How to Find the Best Online Storage Service
There are a lot of online storage services available today but the key to having complete confidence that your files and data are securely backed up is choosing the best online storage solution there is.
Online storage of our most important information as well as digital photos and copies of important papers is a fact of life today. Important information such as taxes, personal items such as family photos and many other things that are now digitized can be lost in seconds if they are on a computer that suddenly loses its hard drive. By subscribing to an online storage service, all these documents will be safe.
And if you think that backup functions are all these services can offer, think again. Here is a rundown of what other benefits can be had from storing your data "in the cloud."
Protection from Data Loss. Computers have a finite life span and hard drives, being mechanical, have an even shorter life span. It is not unusual to go through two or three hard drive replacements in the course of a computers lifetime. The data lost on your computer sometimes can never be recovered.
Data Access from Any Location. You can certainly buy an external drive to back up your data but it will not give you access to your files from any location. With an online storage service you can get to your files from any spot where there is an internet connection.
File Sharing. Many online storage services feature a file sharing option. Share work with colleagues or photos with family members from your online account.
After analyzing these benefits, the ultimate question is what to look for in a storage service. Therefore, when you will find yourself comparing various backup solutions, you should ask yourself the following five questions:
What features come with the package?
The basic features that most online backup services offer are file storage, remote file access, file sharing, automatic backups, and easy file uploading and downloading. Identify the features you need the most and check out which is the best online storage service for that category.
Is the service secure?
When it comes to online storage services, security is an important aspect. As compared to external hard drives where you definitely have physical control over the files, you might think that your confidential files could be violated by unauthorized access when dealing with online backup services. However, this is not true. Online storage backup services use encryption technology and are protected through passwords in order to make sure that the files are not corrupted in any possible way.
How do I decide what is the best value for the money?
There are numerous online storage services that are totally free. However, you should compare their features with those charging a small fee. It may be that the fee you pay is well worth the service you are purchasing, such as unlimited storage space.
Will it be easy to use?
Online storage services must be user-friendly because otherwise the file backup will not be as efficient and effective as guaranteed. If you find a softaware that seems too difficult and complicated that you should scratch it off the list.
Is there technical support when I need it?
We all need help now and then and you should make sure that the service you choose has online tutorials, a help desk hotline as well as online email and chat support. Many do not have 24x7 chat but will offer 24 x7 call in support.
