Dropbox is a high quality online data backup service providing free file sharing. It lets you store your files, pictures and any other important documents. It provides three user plans on sign up:
- Basic (free) – 2GB+ - offering free backup of your files within a limited space
- Pro (starting from $9.99 a month) – 100GB+ - offers enough space for all your documents, files and pictures.
- Business (starting from $15 a month per user) – 5+ users – provides as much space as you need, offering various admin features.
Dropbox is a great way to sync your files on your various workstations and mobile devices. It allows you to perform collaboration with other users, store documents and share them via links. Your files are always available on the Dropbox website. Dropbox works with Windows, Mac, Linux, iPad, iPhone, Android and BlackBerry.
When you make changes to a file, Dropbox transfers just the parts of a file that change. It does not transfer the whole file, and this way it uses less space of your quota. Dropbox doesn't hog your connection and it synchronizes your files flawlessly, without you even noticing.
You can invite other user to take advantage of the files you share, as if you've saved the folder to their own devices. By using the Public folder, you can send a link to any file you've synced.
The mobile app helps you keep your files at an arm's length. You can edit your Dropbox files from your phone, easily upload them to Dropbox and share them freely with others.
How safe it is? Any changes you make on your files can be undone and any files can be undeleted because Dropbox keeps a history of your changes. By its encryption, Dropbox also provides you with high security for your data.
The Dropbox account:
When you first open your Dropbox account, you are introduced to the following screen:
It is very user-friendly, so you will probably not have any difficulties when you start using it. A Dropbox folder is automatically created on your computer. Any file you save to your Dropbox folder is also saved to all your Dropbox using devices and the Dropbox website.
The Files folder provides the following view of the files you've synced:
Dropbox on your computer:
The Dropbox right-click menu offers features, such as sharing a folder with other users; viewing previous versions of your files; viewing a file on the Dropbox website; and getting a link to share your documents with other users even if they do not have a Dropbox account. The Dropbox icon on your screen shows you the status of your Dropbox files – whether they are in a process of syncing or they are already synced.
The cons against the service are mostly related to its price. It is a bit pricier than similar online cloud backup services but we believe it is worth it.
