Mega Cloud Storage is a modern virtual storage of information that stands out among similar containers with an increased amount of free disk space - as much as 50 GB. Access from portable devices based on Blackberry, iOS, Android and Windows Mobile is supported. The founders of the service are the developers of the previously well-known file sharing service Megaupload.
Opportunities:
- a virtual file container with a large amount of free space (50 GB);
- data encryption using the AES algorithm;
- support for mobile devices;
- availability of add-ons for Chrome and Firefox;
- interface in Russian.
Principle of operation:
after downloading and launching, the utility will prompt you to enter your account data - you will not be able to use the service without registering. Then you should select the type of synchronization - full (all information is transferred to the "cloud") or custom (specific directories).
After entering the parameters, the application will be "minimized" to the system tray. By clicking on the icon, you can view the free space and add new folders for data exchange.
The program interface window is logically divided into five tabs. Thanks to Russian localization, even inexperienced users will be able to deal with the functionality. The most "delicious" in our opinion is in the last section (the "Advanced" button). Here you can set an individual algorithm for synchronizing certain types of objects.
Pros:
- large amount of "cloud";
- flexible price offers;
- you can set personal conditions for file sharing.
Minuses:
- small number of users on the RuNet;
- there are restrictions on traffic when downloading data from the "cloud" by a large number of users.
Mega Cloud is a worthy competitor even to the eminent Google Drive. The storage impresses with its simplicity, high degree of security and the availability of clients for popular platforms. Corporate clients will like the developers' loyal pricing policy and the opportunity to order a large amount of virtual storage space. For example, the Pro III plan offers a whopping 4 TB of space.
Analogues:
- Yandex.Disk - virtual storage from the developers of the most popular Runet search engine;
- Copy Cloud Storage is a powerful secure archive.
Today we will talk about the new mega storage. This service is quite young, but with serious intentions to compete with similar ones. Its primary feature that will possibly put it in the lead is the amount of free space provided equal to 50GB. Many cloud services charge a monthly fee for such a volume, but here 50GB and all this is free. And so, an overview.
Mega storage
This service is located at https://mega.co.nz/.
To enter the service, you need to go through a very simple registration procedure.
To begin with, we select the language in which we will work with the cloud and fill out a simple registration form, confirm the registration through a letter that will come to the mailbox specified in the registration. We log into your account.
You can see the membership here, it's free. There are also plant services that provide a larger volume for data transfer and storage. The next service package is called Pro 1 and starts at 500GB for storage and 1TB for data transfer. The package price is 9.99 euros. There are two more packages, Pro 2 and Pro 3.
Below you can see how much storage was used from the package provided to you. Here you can also make some simple settings necessary for using the repository.
If you go to the "file manager" you can see the standard file control panel.
Conducted a small test for uploading and downloading a file, getting a link. I am satisfied with the results, I recommend them for use.
1. Select the required file, right-click, and in the window that opens, select "Get link".
2. The window that appears will offer:
What do you mean with a key? This means that by clicking on this link, any user can access the file for downloading and viewing.
b) If the file contains confidential information and needs to be "encrypted". In this case, the link is copied to the clipboard without the key. The key is copied to the clipboard separately from the link.
To gain access to the file when you click on the link without a key, an additional window will appear in which you must enter the key.
The mail.ru cloud gives everyone 1TB of disk space from 12/20/2013 to 01/20/2014. Hurry 1TB.
And Microsoft SkyDrive.
But the MEGA cloud storage is not so well known, although it offers an unlimited free use of as many as 50Gb, available immediately after registration!
If you do not mind such a solid "increase" to the hard drive, and you want to know how to get these same 50 gigabytes and effectively dispose of them, then read today's review!
Where did the MEGA.NZ service come from?
Since you are going to entrust the service with some of your personal data, it will not be superfluous to find out where it actually came from, and who is behind it ...
You've probably heard about such storage as Megaupload. It was closed in 2012 by the decision of the US authorities - those involved in the creation of the service, including its founder Kim Dotcom, were accused by the FBI of copyright infringement (storage and distribution of licensed content). Exactly a year later, Kim Dotcom launched a new service on the mega.co.nz domain.
Currently, the entrance to the cloud is available at mega.nz, so if you come across similar reviews of this repository, where mega co or mega co nz is indicated as the address, you should know that they are hopelessly outdated :)
Do I need to register for Mega?
