I suffered a malware attack a few years ago that made me lose a ridiculous amount of files.
Not only did I lose important work files, but I also lost my graduation photos, family
reunion photos, and most painfully, photos with my late grandpa.
I'll forever be kicking myself about losing those photos!
So what did I take away from this horrible experience?
Storing important files in physical storage no longer cuts it.
Imagine storing your files in a magical place where they can never be lost or damaged?
That's what cloud storage offers.
Now you're probably here because you need help choosing a cloud storage provider, right?
Which one is the best?
Don't worry, I've got your back!
In this video, I'll review and rank the best cloud storage providers available today using
tiers.
Plus, we have discount links in the description to some of the best cloud storage options
on offer.
Full disclosure, we get a small commission on every sale which helps us run this channel.
Okay, let's get to business.
First up: Mega.
What can I say about Mega?
To be honest, it's a mixed bag.
Their founder has had troubles with the law in the past, but he's no longer part of the
company, so that's reassuring.
Since his departure, Mega has increased its focus on security, employing zero-knowledge
encryption that makes you the only one that can access your data.
On top of that, Mega also adopts end-to-end encryption that protects your files 24/7.
I believe that suggests you have nothing to worry about regarding security.
Not to mention it's free version gives you a whopping 20GB of cloud storage!
Which is very generous in my opinion.
To be honest, the only reason I'm not putting Mega in the A category is because of its ownership
concerns.
While its troubled owner has left, some concerns remain about it because some individuals under
the influence of the Chinese government own some of its stock.
And we all know the Chinese government’s negative stance on privacy, right?
But despite that, I'd put the service in the B category because I think it’s a decent
service.
Moving on, we have Sync.com.
Sync.com is another cloud storage service that puts loads of focus on security.
It provides end-to-end encryption, which literally makes it impossible for anyone to intercept
your data.
But it doesn't end there.
The service also adopts zero-knowledge encryption, making you the only person with access to
your account.
I also feel the service is super user-friendly with an intuitive interface and it offers
a great suite of features designed to aid collaborative projects.
The included file versioning feature also allows you to restore older versions of files
you've recently edited.
That’s pretty good in my book!
Could this be in the top tier?
Yup, it totally gets an S!
However, it does only give you 5gb of free storage space to start with which isn’t
much but hey, I’m not about to complain about free stuff.
Gimme!
Moving on and another cloud storage provider on my list is JustCloud.
No matter how impressionable you are, I don’t think you’ll be impressed by JustCloud.
Of course, it’s not completely useless.
It’s easy to set up, compatible with the most popular operating systems, can restore
older versions of your files, and offers easy file syncing.
But that's about it when it comes to the good stuff.
In terms of the bad stuff, the list is almost endless.
Apart from being overpriced, it has a very limited set of features.
The web interface also looks very basic, which I think explains why it’s easy to use.
The security is also nothing to write home about.
No end-to-end encryption for your data and of course, no zero-knowledge encryption.
I’d say it’s terrible and therefore gets a C.
The next one I'll talk about is Dropbox.
By the way, if you’re enjoying this video, please hit the like and subscribe button.
It makes me feel loved.
Dropbox is arguably the cloud storage provider that brought cloud service to the mainstream.
Remember seeing Dropbox everywhere around 2008 and wondering what it was all about?
Dropbox is probably not the only frontrunner nowadays, but it remains a big name in this
space.
It's definitely the leader when it comes to file-sharing as it comes with many features
that make it painless to share large files with other people.
Dropbox also takes security seriously.
All files are encrypted both at rest and in traffic, and accounts can be secured with
the two-factor authentication.
I've got a few concerns with Dropbox, though.
First, it’s been involved in a series of security breaches in the past.
I remember a particular major data breach in 2012, which led to the leak of users’
emails and passwords.
68 million users were affected at the time, and even today, Dropbox is still reeling from
the impact of that breach.
Another concern I have is that it doesn't back up network or external drives, unlike
its rivals.
Nonetheless, it's a decent option and belongs in the B category.
Anyhow - Now I'm gonna move on to Google Drive.
If Google Workspace and Android are already part of your workflow, choosing Google Drive
for cloud storage would only make sense.
It works hand-in-hand with those platforms.
Google Drive provides an affordable, feature-filled backup-and-sync solution.
I also find it easy to use as it has a very intuitive and clean user interface.
And in my opinion, it's way more than a cloud storage service.
