A great reason to avoid 'cloud' services...

[smallhagrid]

I have been reluctant to embrace most 'online' services pretty much forever since they appeared.

Paid or free - they all have one thing in common:

They tend to dry up and blow away - and too often with zero warning.

The latest sad shutdown is Dump Truck.

(https://www.goldenfrog.com/blog/dump-truck-to-be-discontinued)

October 20, 2015
Goodbye, Dump Truck

As of December 19, 2015 Golden Frog’s secure online storage product, Dump Truck, will be discontinued.

It was a very nice offering and even more useful via android apps which allowed it to be used as local storage as well as the same ability from pretty much any PC OS.

For this user it became obvious that having one's own domain(s) and hosted space is always FAR preferable to using 3rd party 'online services'.

Of course hosting providers are not immune to failure either - thus no solution is anyplace near perfect - but at least having one's own web space is a bit less likely to go -POOF- than some faceless 3rd party thing.

A couple of things I'd like to add here for anyone who may be interested:

- Freebies, for example:

I use 000webhost for a free domain (which is actually a subdomain, but I don't care) and hosting.

Have for years actually - with very good reliability.

This is a great way to have an isolated email address (or 10 ?!?), and you can use their free 1.5GB of hosted space for lots of other things too. (They do not offer WebDisk, sadly)

- Paid hosting:

There's a zillion providers for this and I will not recommend FOR any one - but I strongly recommend AGAINST using 1&1, hostgator and several others which I will disclose if asked via PM.

Cheap hosting is very easy to get, and use, along with either a free domain name or a cheap paid one - but the best method I've found is to get cheap, off-shore reseller hosting.

(Here again I will not post any names but will discuss this if asked via PM.)

Then, using that to make your very own, private, personal 'cloud storage'...

The best way I've found is to either use an app that maps FTP to a drive letter - or get good hosting that includes WebDisk access.

Here are some free apps that allow mapping FTP to a drive letter:

http://www.ferrobackup.com/map-ftp-as-disk.html

http://www.killprog.com/fdrve.html

http://www.netdrive.net/

(There are also payware ones like ExpanDrive and WebDrive.)

This is not the most lightning-fast way of doing things, so huge files will upload/download only as fast as your ISP & hardware allow - but:

It is still better (IMO) than using the same type of speed to put & take files from some 3rd party site that could be gone without warning tomorrow.

Addendum, in light of the replies posted:

My bad here - mostly aimed the OP at data storage, but the truth is that I was wanting to aim at most all 'online services'.

Too many things are now site & membership oriented - and could just dry up any minute, for example:

• Evernote and it's competitors;
• Online diaries;
• Password saving utilities;
• Backup utilities;
• Feed aggregators;
• Photo storage sites;
• Anything which has some sort of app connection between their site and a PC, tablet or phone.

Many or most of the above can be created as privately as desired upon one's own domain & hosting, and;

Even though the internet as a whole is not very secure OR privacy-oriented, this is still one step better than entrusting the big 'G' - mikr0$0ft - or some other 3rd party with one's personal and/or private stuff.

Sorry for not being more clear to start with.

[Sylence]

It's not really about cloud services, it's about web hosting services. cloud drive services like Google drive and One drive are reliable.

But anyway a great reason to avoid 'cloud' services: your data is more secure in your local drives than in cloud drives ;)

[Hated On Mostly]

Why don't you just post the web hosting companies you recommend and are against instead of having people PM you? <_< :why:

That way the information can be shared with more people and discussion can occur.

[shorty6100]

I don't trust/use any cloud-type service, including one drive. I save all my important files to an external hard drive. When that fails, I will transfer to a new external hard drive and so on.

[Hated On Mostly]

The discussion is occurring. Three posts, and counting is a discussion.

- Paid hosting:

There's a zillion providers for this and I will not recommend FOR any one - but I strongly recommend AGAINST using 1&1, hostgator and several others which I will disclose if asked via PM.

Cheap hosting is very easy to get, and use, along with either a free domain name or a cheap paid one - but the best method I've found is to get cheap, off-shore reseller hosting.

(Here again I will not post any names but will discuss this if asked via PM.)