On the main page of the repository, you will see a big red button with a call to drag files onto it and start using the service.
One gets the feeling that registration for work is not needed at all. In principle, this is so - you can immediately upload some of your files to the cloud and even see them in the storage. However, without registration, your uploaded data will be deleted from the storage after you close the page or browser:
Therefore, go through the standard registration process, after which you will immediately receive 50 gigabytes of cloud space for free!
Required settings immediately after registration
Mega nz will pay great attention to data storage security and privacy. We will talk about this in detail a little later, but for now I will indicate what must be done immediately after registration.
Since the service does not store your password on its servers, if you lose it, you will not be able to restore access to your account. To avoid this problem, you need to download and save the recovery key on your PC:
This is a necessary precaution that should not be neglected! Agree, it will be a shame to lose all your files in the cloud just because you forgot your password.
How to use Mega storage
On the left side of the window in the menu, click on the cloud icon:
You will find yourself in your cloud drive. Using the tools in the upper part of the window, you can create new folders, upload files there and even upload ready-made folders with files from your computer.
Working with the storage interface is no more difficult than working with Explorer in Windows. Right-clicking on a folder or file brings up a context menu with a whole range of options.
With its help you can:
- Get information about an item (size, creation date, etc.)
- Assign colored labels and add to favorites
- Rename
- Move within disk, copy, delete
- Download
- Share folders
- Create a public link to download files
The developers, of course, took into account their negative experience with Megaupload, therefore, when creating a public link, such a window will be shown, with the terms of which you just have to agree:
The service does not impose any restrictions on the size of uploaded files! Within your 50 GB quota, you can upload thousands of small files, or, for example, two files of 25 gigabytes each. Keep in mind, however, that browsers themselves have functional limitations on the size of the files they can download. The most vulnerable browsers in this regard are Internet Explorer, Firefox and Safari, which do not yet fully support HTML5.
Sharing File Folders
You can organize general access to any folder in your online storage (share it). To do this, do the following manipulations:
- Click on it with the right mouse button and select the "Share" option in the drop-down context menu.
- Specify the email address of the user to whom you want to share access to the folder (you can specify a whole list of users at once).
- Select an access method: read-only, read-write, or full access.
After that, the specified user will receive an email with a link to access the shared folder.
How to link to a file in the Mega nz repository
In addition to accessing folders, you can allow any user to download some individual files from your repository.
To do this, right-click on any file in the cloud and select the "Get link" option:
- Link without decryption key
- Key link
Also in this window you can copy the decryption key itself separately. What is the difference between these types of links? And it is very important!
In the first case, the user, following the link, will have to enter the decryption key that you will tell him to download the file in a special window. And in the second case, the user follows the link with the already "embedded" security key and can immediately download the file.
For an overview of the storage functionality and settings that were not included in the review, see this video:
Why can Mega be trusted with personal data?
- The developers pay the utmost attention to the confidentiality of the stored data. The abbreviation MEGA itself stands for Mega Encrypted Global Access, i.e. Mega Encrypted Global Access).
- Encrypt files directly in the browser using the AES algorithm.
- The service does not store user passwords for accessing the cloud drive.
- All files in the vault are encrypted and cannot be viewed without a security key. Even if attackers gain access to the company's servers, they will not be able to read user data.
- Even for files intended for public download, you can generate access keys separately.
For an ordinary Internet user, it is currently not difficult to find and use a file-sharing cloud service for free - there are a lot of them. As they say, for every taste and color.
The new file-sharing service MEGA will be no exception. Have you heard of MEGA yet? MEGA is a new online file storage service created by renowned businessman Tim Dotcom. His previous service - Megaupload.com - closed due to severe pressure from anti-piracy lobbyists. But, Tim was released, and he took up the old and created a new service for storing files for users. Even cooler and more interesting. And although the project is still damp, it clearly has a future, since the previous file sharing Megaupload.com there were many fans.
Given his bitter experience, Tim Dotcom came to the conclusion that all files that are stored and uploaded to the service need to be encrypted. This will increase the security of users' use of cloud storage and prevent personal information from being "intercepted". Here in this video, Kim shares his opinion on information encryption and more.
Let's go back to the MEGA file hosting service.
