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David Bogle wants to share files with family history of relatives abroad, while maintaining private




I have accumulated a wealth of data on our family history (documents, photos, etc.), I keep a folder on my computer. This folder is divided into 37 sub-folders, some of which also have subfolders. This is equivalent to 1 GB of data to date. I want to share this information with other family members in various parts of the world - safely, given its personal nature. I was going to copy the files onto a CD and post it, but if a CD is lost, anyone could easily access data Options have taken into account:.

1. Data encryption, but I'm not sure how to do that.

2. Using pen drives that I think can be password protected. But they are a bit expensive.

3. Loading data something like SkyDrive and DropBox. The problem is that the limits on the amount of data and records.

suggestions or recommendations?

David Bogle

It's a tough question because there are dozens of different ways of sharing files and photos, and families have different levels of interest and knowledge of computers. You can try a couple of different approaches with a family member before choosing what you think is good for all concerned.

about a decade ago, many of us use Yahoo Groups, called eGroups to Yahoo bought in 2000. It was easy to create a private group of family where people could have conversations online and share files and photos - just what you want

Yahoo made changes that affect many regular users (or at least some voice users), and thought you might be gone, but still going to groups.yahoo.com. However, each group has only 100 MB of free storage, and Yahoo does not sell extra space. This means that it is not an option for your gigabyte of data, although they can still appeal to other readers.

Today, most people would do the same kind of thing to form a closed user group on Facebook. Conversations in the group can not be seen by non-members. Facebook offers a free and easy to share low-resolution versions of photos, and you can add to groups, but I worry about keeping private. In addition, although you can create documents in groups, Facebook is not suitable for storing files.

SkyDrive

Microsoft is a better alternative because it can handle files of original documents and photographs, but the main attraction is that it offers 25 GB of free space. You can share things with other family members by e-mail a link to an article that could be a single photo or an entire folder.

The modern equivalent of sending a bunch of CDs or DVDs is to download the files to what seems now to be called "cyberlockers." You compress and password protect your files, into manageable chunks - about 200 MB to 400 MB, maybe - and upload them to a cyberlocker family members to download. You members of the family mails just a link to each file and (separately) to tell them the password.

There are dozens of free sites available cyberlocker, although some of them have stopped working after the United States against Kim Megaupload Dotcom in New Zealand. (Cyberlockers are often - but not exclusively - used to share copyright music and video files.) However, you can create a free account on Rapidshare, which has no limit on the size of files you can download . Files are not stored permanently unless you buy a pro account, in which case the space is Rapidshare "unlimited".

MediaFire is a popular alternative, but does not allow a password-protected files (which were used to hide the unacceptable content) and free users can not upload files larger than 200MB . The prohibition of password protection is as far as you are concerned - you need passwords for privacy - if you can sign up for a pro account

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