File hosting for 200GB + data

[Logik]

I've a very simple requirement.
my boss's friend is dermatologist. hes has some data in range of 200 GB+ in his local computer HDD & may be on some portable HDD.

he wants to put it on some online service (like rapidshare alike). so i was wondering is there any service offering such service for such huge data. money is not the problem as the data is very important. the data consist of his research work for many past years.

so i've few things to ask

1) is it possible to get any file hosting or that sort of company for uploading & saving such data.
2) how about security? i mean is it really safe to put such important data & this big on some third party server.
3) if finally i get what i wanted, what precautions would you recommend before trying it for first time.

thanks

Logik

[JayCub]

Im sure there are many that can offer this service for the price, as for me the second question is the most important, and im sure your boss puts alot of value on his work, even if i did decide to store online i would still need a backup to an external disk and it's only as good as your internet speed...
so basicly i haven't answered your question it's just something i would not do...

[Raymond]

For 200GB of files, Dropbox is probably not an option.
He can try Box which has 1000GB storage for $15 a month.
http://www.box.net/pricing/
As for safety, he can encrypt the files from his computer and then upload the encrypted file to the file host website. Box.NET Enterprise plan has encrypted storage & transfer but not sure how much they charge.

I wouldn't advice to go for websites like RapidShare, FileSonic or Megaupload because those sites hosts a lot of copyright infringement files and they can shut down one day without notice.

[Logik]

thanks for answers guys

@ray: i completely agree with your last lines.

let me check out with my boss's friend.

[hal9000]

Well, BeCloud claim to offer 512Gb of storage free. I know nothing about them, so serious research would be needed to find out more about security, reliability etc.

It always pays to read the terms for cloud / sharing sites very carefully also, because I seem to remember Dropbox causing a storm earlier this year when they changed their terms to basically mean 'we own the files you put on our servers, and can do what we want with them'. Needless to say, not long after, the terms had to be altered because of the outcry, but not ideal for important or valuable data.

Also, Raymond is right about Rapidshare and Fileserve etc. Those services could disappear or wipe their servers at the drop of a hat, so not a recommended choice.

Personally, I would keep all the data locally so I'm the only one who has access to it and I'm the one ultimately responsible for it. It's recommended to have at least 2 full backups stored on different medium (Internal / external HDD, Blu-ray disk etc.) and to keep them at different locations. If the data is as important as you suggest, you can never be too careful.

BTW, this guy must have a serious upload speed or a lot of time on his hands to want to think about uploading 200Gb+

[Logik]

thanks hal......i will mail my boss the details.

this beecloud looks really nice.but again...they can change their T&C any time they want.

NAS drive option looks fine. let me check some more details.

i think this is belgium company. authorize reseller of live drive. they are new, hence rates are so competitive & off course 512 GB free. as soon as they make some ground on market, i don't think these freebies will then exist.

[tangomouse]

try MediaFire there Free account includes unlimited storage and a limit of 200 MB per file