It is not difficult to verify that the service is protected by an encrypted connection. If you look at the address bar of the browser (in this case, the Google Chrome browser), then it indicates that the connection was established using the secure https: // protocol. The letter s means secure(safe).
Previously, such a chip was used only by payment systems and sites on which you need to enter payment data. Now even search engines like Google use it.
Hope you find it interesting by now. So let's register on MEGA and find out what and how it works there.
I registered in the first days after the opening of the service. Then it was still very buggy, but despite this, I managed to download a number of files.
It is worth noting the fact that the service supports several languages (including Russian). This is a definite plus of the project.
In order to register, you need to go to the MEGA website and find the button " registration". Create a new account - specify the name (you can come up with any nickname), your e-mail and password.
We put a daw in the "" checkbox and press the "Register" button. A letter should come to the postal e-mail address shortly after registration. In the text of the letter, you need to find a link and follow it. This will be the confirmation of registration. That, in fact, is all. Registration is complete.
We go into the account by specifying the e-mail piles and password. Now let's create a new folder. We will do this in order not to get confused, because in the future there may be a lot of files. Find the red cloud icon in the file manager and right-click. A dropdown menu should appear. Here it is.
Let's name the new folder “ Books". We will put the e-books that we liked there :).
We press the button create. Observe that a new "Books" folder has appeared in the file manager.
Besides the fact that we can create a folder, we can delete an existing one. This is also easy to do. We need to specify the folder that we no longer need, and by right-clicking on it, select the item " Delete". Everything is intuitive.
In general, the interface is very similar to the operating system. Here you can also create a folder, rename it, move it or copy it. The same can be done with regular files. Try it yourself and you will quickly figure it out.
There is also a special folder - " Basket". Yes, yes, this is the same basket in which deleted files and folders accumulate. Just like in the operating system. And this is great because you can delete a file by mistake and regret it bitterly. The files are immediately deleted first into the "Recycle Bin" and they can be restored if desired. This is done with a simple move or copy command.
Apparently, the basket is cleaned only forcibly through the item " Empty trash". That is, deleted files are stored until you delete them completely and irrevocably.
Well, okay, distracted. Let's try to upload a file to the "Books" folder we have created. For a sample. Click on the "Books" folder in the " File manager". Next, click on the "Upload file" button located in the top menu.
A file selection window appears, select, click "Open".
At the bottom of the page, you can see the file upload progress.
If the status says “ pending ...", It means that the file is queued and awaiting download. This happens if several files or a folder with files are uploaded. Do not close your browser window. As soon as the download queue reaches the file with the "pending" status, the download process will begin, which can be monitored.
In addition to downloading individual files, you can download entire folders with files. To do this, press the "Upload folder" button and in the "Browse folders" window select the desired one, press OK. After confirming the selection, the download will start.
Here it is worth warning that downloading entire folders with many files can take many hours. The download time depends both on the load on the MEGA service itself and on the bandwidth of the Internet connection.
Now let's talk about how you can get a link to a file and transfer it to another. This is a file-sharing service.
If you look at the list of files, you can see that there is such an icon next to the name of each file. When you click on it, a window for obtaining a link to a file appears (" Links»).
It's not that simple with links. As already mentioned, all files are encrypted and transmitted over the network securely. In the window for obtaining a link to a file, there are several checkboxes (windows where they remove or tick off). Depending on which checkboxes we check, it will depend on which link we get.
If you check it, then only a link to the file will appear in the window. But the file cannot be downloaded from this link. We need a key to the file. It will be displayed if you check the file key checkbox.
File key... This is a certain combination of symbols that give access to the file when downloading. It will need to be entered by the recipient of the file in a special field on the download page.
File name... Check the box if you want the file name to be specified in the link. The same goes for the checkbox " file size". You can specify, but you can not. Here as you please :)
Let's see what happens if you specify only "" and "" + "in the link parameters. File key". Parameters " File name" and " file size»We will not indicate, since they do not particularly affect anything, but are purely informative.
Next, open a new browser tab and copy the text of the resulting link into the address bar. In this case, you can use a combination of hot keys CTRL + V... This combination is responsible for pasting the text copied to the clipboard. Follow the link and see the download page. The page is very nicely designed. In the central area of the page, we will see the following message.
Oops! Here they ask us some decryption key... Only knowing the key to the file can you download it. It is this key that we are invited to receive in the link receiving window.
