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A file hosting service, cloud storage service, online file storage provider, or cyberlocker is an Internet hosting service specifically designed to host user files. It allows users to upload files that could then be accessed over the internet from a different computer, tablet, smart phone or other networked device, by the same user or possibly by other users, after a password or other authentication is provided. Typically, the services allow HTTP access, and sometimes FTP access. Related services are content-displaying hosting services (i.e. video, image, audio/music), virtual storage, and remote backup.
Uses
Personal file storage
Personal file storage services are aimed at private individuals, offering a sort of "network storage" for personal backup, file access, or file distribution. Users can upload their files and share them publicly or keep them password-protected.
Scribd, Docstoc, Google Docs, Issuu, wePapers and www.Yumpu.com are document-sharing services. These services allow users to share and collaborate on document files, such as PDFs, word processor documents, and spreadsheets, but do not support storage of other types of files.[citation needed] Several more recently-launched file storage services are aimed at allowing users to share and sychronize all types of files across all the devices they use. The major players in this arena are Dropbox, SkyDrive, iCloud, and Amazon Cloud Drive.[citation needed]
Software file hosting
Authors of Shareware, Freeware and Open Source/Free software often use file hosting services to serve their software. The inherent problem with free downloads is the huge bandwidth cost. To cover this cost, many sites intentionally delay the starts of downloads and slow down downloading speeds in order to persuade a user to buy a premium, paid account on the site for better service, a practice much criticized by those who do not use these sites often. These hosts also offer additional services to the authors such as statistics or other marketing features.
Content caching
Content providers who potentially encounter bandwidth congestion issues may use services specialized in distributing cached or static content. It is the case for companies with a major Internet presence.[1]
Storage charges
Some online file storage services offer space on a per-gigabyte basis, and sometimes include a bandwidth cost component as well. Usually these will be charged monthly or yearly. Some companies offer the service for free, relying on advertising revenue. Some hosting services do not place any limit on how much space your account can consume. Some services require a software download which makes files only available on computers which have that software installed, others allow users to retrieve files through any web browser. With the increased inbox space offered by webmail services, many users have started using their webmail service as an online drive. Some sites offer free unlimited file storage but have a limit on the file size.
One-click hosting
One-click hosting, sometimes referred to as cyberlocker,[2] generally describes web services that allow internet users to easily upload one or more files from their hard drives (or from a remote location) onto the one-click host's server free of charge.
Most such services simply return a URL which can be given to other people, who can then fetch the file later. In many cases these URLs are predictable allowing potential misuse of the service.[3] As of 2005[update] these sites have drastically increased in popularity, and subsequently, many of the smaller, less efficient sites have failed. Although one-click hosting can be used for many purposes, this type of file sharing has, to a degree, come to compete with P2P filesharing services.[4]
The sites make money through advertising or charging for premium services such as increased downloading capacity, removing any wait restrictions the site may have or prolonging how long uploaded files remain on the site. Premium services include facilities like unlimited downloading, no waiting, maximum download speed etc. Many such sites implement a CAPTCHA to prevent automated downloading. Several programs aid in downloading files from these one-click hosts; examples are JDownloader, Tucan Manager and CryptLoad.
Use for copyright infringement
File hosting services may be used as a means to distribute or share files without consent of the copyright owner. In such cases one individual uploads a file to a file hosting service, which others can then download. Legal assessments can be very diverse.
For example in the case of Swiss-German file hosting service RapidShare, in 2010 the US government's congressional international anti-piracy caucus declared the site a "notorious illegal site", claiming that the site was "overwhelmingly used for the global exchange of illegal movies, music and other copyrighted works".[5] But in the legal case Atari Europe S.A.S.U. v. Rapidshare AG in Germany,[6] the Düsseldorf higher regional court examined claims related to alleged infringing activity and reached the conclusion on appeal that "most people utilize RapidShare for legal use cases"[7] and that to assume otherwise was equivalent to inviting "a general suspicion against shared hosting services and their users which is not justified".[8] The court also observed that the site removes copyrighted material when asked, does not provide search facilities for illegal material, noted previous cases siding with RapidShare, and after analysis the court concluded that the plaintiff's proposals for more strictly preventing sharing of copyrighted material – submitted as examples of anti-piracy measures RapidShare might have adopted – were found to be "unreasonable or pointless".[6]
By contrast in January 2012 the United States Department of Justice seized and shut down the file hosting site Megaupload.com and commenced criminal cases against its owners and others. Their indictment concluded that Megaupload differed from other online file storage businesses, suggesting a number of design features of its operating model as being evidence showing a criminal intent and venture.[9] Examples cited included reliance upon advertising revenue and other activities showing the business was funded by (and heavily promoted) downloads and not storage, defendants' communications helping users who sought infringing material, and defendants' communications discussing their own evasion and infringement issues. As of 2012[update] the case has not yet been heard.
See also
References
- ^ Macworld.com
- ^ "Cyberlockers Take Over File-Sharing Lead From BitTorrent Sites" (in English). http://torrentfreak.com/cyberlockers- take-over-file-sharing-lead-from-bitt orrent-sites-110111/. Retrieved 2011-07-12.
- ^ Nikiforakis N., Balduzzi M. Van Acker S., Joosen W. and Balzarotti D. "Exposing the Lack of Privacy in File Hosting Services
- ^ Roettgers, Janko. "Piracy Beyond P2P: One-Click Hosters", Retrieved: 5 January 2008.
- ^ "RIAA joins congressional caucus in unveiling first-ever list of notorious illegal sites". RIAA. 2010-05-19. http://www.riaa.com/newsitem.php?id=5 8185AFD-5525-19D4-FFD2-4233518393AD. Retrieved 2011-01-16.
- ^ a b Legal case: OLG Dusseldorf, Judgement of 22.03.2010, Az I-20 U 166/09 dated 22 March 2010.
- ^ Roettgers, Janko (2010-05-03). "RapidShare Wins in Court". Gigaom.com. http://gigaom.com/video/rapidshare-wi ns-in-court/. Retrieved 2011-01-16. – cite from ruling: "Es ist davon auszugehen, dass die weit überwiegende Zahl von Nutzern die Speicherdienste zu legalen Zwecken einsetzen und die Zahl der missbräuchlichen Nutzer in der absoluten Minderheit ist." (It is to be expected that the vast majority of users use the storage services for lawful purposes and the number of abusive users are in the absolute minority.)
- ^ From the Atari v. RapidShare ruling: "entspricht einem Generalverdacht gegen Sharehoster-Dienste und ihre Nutzer, der so nicht zu rechtfertigen ist" (corresponds to a general suspicion against shared hosting services and their users, which is not to justify such)
- ^ Department of Justice indictment, on Wall Street Journal's website – see sections 7–14.
