Symform – up to 200GB of free online cloud storage
Sounds really good! Symform offers you much
more online space for your critical data backup than Adrive
or Windows
Live SkyDrive, we reviewed earlier, but… there is a catch. Symform does not
offer you its own server space; instead, it arranges cloud communication
between multiple computers to exchange the space. So, in order to get 200 GB of
online space for free, you need to donate the certain amount of space from your
computer storage. Which is, probably, also not a big deal, taking in account
how relatively cheap the modern Hard Drives are, and fact that for many a huge
amount of space will never be used to a full capacity. So, you get certain
peace of mind for giving away a small share of your computer storage.
Free
Storage Schemes
Getting free cloud storage is easy – the only
thing you need to do is contribute your excess local storage to the Symform
network. To make sure your data is protected and available when you need
it, we build redundancy into the data you store in the cloud. So you’ll
have to contribute 1.5 GB of data for every 1GB you want to store. For
example, if you want to store 200GB, you need to contribute 1.5 times that
amount, or 300GB of local storage, to the network.
The software takes your data, breaks it into
64 MB blocks, encrypts each block with AES-256 encryption, using a hash of the
block as the encryption key, and then shards the encrypted block into as many
as 96 pieces, where each piece includes an additional 50% of erasure coding
replication data.
That’s why to get 100 GB of free online
storage, you have to offer 150 GB - 50% more - of your own local storage.
So, you can get:
- 10
GB immediately after you
setup Symform account. Download the client, install it on your computer,
and join the Symform Cloud Storage Network. Note that you need to have a
valid email address to establish your account.
- 100 GB of space if you pledge to contribute 150 GB to the Symform Network.
- Up to 200GB by referring Symform to your friends and colleagues. They get free storage and you get 10 GB additional free storage for every referral that starts a new account, inspired by your recommendations.
Data
Backup
The Symform Storage
Cloud is a great solution for business online backup, complete with powerful
features and affordable pricing (if you decide you do not want to share your
own space or if you need more online storage). Once you’ve signed up for your free
200GB Symform account, installation and setup are a breeze.
You can use Symform to
back up all your data and devices, from laptops to personal computers to
servers to NAS boxes. Other online backup services use centralized
architectures that are less affordable, efficient, secure, and reliable
than Symform’s decentralized cloud storage network.
Performing Backup:
- Simply point Symform at the folders you
wish to back up to the cloud and you’re good to go.
- Symform will quickly synchronize your
files to the secure storage cloud.
- The lightweight Symform client runs in the
background, continuously monitoring your folders for changes to
synchronize. Symform is truly “set and forget.”
- In the event of file loss or corruption, Symform can be quickly configured to bring your online backup files safely back from the cloud to your local device.
Space Contribution
Contributing excess
local storage to the Symform Cloud Storage Network is easy and safe. To
get up to 200GB of free cloud storage, or unlimited cloud storage for
a low flat fee, you just need to maintain a contribution-to-sync ratio.
- Select the
“Contribute” checkbox during
set up.
- Select a
contribution folder on a
non-mobile, always-on device. This will be known as your contribution
device.
- As you synchronize more data in the cloud,
just make sure you contribute an
equal amount of local disk space to the Symform network.
Developers’ website: http://www.symform.com/
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