So, we will get it and insert it into the field with the inscription “ Enter decryption key". Do not forget to put a tick in the box next to the inscription “ I agree to the MEGA terms of service».
We press the button " Download"and wait for the file to download.
As you can see, the download speed of the file is 864.5 kbps. , which is very much even a lot.
But what about those who do not like to play spies? In this case, when receiving a link to a file, put a tick in the checkboxes "" + " File key"And copy it.
That's it, now the link can be inserted into the text of the e-mail, ICQ messages and sent to the person to whom you want to transfer the file. At the same time, you will not need to enter any keys on the file download page, you just need to agree to the terms of service and click on the button " Download».
Now that we have successfully figured out the service interface, let's take a look at the settings. Go to the "Account" tab and go to the settings and parameters page.
The free account type on MEGA allows you to use 50 GB of cloud storage space.
If you want more - pay the money. But, for personal purposes, these 50 GB are quite enough. The paid account type has its advantages as well. The first is the increased download speed. Secondly, an increased amount of space on the service of 500 GB ( Pro Ⅰ), 2 TB ( Pro Ⅱ), 4 TB ( Pro Ⅲ).
The page also shows the percentage of used storage space.
You can also set the transfer parameters: limit the transfer rate, set the number of parallel connections. Here you can also enable / disable the function of skipping identical files when downloading, as well as using the secure SSL protocol. Disabling the secure data transfer protocol increases the download speed of files, since in this case redundant code is not used.
On the same page, you can see the balance (if a paid account type is used) and session history.
In this article, I will continue to talk about working with various online storages and consider 3 more good services: Cloud Mail, Mega and Microsoft OneDrive.
From this guide, you will learn how to register in each of the above services, as well as how to work with them through the Web interface and a special application for operating systems (I will show it using Windows as an example).
I talked about working with Yandex and Google drives in a separate previous article, since they are the most demanded and popular.
Each of the above 3 services provides its own certain volume for storing your data for free, and also has its own rules for expanding the volume both by paid and free means.
You can read such general information and a comparison of all the most popular online discs in a separate article:
Let's start with the Cloud @ Mail service.
Registration in the Cloud @ Mail service
The Mail service provides remote data storage with a free volume of 100 GB.
Let's consider step by step how to register and connect your account and get 100 GB at once.
Go to the Cloud @ Mail service page using the link:
At the very bottom of the page that opens, there will be a large button "Try the cloud". Click it:
A login form will appear. If you already have an account on Mail.ru (for example, e-mail), then just enter your username, password and click the "Login" button, after which you will immediately find yourself in your remote storage account from Mail.
If you do not have an account on Mail.ru, then click on the "Register" link:
A window with a registration form will open. Fill in all the fields with your data: Name, Surname, Date of birth, City, Gender.
In the "Mailbox" field, specify the desired login, which you will use to log into all Mail services in the future. For you, the mail of the following format will also be automatically registered: "Your [email protected]".
Below we indicate the password and repeat it in the next line. Try to specify a password that is more difficult for your own safety. In this case, Mail must report that the password is strong.
Next, you can specify your existing phone number and complete the registration, or you can skip entering the number (you can do this at any time) and specify a security question instead. To do this, click on the link "I do not have a mobile phone":
After clicking on this link, 3 more items will appear below. You need to fill in the top 2: "Secret question" and "Answer". In the first, you, respectively, choose a security question and below indicate the answer to it. This answer will come in handy in case you forget your account login information:
Press the button "Register".
A window for entering captcha will appear. Just specify the symbols exactly the same as in the picture on the right and click "Finish":
At this, registration has already been completed, but windows with settings will still appear. For example, in the next window, you are offered to collect all your mail from other mailboxes into one mailbox just created on Mail. Of course, if you constantly use the created mail from Mail, it makes sense to do this, but now we are not talking about working with mail and therefore press the "Skip" button:
In any case, you can set up mail collection at any time through your account settings.
Next, a settings window will appear, where they offer to put a signature, which will be attached to each letter you send from Mail and upload an avatar for your account. This does not affect the Cloud service, which we are considering, and therefore you can do it now, or you can do it later. Click the "Save" button:
This was the last settings window, after which you will go to your Mail account and mail will be opened first. Let's move on to examining the main functions when working with the "Cloud @ Mail" service through the Web interface.
