Gmailing files to yourself..

[Fumesucker]

Files that I want to be sure of accessing on computers in other locations or after a crash of my own computer I've taken to Gmailing to my own Gmail account and then just never deleting the message, so far after a couple of years of this my Gmail account is 5% full and I'm far from good about pruning my Gmail, anything I might remotely want to look at again stays in there.

Let Google store your important files for you, if you are concerned about security you can always zip them up with a password encryption.

[Berserker]

1. Great tip

I also do this.

[hobbit709]

2. I trust no offsite storage with anything critical or private.

[Fumesucker]

3. I don't trust on site storage either.. I have both.

I've had enough problems with on site backups that wouldn't restore for one reason or another (lost, didn't work, etc) that I'm going on the "belt *and* suspenders" theory, enough redundant multiple backups and you might actually manage to keep your data reasonably safe.

I don't keep any really critical personal information on my computer anyway.

[hobbit709]

4. Any critical or imprtant personal data I keep in my most secure facility.

Inside my skull. anything like system images I keep on a separate partition, on a separate drive and computer, and finally on a data disk.

I can be completely up and running after a total crash within a half hour.

[Occulus]

6. You should give Carbonite a look

They support strong encryption, as I understand it. Data backup in trickle mode to an offsite storage facility. I'd be a subscriber to their service myself if it weren't for the 700+ GIGABYTES I'd want to store.

Oh, and their service only works with internal drives, say sorry. You can't plug in a 2TB portable drive and upload its data.

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

12. But can you really trust Carbonite? Or other businesses that sell online encryption?

I'm like hobbit709

Any critical or important personal data I keep in my most secure facility.

Inside my skull. anything like system images I keep on a separate partition, on a separate drive and computer, and finally on a data disk.

I can be completely up and running after a total crash within a half hour.



It's all about trust. I don't trust online encryption services because of companies like AT&T.





Yea..I don't and/or like Big Brother!

[pokerfan]

5. Gspace

This extension allows you to use your Gmail Space (7.1 GB and growing) for file storage. It acts as an online drive, so you can upload files from your hard drive and access them from every Internet capable system. The interface will make your Gmail account look like an FTP host. After the installation, you'll get an option called "Gspace" in your "Tools" menu, which opens the GSpace window.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/gspace

[Old and In the Way]

7. I use a utility called G-mail Drive....it's pretty slick.

I like that it creates a drive icon in the My Computer folder. You can drag and drop after signing in. It uses the Google Gmail space each account has.

[ohheckyeah]

8. Thanks for the information.

I just downloaded it.

[canetoad]

9. This is a perfectly legit solution

for those whos files are kept purely for their own interest or entertainment.

Free online storage is always attractive. You get what you pay for.

My main objection is the advantage to be gained by a corporation when they are holders of valued files. Servers, drives, cost money to buy and maintain. The Google business model is not transparent to most people. How does Google make its money?

By participating in the 'Googlization' of the net, you are supporting a system. A system that may not be in the best interests of individuals and their right to privacy.

Do not be fooled by FREE this and that. Gigabytes of free storage....someone, somewhere is paying. It hasn't become completely apparent yet what Google's pay-off is by being indispensible. I can say with some authority that ultimately, it is not in the interest on the ordinary punter.

[Old and In the Way]

10. That's a concern of mine, too.

Interestingly, if you look at the Google forum, many ask why you can't upload password protected or encrypted folders and files. For some reason, Google isn't responding to these queries. :-)

[Old and In the Way]

11. Here's a couple of links for cloud storage.

http://lifehacker.com/#!5786884/cloud-storage-faceoff-windows-live-skydrive-vs-dropbox-vs-amazon-cloud-drive

http://lifehacker.com/#!5788508/use-multiple-online-cloud-storage-services-for-free-and-organized-backup

A drive has a huge 50GB option for free...but no encryption capabilities.

http://www.adrive.com/static/storageplans_basic