Q: What Are the Best Free Cloud Storage Options?
I’d like to protect my most important photos and files with an extra backup. What are some options?
A: You can sign up for a free cloud drive to use for redundant backups of your most precious data.
Do you have loads of old digital photos and maybe some treasured scanned documents? They deserve extra protection.
Computer backups are, of course, essential to protect you from losing everything in a disaster. If you use a good cloud backup company, store backup drives in another local location, or both, you are very safe.
But nothing is perfect. If disaster does strike, you’d feel a lot safer if you knew you weren’t 100 percent dependent on a single backup to restore all your most precious digital memories and records.
Free Cloud Drives
Google, Microsoft, and Apple all offer small amounts of free cloud storage. Their services can automatically back up and manage photographs and other files. Regrettably, you could lose access to these accounts for any number of reasons.
Don’t worry! You can add extra protection for free. Plenty of other companies offer you free storage space in their data centers. You can complement your normal backups with extra copies of selected files and folders.
Here is a comparison of several of the many free cloud drive options:
- pCloud (5 to 10 GB free). One of my faves. Automatic backups, sync option, the ability to select any files and folders, good lifetime paid plans.
- Koofr (10 GB free). Heavy emphasis on security and privacy. Based in the EU. Inexpensive monthly, annual, and lifetime plans.
- Proton Drive (5 GB free). Reputable nonprofit with the best privacy and security. Based in Switzerland. Pricey for more space.
- Icedrive (10 GB free). Highly secure with zero-knowledge technology. Normal pricing for larger plans.
- Dropbox (2 GB free). Small free space. No small-size paid plans.
Concerned About Security?
Are you concerned about the cloud storage vendor, or anyone else, stealing your cloud files or snooping around in them? Use Cryptomator or Rclone to encrypt your files before they are uploaded to your cloud drive. They are both open-source, free, and well-maintained.
To ensure you don’t lose access to your cloud drive account or any encrypted files, keep your login and passwords in a secure place that you can reach in an emergency.
If you don’t choose to use the cloud for extra backups, consider using backup software and USB drives that you take to another location. But you’ll need to be diligent about running and rotating your backups. A cloud drive account can do that work for you automatically.
Techie: Wells H. Anderson, JD, GPSolo eReport Contributing Technology Editor and CEO of SecureMyFirm, can be reached at 952/922-1120 or through www.securemyfirm.com. Their focus is on protecting small firms from cyber threats with affordable, multiple layers of defense.