Working with the "Cloud @ Mail" service via the Web interface
After you register an account in Mail, you will be immediately logged into the created account. From there, you can go to the online storage service by clicking on the button with the cloud image at the top of the window:
A window will open with a welcome from the service, where we just click "Next":
And in the last window, we accept the terms of the license agreement by ticking the appropriate box and click "Start work":
Moving on to the possibilities of working with an online disk from Mail through the Web interface
After switching to the online storage service from Mail, we will see the following interface:
Let's start looking at useful functions step by step:
On this, we have analyzed all the most important functions for working with the Cloud @ Mail service. Let's move on to examining how to work with the Cloud through a very convenient application for the Windows operating system.
Working with an online disk Cloud @ Mail via a Windows application
Working with any online disk through an application for your system is much more convenient and allows you to use more features, for example, the ability to download folders, not just files.
Let's consider everything in stages.
Installing the Cloud @ Mail application on your computer:
First you need to download the application. You can do this directly from the main window of your account by clicking on the "Download application for a computer" button:
If there are any requests, I can also tell you separately about working with any similar online storages through Smartphones / Tablets, which is also very convenient!
In a new window, we are asked to choose the operating system for which the application will be downloaded. In our examples, we are only considering Windows systems so far. But the principle of working with the application on other systems is completely similar. So, click on the button with the Windows image:
The installation file will download to your computer. Find it and run it:
In the first installation window, select the language and click "OK":
In the next step, you can change the installation path by clicking the "Browse" button, if necessary. But I recommend leaving the default path.
You will now be prompted to change the folder in the Start menu. There is no sense in this, but if you want to change - click "Browse" and select another folder.
In the penultimate installation window, we can disable the automatic launch of the application on Windows startup and disable the creation of a desktop icon. Whether to create a shortcut on the desktop or not is up to you and you can create it in the future at any time. But I recommend that you never disable the launch function with Windows so that your files are always synchronized with your account, and you always have access to the latest versions of your files from any of your devices. Otherwise, you will forget to start the application manually, and in this case, changes in your previously downloaded files will no longer be saved to the server.
After you have chosen what you need, click "Next":
Well, in the last window, click the "Install" button:
Installation usually takes a few seconds.
At the last finishing stage, click "Finish", leaving the "Launch Cloud Mail.ru" checkbox checked, so that the application starts immediately:
Everything! The application is now installed on your computer. Let's start working with it.
Working with Cloud Mail through the application installed on the computer:
The first step is to sign in to your account. The authorization window will be displayed immediately after you install the application.
We enter the username and password for the account in Mail (it must be indicated in the format of your e-mail to Mail), leave a checkmark “I agree with the terms of the license agreement” and click “Login”:
After that, the application will be launched. It will appear in the Windows tray and you will receive a notification:
Access to your account folder [email protected].
So, the application is working. In order to see the files that have already been uploaded to the Cloud, open the specially created folder “Cloud Mail.ru”. This can be done from a shortcut on the desktop:
You can also always open the disk folder by double-clicking on the Cloud Mail icon in the tray.
In the folder, you will already see all your files previously uploaded via the Web interface, for example:
Uploading files to the Cloud via the app is as easy as shelling pears. Just copy to the Cloud Mail.ru folder all the files and folders that you would like to upload to your Mail online disk:
Please note that now, using the application for a computer, you can download entire folders in addition to files!
To check if the files have been fully downloaded to your disk, right-click on the application icon in the tray:
If all the files are loaded, the top will say: "Synchronized", if the download is still in progress, it will be written "Synchronization in progress."
Removing files from your vault is also easy. To do this, you just need to delete them from the Cloud Mail.Ru folder on your computer.
Let's consider the last important function through the application - access to download the selected file to other users.
In order to get a link to download any file on your disk through the application, open the Cloud Mail.ru folder, where all your files are located, right-click on the desired one and select "Cloud @ Mail.Ru: Copy public link ":
This is where we have analyzed all the main functions of working with the Cloud @ Mail.Ru service, and it's time to move on to the next service - Mega.
Registration in the Mega service
Consider the process of creating an account in the Mega file storage, which provides 50 GB of free disk space for free. As you can see, the service is in English by default, but you can change the language to Russian immediately after creating an account.
