Cloud storage is file storage in the cloud (online). Instead of keeping your files on your local hard drive, external hard drive, or USB flash drive, you can save them online
There are many reasons to use cloud storage services. Maybe your local hard drives are running out of disk space, in which case you can use the cloud as additional storage. If you want to be able to stream your music collection from anywhere, access your work files from home, easily share vacation videos, etc., you can upload your files online to a cloud storage service. Another reason to use cloud storage is that you want to keep your important files safe behind password and encryption.
In short, cloud storage is useful not only for backup, but also for security and the ability to easily share files with others or access them yourself from anywhere: your phone, your tablet or another computer.
How cloud storage works
When you download a file from the internet and that file stays there for an extended period of time, it is called cloud storage. The simplest type of cloud storage is uploading something to a server and having the ability to retrieve it if desired.
A reputable cloud storage service protects files with encryption and requires you to enter a password to access them. Most of the time, the cloud storage account can also be protected with two-factor authentication, so anyone who wants to access your files needs to know not only the password, but also another code sent to your phone. when requesting connection.
Most cloud storage services allow you to upload all types of files: videos, photos, documents, music or others. However, some only accept certain file types, such as images or music.
Cloud storage services are usually pretty clear about what’s allowed and what’s not.
Different cloud storage services allow you to upload files to your online account through different methods. Some only support in-browser downloads, meaning you have to log into the cloud storage service’s website to download your data, but most have desktop apps that make it easier for a user to download files. simple drag and drop in the dedicated folder of the service.
Less common, torrent cloud storage services are online torrent clients that not only allow you to download torrents from your browser, but also store your files in your online account to stream or download later.
Once your files are stored online, depending on how the service works, the features you get may include the ability to stream videos and music, access files from your mobile device, easily share files with other people through a special sharing link, downloading the files to your computer, deleting them to free up space on your account, encrypting them so even the service can’t see them, etc. .
Both work similarly and have a similar end result: files are stored online. But there are two completely different reasons to use these services, and it’s important to know their differences to know which one to choose based on your own situation.
Cloud storage is a selective backup procedure where you choose files to store online and then upload them to your online account. When you delete a file from your computer that you backed up online, that file is still in your cloud storage account because it’s no longer linked to your computer; it’s just a single file that you downloaded online.
Cloud backup involves installing a program on your computer and instructing it to back up specific files online. Going beyond cloud storage, a backup service will also download any changes you make to the file so that the current version is always stored online. In other words, if you delete a file from your computer, it may also be deleted from your online backup account, and if you modify a file on your computer, the online version also changes.
A backup service is ideal if you want to permanently keep a large number of files backed up online. If your computer suddenly stops working, you can restore all those files to a new computer or another hard drive, and you’ll get the same copies you had the last time the backup program stored those files online.
A cloud storage service is less convenient as a permanent backup solution and more useful as a way to back up specific files that you want to access from anywhere or want to share with others. The versions of the files in the cloud storage account are the same as the ones you downloaded, even if you changed them on your computer. As with online backup, you can always re-upload the files when needed, for example if your computer crashes.