File sharing drives and clouds are a necessity in today’s day and age. We use our computers, phones and tables to store everything from our personal documents to pictures and videos. With limited storage capacity in some devices, there is great need to be able to store all of your valuable files in one place and access them from all of your devices.
Although there are many types of file storage and drives, Microsoft OneDrive is the file hosting and sharing service that is offered as part of the online services for Microsoft. Here are some things you should know before using it as your file sharing service or that you should be aware of if you are already using Microsoft OneDrive.
OneDrive allows editing online. Intended to make sharing and collaborating seamless and effortless, one of the greatest features is OneDrive’s ability to allow users to edit, create and share Microsoft Office documents such as Excel, PowerPoint, or Word documents. OneDrive also displays the version history of these documents.
Only a small subset of files are backed-up. OneDrive only covers and backs-up a small number of files that a user manually selects to share. Many users do not realize this until their computer crashes and they are only able to recover a fraction of their files.
Sharing may come at a price. Because Microsoft OneDrive is designed to make the process of sharing, uploading and editing extremely easy between users, you may not be aware if anyone else is changing or “stealing” your files and data. It can also help spread and share malware such as viruses and ransomware much easier too.
As with any file sharing service, it is important to have other forms of back-up and be aware of the limitations that the service provides.