So, let's start the registration:
This completes the creation of your account! Now let's move on to examining the functionality through a standard Web interface (i.e., through a browser).
Working with online storage Mega through the Web interface
After you register an account, the service interface will look like this:
Let's start to consider all the main functions of the service step by step:
Now let's look at interacting with the online Mega storage through a dedicated Windows application.
Online Mega storage management via Windows app
Let's start by installing the app:
First, you need to download the application as usual. You can do this from your account.
Go to the "Menu" section, select the "Applications" submenu and then the "Synchronization Application" item:
On the new page, go down a little and press the button "Download free for Windows":
The file will automatically download. Sometimes you need to specify the download folder manually. It depends on the browser.
After the file is downloaded, find it on your computer and run:
The installation process will begin. Such programs usually have much the same installation process. In the first window, select the language and click "OK":
We accept the license agreement by clicking "Accept":
At the next stage, I recommend switching the button to the "Install for anyone using this computer" item, which means - to install for all users of this computer, so that in the future there will be no problems with access to the program:
In the next window, you can specify a different name for the folder in the Start menu, where the program shortcuts will be placed. It is most convenient to leave the default name. Press the "Install" button:
The process of downloading additional files for installation will begin, which will take about a minute:
In the last window, click the "Finish" button, leaving the checkbox "Run MEGAsync 1.0.36":
The software has been installed at this point and now some configuration steps will begin. In the next window, check the item "I have a MEGA account" if you have already registered, for example, according to the instructions from this article:
If you have not registered yet, then select the second item and go through the registration. Accordingly, I will not re-examine this process.
In a new window, enter the login (E-Mail) and password that you specified during registration and click "Next":
Now, from the two synchronization options, select "Full Synchronization", so that all files and folders that you have already downloaded to the Mega storage are synchronized with your computer (ie, you can see the downloaded folders and files right on your computer):
Press the "Forward" button.
We are now given the option to change the folder for the Mega storage on your computer. In this folder, you will download all the files you want them to appear on the online drive. You can leave the default folder, or you can change it by clicking "Change". As a rule, I leave the paths the same, because this is more convenient and, in principle, it makes no sense to change the path.
After that, click "Forward":
In the last window, click the only button "Finish":
This completes the installation of the application. Immediately after installation, you will receive a notification, and in the Windows tray there will be an application icon - Mega:
Let's move on to the principle of working with the Mega service through the installed application.
Management of online storage Mega through the application
The Mega desktop app has no settings and it's easy to manage. Any computer user can handle it :)
Let's analyze everything that is available to us through the application:
The Mega storage has been sorted out too. And now let's take a look at the last service that I promised to talk about in this article - Microsoft OneDrive.
Sign up to Microsoft OneDrive cloud storage
Microsoft's OneDrive gives you 15GB of free storage, comparable to the free storage provided by Google.
Let's start the registration process:
Immediately after completing the last step, a page with your online storage on OneDrive will open.
Let's consider how to work with it through a browser.
Working with OneDrive via the web interface
The OneDrive service interface looks like this:
As you can see, it is, in principle, similar to all similar services that we considered earlier. The principle of interaction here is also exactly the same. Let's analyze it:
In general, there is nothing complicated in this service either :)
And finally, I'll show you how to work with OneDrive through the application, as I showed earlier for all similar services.
Working with OneDrive through the Windows app
OneDrive online storage app is not supported on Windows XP!
Installing the application on a computer:
Everything! The OneDrive desktop app is fully installed and configured. It remains to consider how to work with it.
Manage your OneDrive online with the Windows app
Well, in principle, managing your OneDrive storage through an installed application is nothing new. Everything is exactly the same as in the previously considered similar services. Read below and see for yourself :)
Well, that's all. There are no other special features in the OneDrive app. Everything is exactly the same as in the previously reviewed applications from other developers.
Today I told you about working with 3 more services that provide a normal free volume for storing files, and I’ll probably stop there. Of course, there are a dozen more similar services, but very many do not provide more than 5 GB of free space for free. For example, the well-known Dropbox provides only 2 GB of space for free, which is too little, and, accordingly, you have to pay money for the extension.
Therefore, I think that the services that you familiarized yourself with in my articles are enough for you above the roof for convenient work with your data :)
Have a nice day! Till;)
