Free Cloud Storage For Entrepreneurs: Top 6 Picks

1. Dropbox – Dropbox is one of the best known free cloud storage systems. One of its major advantages is that it offers clients specifically designed for Linux and Blackberry systems as well as the more standard OS offerings, so no matter what particular type of technology you or your employees enjoy employing, Dropbox can likely fit your needs. Heartbleed security: Dropbox was affected by Heartbleed, but there is a patch in place now, and previous users are encouraged to change their passwords.
2. Google Drive – Google Drive comes with a particularly generous 15GB of cloud storage when you link a Google account to it. It also exempts videos below a particular resolution and video content under 15 minutes in length, making it possible with wise data management to effectively enjoy unlimited space. Heartbleed security: Google was affected by Heartbleed and there’s a patch now in place. Google has said users do not need to change their passwords, but because of the previous vulnerability, better safe than sorry, we say.
3. OneDrive – This is Microsoft’s cloud storage service previously known as SkyDrive. One key difference of this cloud storage service is the social media integration OneDrive features, which is ideal for file sharing between colleagues across platforms and devices. It also directly integrates with Office 2013, perhaps the single most popular piece of business software on the market. Heartbleed security: Microsoft services were not running OpenSSL, according to LastPass, and were therefore not affected by Heartbleed.
4. Box – This service has been around even longer than Dropbox, originating in 2005. Most people are less familiar with Box as they have focused most of their efforts on enterprise-level solutions for larger businesses. However, the company offers increasingly competitive personal and small business-sized plans as well. The big advantage of Box is the ability to access and use the incredibly wide range of productivity-enhancing applications that have been developed for the platform over the years in support of the company’s corporate accounts. Heartbleed security: According to Mashable, “We’re currently working with our customers to proactively reset passwords and are also reissuing new SSL certificates for added protection.”
5. iCloud – For fans of Apple devices, the iCloud solution may make good sense. One of the biggest drawbacks of iCloud is that it doesn’t feature drag and drop functionality, nor can you back up photos from Android or Windows mobile devices. Files can be accessed via a PC once Apple’s Control Panel has been downloaded, but that’s about it. It does have impressive integration with Apple’s iWork office suite, and iPad and iPhone apps typically automatically interface with the platform as well. Heartbleed security: According torecode.net, “iOS and OS X never incorporated the vulnerable software and key web-based services were not affected.”
6. Firedrive – Firedrive.com makes this list because of the immense 50GB of free space the company gives new members, nearly 3x a fully-upgraded Dropbox account (and few people offer up enough referrals to Dropbox to bump their usage limits this high).  In addition to the high storage space, Firedrive offers the same functionality of the other choices and adds social integration. Heartbleed security: Says CEO Joseph Turner, “Our backend systems were affected and were patched on Tuesday morning when the [Heartbleed] bug was made public. Our customer facing systems utilize Cloudflare, which patched the issue before it was publicly disclosed. We’ve also re-issued our SSL certificates and administrative private keys to keep our systems secure.

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