How to Send, Transfer, and Store Files Quickly and Easily

By Gen Wright

Backing up and transfer large files have always been a cumbersome task. The most direct solution is to use a local hard drive to back up all the data. The problem with this approach is that the hard drive is seldom portable. What happens if you wish to retrieve the files while you are traveling, or while you are in a cyber cafe? You would have no way of accessing your files.

Another solution would be to upload all the files to an online server. A server is accessible 24 hours a day. However, you will have to use FTP (a software for uploading files) to upload your files. The process is cumbersome. Besides, not everyone likes to get involved with FTP.

The closest alternative, would be to use some kind of online application to store your files. Of course, you have to make sure that the application you are using is secure, reliable, and easy to use.

What to look out for when assessing a file transfer application.

Security concerns - Many web based applications are vulnerable. That is because coding can be easily viewed by everyone. Someone who is savvy in the programming language would be able to spot bugs (the geeky term for loophole) in the coding and they may try to make malicious attempts to hack the site.

To overcome this problem, some sites decide to release their applications on the Java platform. The coding for such software cannot be viewed easily, since the program is compiled. The first step a user needs to take is to download the Java application, and create a user account from the application. After that, log in using the same account to start transferring files. Sensitive information should be stored in the servers following industry encryption standards.

Transfer speed - Bandwidth is cheap these days, and most servers are sophisticated enough to offer you high speed transfers. Very likely, you may be uploading huge files. So you want the speed to be fast so that you don't have to spend all day waiting for a file transfer to be completed. Try to sign up for a paid service. Usually, a paid file transfer service runs at a much faster speed because the bandwidth is paid for. In addition, the fees deter other users from abusing the servers with excessive use.

Ease of use - The application that you choose should not be too fanciful or overly complicated. The ideal application should allow you to organize your files in a directory manner - the way you would manage your files on a local hard drive. That means being able to view your file names, directory hierarchy and so on. The moment you log in to your user account, you will see a virtual drive waiting for you. The virtual drive acts as your online hard drive. You may now copy, move, delete files as you normally would.

Send files easily - Since every user has a virtual hard drive, there is no need to upload files again and again to send to different users. With a single upload, the file can be sent to many users. The servers will compress the files and handle the distribution.

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