Protect Your Files With Dropbox
Recently, I’ve had a few people ask me about file storage and backup options. You should be backing up your computer on a regular basis (more about that in another post) but a great alternative to storing your files on your desktop or an external hard drive is online file storage. A service such as Dropbox is a free* solution for backing up your files AND syncing them across multiple computers. Access your files from your computer, or anywhere by logging into your Dropbox account online. There’s even Dropbox apps for the iPhone, Blackberry, and Droid so you can view your account and files right from your phone. Your files are safe and secure, but if you want to share files with certain people, you can do that too. Don’t want to send large files by email? Send your contacts a link to a shared folder on Dropbox instead!
*The free account starts at 2GB of space, but you can earn up to 8GB just by inviting friends to sign up for an account.
I strongly recommend Dropbox for any professional that uses a computer daily. I started using it about 8 months ago and it was the best thing I did. I chose for the paid service so I could get more storage, but the price is nothing when compared to the cost of lost work. All it takes is your hard drive failing and forgetting to back up that day or that week and you’ve just lost a day or a week or more of work. Being a graphic designer – it’s not that easy to recreate work quickly. nnTrue story, last week my main computer was having “issues”, we re-imaged the machine and it seemed to be working, but the next day – the hard drive failed. I did not have that sinking feeling in my stomach as I would have because I was up and running in no time on my laptop after my Dropbox synced. Now a new hard drive has been put in my main computer and once again I am up and running, nothing lost. Dropbox has given me piece of mind, now who wouldn’t want that. nn