Networking & wireless forum: How can I share data files with someone in a different location?

I downloaded and tried both DropBox and Windows Live Mesh.
The description of syncing with Windows Live Mesh sounded like exactly what I wanted. Changes in a synced folder on one computer would be copied to the corresponding synced folder on our other computer. It took me a long, somewhat frustrating time to get Windows Live Mesh installed on our Vista laptop, partly because I had to do so many updates to get the computer ready. But I finally got it installed and tested it out.

Maybe, probably, I did something wrong, but the synced files didn't go to the correct folders on either computer. In fact, on the Vista computer the sub-folders were transferred - shifted around, but all were empty!

VERY DISAPPOINTING.

I'll stay with Drop Box which works as advertised. It means I have to move the updated or newly created files into the proper place on the alternate computer, but at least they are there and up-to-date.

Since the free version is only 2 gigabyte, I'll use it for key files that one of us changes while either or both of us are on the road.

For most work at home, I copy all changes onto corresponding folders on our go-flex external drive attached to our router. The filing arrangement is the same on both our computers and the external drive. We also dump a copy of any new or changed file into a special drop-box-like folder on the external drive. That is a reminder to enter that updated file on the alternate computer.

Pity the Win Live Mesh didn't work as expected, but for me it is not worth the aggravation to try to find a way to make it work right.

This is a long & interesting thread. Please re read carefully and you will notice 4 other posts mentioning Windows Live Mesh

Many people mentioned the Dropbox. The dropbox is not good for the video uploading and sharing. Sharing video file is very slow. The Dropbox is not perfect for all the files sharing.

File sharing and configuration control with Subversion (SVN) is my answer. SVN is a popular and very well implemented, opensource (did I say free?) configuration control system: ( http://subversion.tigris.org/ ) that runs on most platforms.

The SVN repository must be hosted somewhere which entails a bit of work, but there are cloud-based free or inexpensive SVN services out there like Beanstalk ( http://beanstalkapp.com/ ).

Each workstation needs a client application to checkin and checkout files. I use and suggest opensource TortoiseSVN ( http://tortoisesvn.net/ ) which integrates smoothly with Windows.

There is some learning involved, but the benefits are vast.

Enjoy!

As most of us can send files up to the limit allowed via your regular email account This goes direct to the other persons account.

If you trust the person on the other end you might be able to use Team Viewer

You can also reduce the size of the fille using a photo editor ... You can use a ZIP program for this as well.

These suggestions should not be overlooked ... always scan the file with a Anti Virus.malware program before sending or receving a data file.

DAP is a great Download program ...

Especfially at work. At work (I work for the government), the people in my department were working with a local (but large) police department to implement a solution using one of these online public cloud services. That police department backed out at the last minute. Why? Because neither of the BIG providers are CJIS-compatible. They wanted to keep criminal and case data on the public clouds so it is readily available to everyone. Unfortunately, we have laws governing this in the U.S. The Criminal Justice Information Service dictates standards and, despite the use of a police office in one of their testimonial ads, neither of the big guys are legal for them to put this data on. Let's also look at the medical industry. Doctors, Health Maintenance Organizations, etc. There are also laws that dictate what a doctor's office can and cannot do. This is commonly refered to as "HIPAA" or "HITECH". Please look these up. While they do say that medical records must be encrypted while at rest or in transit (over a network), they also specify who is not allowed to view this data.


So, what it boils down to is this: Let's take Google but you will find that dropbox is about the same:

If you are dealing with criminal data, CJIS has a say in who can see that data. If you are dealing with medical records, HIPAA dictates the same thing. Both of the BIG services discussed here tell you straight up-front that they look at your stuff. That their employees look at your stuff. There are articles out there they say you may be subject to a HIPAA fine if you put this kind of data on these services. At my office, a violation (not a breach) is suppossed to bring a fine of $1.5 million. Google, only as an example, has stated that no public cloud is compatible with CJIS. Not true, take a look at DATAMAXX (2 X's). As far as HIPAA is concerned, reportedly, Google said that THEY are not subject to HIPAA laws. That has not been determined, to my knowledge one way or another but certainly the medical offices that put data on these services are responsible. Google (according to their FAQ's) assumes "no responsibility" for the user's HIPAA certification.

So, if we go back to the original question asked, should one put their business data on Google or Dropbox? The answer is that it depends. Was the person part of a medical group? Were they a government agency or a law firm concerned with confidential case data? Were they one of the myriad firms that I buy things from and are they planning to keep my credit card data online? (Just like HIPAA and CJIS, the credit card processors have to conform to a set of laws called the FACT Act).

I don't believe that any of the general public services screen any of their employees especially with servers kept around the world. Do they read your UPLOADS? The big guys say that they do read them. It's in the Terms and I'm not making this up. Is this a violation? Maybe? I don't know if it is but it should be. I'd not sure I trust my credit card, medical information nor criminal history to someone in a foreign country who makes a lower wage than someone making U.S. minimum wage? I'm not predjudice but look at the economics.

On the question of losing your data. While I know that both Google and Dropbox have had hacking "adventures" that exposed data, I don't know if they ever lost data at least permenently. If they don't like your data, they say they can shut down your account, but I don't know if anything has ever gotten permanently lost. But maybe hardware and software issues could result in temporary loss of your data, even when you need it the most. Like during a presentation. Read their terms. They all say that they have NO RESPONSIBILITY for anything.

If you are talking about files then I would be very happy if you can state precisely which files u are talking about. Is it Images, documents, spreadsheet data, music?? I must say that u can all do that just by asking that some one to install Google drive https://drive.google.com/start n then u can share all the above mentioned files with him.
If you are very specific about files such as spreadsheet data o music then, ample number of tools are available which target a specific need. Just as CollateBox http://www.collatebox.com/ can be tremendous for online data sharing.