Google Drive also comes with companion apps like Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Google Photos.
So it lets you store, create, edit, view, and sync files via an integrated interface.
I also feel Google Drive is suitable for businesses as it’s quite security-oriented.
It protects your data with end-to-end encryption and zero-knowledge policy.
The only concern most people have is that it’s based in the United States, which everyone
knows is not privacy-friendly.
But despite that, I think it's good enough to be in tier A.
The next cloud storage provider is OneDrive.
Microsoft OneDrive is to Windows users what Google Drive is to Android users.
Of course, it's available on other platforms, but it works best with Microsoft.
Surprising?
I'd say not.
This cloud service is best known for making collaboration effortless.
It lets you share your docs stored in the cloud and allows others users to make changes
on them together in real-time.
Every modification made is visible immediately to every other collaborator and is automatically
stored in the cloud.
OneDrive also comes with other features to give you the full experience.
It definitely belongs in tier A.
The only blip is that OneDrive doesn't offer zero-knowledge encryption, which means your
data is visible to the company.
And it's worth noting that it's a US-based company, so your information is subject to
disturbing laws like the Freedom Act.
Phew, still with me?
We’ll soon reveal our top pick.
Next up is iCloud.
Again, iCloud is to Apple users what OneDrive is to Windows users.
Apple's ecosystem is literally the largest around, and if you already use a Mac and iPhone,
it only makes sense to use their cloud storage service as well.
Of course, the service is decent, but it’s not like I'd expect anything less from Apple
anyway.
iCloud doesn't come with many special features, but it does the simple things a cloud storage
solution is expected to do.
It's also super-easy to use, especially with Apple devices.
And it offers free 5GB of cloud storage for users not willing to pay for the paid plans.
Overall, I feel it belongs in the B category.
The next cloud service I'd like to talk about is Icedrive.
Icedrive is one of the newest cloud service solutions I've featured, but I feel it brings
enough to the table.
It totally deserves to be here.
It deploys a Twofish algorithm for security, which many experts believe to be as secure
as the AES 256-bit encryption.
It also comes with two-factor authentication, which I feel is a great addition for tighter
security.
But it doesn’t offer many collaboration features, which is a shame.
I think it makes up for it with other nice features, though, like the feature that lets
you preview encrypted files, for instance.
Icedrive also offers zero-knowledge encryption, but it's only available for paid plans.
And that reminds me, it actually offers a free 20GB-plan.
So I'd put this one in tier A. And finally the last cloud storage provider
I'll talk about is pCloud.
Other than Sync, another cloud storage provider that’s doing a bang-up job in 2022 is pCloud.
pCloud offers great integration with most platforms, offers excellent free and paid
plans, and comes with brilliant collaboration tools.
I’ve got to add that the free plan offers just 10GB of cloud storage and is heavily
restricted in terms of storage features, which is understandable.
I’d always recommend the paid feature.
I believe you only get to experience the magic of cloud storage with a paid plan.
One of its outstanding features is file versioning, which lets you restore older versions of your
files.
Not pleased with a change you made?
Made a mistake?
No problem, easily fixed.
Another unique feature I found during my testing is the built-in pCloud audio player, which
lets you play music from within the smartphone app or pCloud web.
I think it's brilliant..
And what about the automatic backups?
pCloud takes all the stress out of manual backups as you can just select folders and
let it do its thing.
pCloud also makes it easy to share large folders and files through a self-generated link.
Cool, right?
For me, pCloud belongs in tier S for all its brilliance.
The only complaint I have about it is that zero-knowledge encryption isn't available
out of the box.
You'll need to pay for it, and for me, that’s not good enough.
And with all that said, that brings us to the end of this video.
As I mentioned earlier, if you’re interested in downloading any of the service providers
reviewed today, make sure you visit their website using our links in the description
box.
That way you’ll receive an awesome discount off the purchase price, how good is that?
My final advice to you would be to don’t make the same mistake that I did.
Don't wait until you lose an important file before you get onto cloud storage.
Imagine if I had acted sooner, I would still have my graduation photos and the precious
memories of my grandpa.
Trust me, you'll thank me later!
If you’re in the neighborhood for more cybersecurity solutions, then you’re on the right channel.
You can also check out this video where we reviewed some of the most popular VPNs and
God knows everyone needs one these days.
This was Josh from The Cyber Lab.
See you in the next video..