If you are looking for a down-and-dirty way to store your files in the cloud and have access to them, Dropbox may be an option. It's quick, it gets the job done, but it certainly isn't the most secure method of data storage.
Dropbox is an Internet-based storage service that gives users 2 GB of free storage space. After that, prices go to $9.99 per month for 50 GB and then $19.99 per month for 100 GB.
Don't misunderstand. Dropbox does provide some security. A client gets downloaded from getdropbox.com and, after install, a folder called "My Dropbox" is placed onto their machine. The client creates two folders by default: Photos and Public. Data transferred between these folders and Dropbox servers are protected with SSL. In addition, before it is stored on Dropbox's back end, that data is encrypted with AES-256.
One issue, though. Once you give access to the "Photos" folder, a user can peruse your photo album and any sublevel albums.
The folders that reside on the client side allow the syncing up of data between multiple machines. Each machine involved in the synchronization must have the Dropbox client installed. The client software can be installed on Windows, Mac or Linux, placing an icon on the system tray in Windows for quick access.
Users can log into an account management area from the getdropbox.com. From here, users can do things like add users to shared content, upload files, and also revert files back to a specific version or undelete a file. This is because Dropbox takes a snapshot every time a file change occurs.
Dropbox is comparable to other online storage services of this nature. It gets a bonus for the snapshot feature. It's a good alternative to having to remember to carry around flash drives, or having to send untold amounts of e-mail attachments to share data with others. But it's probably not the place you would want your most sensitive data to reside.
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