One of the best free tools I ever found as an internet marketer was a little tool that allowed me to sync files between multiple computers. The idea of file syncing didn’t sound too impressive to me at first, but I gave it a shot and was blown away at how much time and money it saved me.
How does that help so much? Well, it helps in two ways. First, it gives me the flexibility to work from multiple computers without having to constantly e-mail files to myself or keep track of file versions. All I have to do now is save the document on whatever computer I happen to be at, and that file is updated across every other computer.
This comes in handy because I can quickly switch between my laptop and home computer. It also helps when I make trips to visit family and need to work from their computer. All I have to do is log in to my storage account, download my files and get to work. It eliminates all the trouble that comes with juggling multiple versions of files on multiple computers.
Second, online file syncing provides a nice backup solution. Every file that I save in my shared folder also gets backed up online. So if my hard drive dies, I still have the latest version of every file backed up and ready to go. It also makes it easier for me to upgrade to a new computer or a new hard drive.
Dropbox was the first file syncing tool that I used, but it’s not the only one out there. There are several great options that are entirely free. They never ask for your payment information and they never expire.
1. Dropbox
Let’s start with Dropbox since that was my first file syncing tool. Dropbox is nice because it is incredibly simple. You get 2 GBs of free storage space and a desktop application that you can install on any number of computers. Once you have Dropbox installed, you can start using it by saving all your work documents inside the “Dropbox” folder on your computer.
You can get Dropbox on www.dropbox.com
2. SpiderOak
SpiderOak is a strong competitor to Dropbox. Not only does SpiderOak provide simple file syncing, but it works on Windows, Mac and Linux systems alike. SpiderOak can even sync files between different operating systems. I also like SpiderOak because it has the best security standards in the industry.
You can get SpiderOak at www.spideroak.com
You can get SpiderOak at www.spideroak.com
3. SugarSync
The biggest advantage of SugarSync is that it offers 5 GB of storage space instead of just 2 GBs like the above tools. Other than that, SugarSync does pretty much the same thing. It allows you to share files and folders, sync to the cloud and edit your documents while offline.
You can get SugarSync at www.sugarsync.com
You can get SugarSync at www.sugarsync.com
4. iDrive
iDrive is the most feature-rich tool on this page. It provides file syncing, online backup, file sharing, continuous data protection and more. The free account comes with 5 GB of storage space and you are never forced to upgrade. iDrive isn’t as well-known as Dropbox or SpiderOak, but it’s definitely worth checking out.
You can get iDrive at www.idrive.com
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A must read post!
Here is my blog post; Duplicate File Finder