available to other cloud storage services including Microsoft SkyDrive and Dropbox.

5. Google Drive also maintains a detailed log of every single change on the stored file or account.

6. File search option is one of the best features of Google Drive as compare to other services available in the market. It can even read the text content of scanned documents and photographs with the help of OCR (Optical Character Recognition). So this Google Drive is able to find the stored photograph by text without the need to remember the file name.

7. With the mobile apps of Google Drive you are able to save your files on your mobile for offline use.

8. Google Drive also offers selective sync features. For instance, if you have multiple computer the Google Drive will copy all your files across all computer with an option of selectivity. Means Google Drive selectively synchronize files to the selected computer only. That is you are able to customize your Google Drive in terms of file sharing on different computers.

9. The interface of Google Drive is one of the best in its class. The search option is superb as the grid view helps in browsing the stored item easily. It also provides the email facility of any stored item from your Google Drive platform to other users. This direct email feature is not present in other storage services.

Microsoft SkyDrive

This storage service is introduced by Microsoft and provides one of the cheapest storage solutions. Presently it offers 7 GB of free space for data storage. Some of the features of this service are

1. It support for the various platform including Windows, Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Windows Phone.

2. It also supports a web mobile version so you are able to access this service via your mobile phones.

3. After 7 GB of free storage space you get additional 20 GB for about $10 p.a. and 50 GB for $25 p.a., cheapest option compare to other service in the market.

4. Has built-in file viewers like office documents, PDFs, video, and images.

5. As Google Drive the SkyDrive also offers to preserve your file, which means that you recover or restore your file which is deleted accidentally or intentionally, but not specified the time duration of this preservation of files or data.

6. The SkyDrive offers search options for the stored data or files by documents that are in common MS office formats. Less efficient than that of Google Drive in this respect.

7. Offline access to data on mobile is possible in SkyDrive.

8. Selective sync issue as described earlier is not present in SkyDrive service.

9. The online storage service provides a folder structure on the left side of the screen and gives the facility to work with window explorer; on the right side one can easily see files and folders. When you open a file various functions as a copy, delete, edit and download function are self-popup.

10. For sharing files or save it on SkyDrive you have to use file manager in the office document. It also gives a facility to drag and drop files from the hard drive to the browser to add the particular files to the SkyDrive. But this storage doesn’t give a direct use of apps on desktop and on mobile.

11. Allows the window phone to upload images and office documents on SkyDrive.

Badongo

Some of the key features of this online storage service are

1. This is the only site that gives you unlimited free space for storage.

2. The restriction is that the free user can download only 4.8 GB of data from the stored content and the speed of download is limited to 500 Kbps.

3. The platforms it supports are Windows, Mac, and iPhone.

4. It has unique features for search stored items by the type of file. So you just need to know the type of file stored at the time of retrieving it.

5. You can upload multiple files with the help of a web file manager.

6. With the help of desktop file manager on desktop you can drag and drop files and folders. It also gives the facility for search, queue, download, and provide sharing facility for files.

7. If you have multiple accounts for using this site and download various file from different account then it gives a web interface facility to see all the download statics.

ADrive

It gives a free space of 50 GB for the storage of your personal data. When you open this site it requires first signup and some routine verification. It provides a web interface on which you have to store the files or your data and you also see and edit your data or files through this web interface. It supports all platforms which currently available in the market but it requires Java to be installed on your system or device. With the help of the file manager, you can see or move anywhere from your uploaded files or data. It facilitates uploading or download a batch of files at a time. This site also provides the service for Windows, Mac, and Linux platforms also but on the payment basic. It doesn’t support apps for handheld devices.

Box.com

This facilitates 5 to 50 GB of data storage space but it depends upon how one signup the site. On desktop client can get 5 GB of data storage space. On the other hand, one can get up to 50 GB of space with Apple’s iPad free apps. This site does not give a file synchronization facility for Windows and Mac systems. It provides supports for apps on iPad, iPod, Android-based tablets/smartphones, blackberry phones, etc. One can not only read but also share via email and also upload the content with the help of mobile apps. The only drawback of this storage is that if someone loads a specific file then it is difficult to search.

Conclusion

There are various advantages of using online storage services and sites. Like if your hard drive crash for some reason your data will be safe if you are using the online storage facility. On the other hand, you don’t need to carry your laptop or desktop in any parts of the world but you simply need a need an internet connection and a PC to access your stored data. Also, the important aspect of this is that you can get up to 125 GB of free space by creating multiple accounts on these sites.