Pick your cloud provider
Next step: choosing where to store your files online. Here’s what to look for, plus a list of popular providers for you to consider.
When it comes to storing your files in the cloud, you’re presented with a bewildering array of options. There are literally dozens of providers out there, offering a mixture of free and paid-for storage. In the table on the page opposite, we’ve summed up some of the bestknown services. Of these, Microsoft’s OneDrive is integrated into both Windows 8.1 and Windows 10.
FREE STORAGE PLANS
If your data storage needs are modest — basically, all your documents, a relatively large collection of photos, perhaps a portable applications collection and little or no video or music — then there’s no real need to pay for online storage at all. All the major providers offer free storage — these top out at 15GB per provider, although you can, of course, sign up to multiple providers and spread your data across them to easily boost your free storage to 50GB or higher (see the box below).
How can you access your data? All the major providers featured in the box below support Windows, Mac, iOS and Android platforms through desktop or mobile apps. Google Drive and Dropbox also offer Linux desktop clients, and you can access your files (and upload them) through any web browser.
The best approach is to install the Windows client, then store your files inside the cloud folder that’s created (this is typically found in your personal user folder, but check during setup to see if you can choose an alternative location if you wish). Anything inside here is automatically uploaded to your cloud storage with changes synced in real-time in the background to ensure that the latest versions of your files are always backed up.
Another reason for hosting files in the cloud is to share them with others.
You want to be able to share individual files on a read-only basis or create a shared folder that people can make changes to. Files and folders can be opened up to anyone, or you can limit access to individual users, who will need their own account with that cloud provider to access the files in question. One caveat: if you share folders with others — or they share folders with you — those folders become part of your cloud account and any files inside count towards your overall storage.
If you want to be able to easily collaborate on documents with others, choose a service that can integrate with Office 365 (OneDrive) or an online office app. Examples of the latter include Office.com (OneDrive or Dropbox — if using the latter, you need to click ‘Add a place’ to link it to your Office account) and Google’s cloudbased office apps, Docs, Sheets and Slides (Google Drive).
WHAT ELSE TO LOOK FOR
Cloud storage providers offer different ways to protect your data during transfer and while it’s stored on their servers. If there’s data you’re particularly sensitive about, look for a cloud provider that offers ‘zeroknowledge’ encryption, such as Sync.com. This basically means your files are encrypted at your computer or device before being sent to the cloud, and that your cloud provider has no access to the encryption key that is being used.
The theory is sound, but you’re still relying on the honesty of your cloud provider’s software to encrypt your data in the way it claims to do. If you want to add your own encryption to any cloud folder, then turn the page for additional encryption tips, or turn to page 54 to investigate a different approach to backing up your data altogether — namely hosting your own cloud backup.
Another handy feature to look for is ‘file versioning’, whereby multiple versions of your files are stored online, enabling you to rollback individual files to earlier copies if necessary. It works in a similar way to File History, although in most cases you’ll need to log on to your cloud account through your web browser to access past versions of the files that you have saved to the cloud.
Should you upgrade to paid-for storage, find out what happens to your files if your subscription lapses. In most cases, you should find you have read-only access to your files, but can’t upload any more — you can, though, download them if needs be. Once you delete enough files to bring your storage under the free quota, the account should start functioning again. Check to see if there’s a time limit before your provider starts deleting your files — Google Drive and Dropbox don’t have any limits, for example, but OneDrive will freeze your account after an extended period while Amazon will start deleting files (the most recent uploads first) after 180 days.