[dMog]

i use icloud google drive and the microsoft one dive ...but only for nob sensitive stuff,,like some pictures from vacations to show people when we travel.as we only bring a cell phone with us ... no sensitive documents or stuff

[straycat19]

Most of the online storage I've acquired is empty, and unused. Maybe less than a single percent of the stuff I've uploaded is important to me. The remaining percentage is mostly fluff.

Everything I have stored in the cloud is also stored on my NAS and I don't use it much, just occasionally to share something with my daughter or a friend. And definitely nothing stored out there that I wouldn't care if the whole world saw.

[C.G.B. Spender]

Use only cloud from big companies that won't go down due to having monopoly in their field, i.e. Microsoft, Google etc. I've had data on Google Drive over 10 years now and never any problem.

[Pete 12]

This "cloud-services" is a Russian Roulette-game, you can never be really sure whether your data is safe..........

[smallhagrid]

In light of my omissions, I have added some thoughts at the end of the OP to clarify what I was really trying to say when I posted it - I goofed in that posting - sorry.

What a concept !!:

Use only cloud from big companies that won't go down due to having monopoly in their field, i.e. Microsoft, Google etc. I've had data on Google Drive over 10 years now and never any problem.

To deliberately -trust- any openly monopolistic company...wow.

Very precisely said - thank you !!:

This "cloud-services" is a Russian Roulette-game, you can never be really sure whether your data is safe..........

'Safe' is a wide-ranging word - not only applying to whether it will be there when you want it - but also whether it is yours anymore or whether ONLY you are using it or being able to say who has access to it.

The ONLY thing I count upon if I use anything from any giant megapoly is that nothing stored there is EVER private or safe at all.

Thanks for the great replies Folks.

[dcs18]

My personal preference is to stay away from anything even remotely resembling the cloud — despite the fact that I have never been bitten.

[Jordan]

This "cloud-services" is a Russian Roulette-game, you can never be really sure whether your data is safe..........

of course it's not safe as you put it on other (unknown) hands!

Every data shared online is no more private.

that's why a personal computer is called...personal ,-)

[Hated On Mostly]

000webhost just exposed a bunch of information

https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2015/10/30/webhosting-company-loses-13m-plaintext-passwords/

[smallhagrid]

Admitted to it publicly & via mass email to their users too:

000webhost just exposed a bunch of information

https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2015/10/30/webhosting-company-loses-13m-plaintext-passwords/

They then proceeded to make things right on their 100% free servers.

As I've said before - I've been a user there for years already, its never cost me a nickel - and for free it is pretty doggone good.

Personally, I've used & noticed other 100% free hosting services appear & suddenly disappear within the same period of time;

I've also paid a few services that suddenly dried up and blew away with zero warning & 100% data loss with zero refunds.

The way I see it:

The internet is a wide-open - almost unlimited network - and pretty much anything can happen to anyone who is using it - anywhere & anytime.

[Jordan]

Admitted to it publicly & via mass email to their users too:

000webhost just exposed a bunch of information

https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2015/10/30/webhosting-company-loses-13m-plaintext-passwords/

They then proceeded to make things right on their 100% free servers.

As I've said before - I've been a user there for years already, its never cost me a nickel - and for free it is pretty doggone good.

Personally, I've used & noticed other 100% free hosting services appear & suddenly disappear within the same period of time;

I've also paid a few services that suddenly dried up and blew away with zero warning & 100% data loss with zero refunds.

The way I see it:

The internet is a wide-open - almost unlimited network - and pretty much anything can happen to anyone who is using it - anywhere & anytime.

companies always complain about their rights, funds & piracy. why users doesn't have same rights?

Taking money from users & disappear is piracy too!

if you download a song you are a pirate & you're exposed to penalties by law

if a company took your money go to hell & you're exposed to stomach ulcer

sounds crazy!!!

[HNB]

Im using dropbox service since 4 years.

I have chosen this cloud service because of its sync function, i m moving from home pc, home laptop, office pc and office laptop without an HD and USB cable everywhere.

Data is sensitive, but i think cloud services companies are improving security with cryptage these last months.