What is the cloud on the Internet and how to use it for storage?

Hello friends! Today I decided to write for you a detailed article about such a popular cloud storage as the mail ru cloud. The mail ru cloud helps us a lot when there is little space on our computer and we cannot store so many files. If you have the same situation, then I advise you to read this article to the end, and you will learn many different tricks, how you can store your files in cloud storage, how you can easily transfer them over the Internet using a link and many other things that are required will be useful to any Internet entrepreneur and not only.

What is the mail ru cloud

Let's briefly note what cloud storage is.

Cloud storage is a technology that allows you to store data not on one computer, but on many other servers. That is, by registering in the mail ru cloud, we have access to one large virtual server, which can consist of hundreds of computers that can be located in different parts of the planet.

Today there are many different cloud storage options. For example, Yandex Disk, Dropbox, Google Drive, One Drive, Mail.ru, and for Apple technology users, this is the iCloud service.

What is Yandex.disk?

In the spring of 2012, the well-known search engine Yandex launched a cloud storage service, now known as Yandex.Disk. Basic features are available free of charge. This largely determined its popularity among users. What does the Yandex cloud offer?

10 GB of virtual space is provided for free. If you need more space, you have several ways to increase the volume: you can buy a Yandex-PRO subscription or participate in portal promotions. For example, old users of the system still remember how Yandex provided an additional 10 GB for inviting friends or purchasing a music subscription.

Files are stored indefinitely and all changes on the disk are synchronized between devices. By the way, you can edit photos directly in the service using the built-in editor.
The ability to share cloud access with your friends, family and colleagues.
You can upload a photo to the cloud for others to download, and then view the files saved in the virtual space.
All downloaded files are checked for viruses. After verification, you can request a link to exchange data with your friends.
You can send a large file via the cloud and not worry about its size.
Documents are transferred through a secure channel, so users do not have to worry about the safety of information.

And this is only a small part of what the user will receive if he decides to use the Yandex cloud.

Advantages of the cloud mail ru

The mail ru cloud, like any other cloud storage, has a lot of advantages:

Transferring large files that may not fit, for example, into an email
Access to your files from any computer and from anywhere in the world with Internet access
You can work with the mail ru cloud from any device: computer, tablet, phone
All data is backed up, meaning there is a very low chance that your data will be lost if your device fails in some way
Additional storage space for your files so as not to fill up your computer's memory
It is very convenient to share your files with people just by giving them a download link

Pros and cons of using

We hope that now it has become more or less clear to you what a cloud on the Internet is and how to use it. And we only have one question left to answer: is such a service worth the time spent registering in the system and trying to “upload” information? Let's try to answer this question together!

The obvious advantages of using the cloud include:

there is no need to have a laptop/computer with a bunch of information storage devices of any type and size on hand. Access to all the files you need will depend solely on the availability of the Internet.
Most services come with the ability to work both on a PC and from mobile devices, incl. and using special applications.
The software for the service is updated without your intervention. You no longer need to monitor and install updates to improve performance. And by the way, cloud storage is compatible with any OS.
You yourself regulate the amount of space available to you. Whether the free media space provided is enough for you or not, you decide for yourself.
You can give access to your friends, colleagues or family. And just as easily you can limit it.
Services that provide you with virtual space for your data guarantee your data safety.
For companies, using the cloud means significant savings on the purchase and maintenance of equipment.

The main disadvantages of cloud (virtual) storage:

If you want to use the cloud, you need Internet access with good and constant speed.
If you can somehow influence the operation of your PC, install additional software or increase its speed, then you cannot influence a third-party service. If there are no functions there, then you will not add them there. If a server failure occurs, you cannot solve it yourself either.
All additional options built into the cloud have reduced functionality. Excel on a PC has much more capabilities than Google Docs.
The corporations providing you with space promise the safety and protection of your data. But in reality, you and I have all heard about data leaks. So everything is conditional. Lost data will be lost forever without the possibility of recovery.

But if you asked us whether it is worth using the cloud for data storage, we would definitely answer yes! My personal experience with cloud storage is not very impressive: about 5 years. But during this time you have time to appreciate all the advantages of the service and stop worrying about some little things. No matter how many devices you have, no matter what OS is installed on them, thanks to the cloud you will always have constant access to your information on the Internet. So try it and find your ideal option!

How I use the mail ru cloud

I have been using the mail ru cloud for a very long time. There I store some of my documents, files, photos, even some training video courses, as well as my video courses and video instructions for learning how to make money on affiliate programs, which I pass on to my partners and students.

In general, I think that the mail ru cloud is a very simple and convenient service that is perfect for any novice Internet user. As far as I remember, more than 24 million people use this cloud storage today, so I think it is a worthwhile service.

Google.Disk - cloud for Android phone and PC

Most often, the cloud on the Internet for storing data on Android is tied to Google. But in principle, you can use any other storage. Therefore, we will describe the answer to the question: what is a cloud on an Android phone and how to use it using the example of Google Drive.

Google.Disk is one of the best deals available right now. In the free version you will receive 15 GB of virtual space. This volume is divided between mail, the disk itself and Google Photos. If this space is not enough for you, then you can purchase additional space (up to 30 TB in size). Google Virtual Storage is also tied to your mailbox, so first of all, you will need to create your own mail.

Go to Google Drive

Main sections:

Upload files and folders, as well as delete them.
Provide access to view or edit files;
Add additional notes;
Download to your computer.
And much more.

By the way, Google has developed not only a browser version, but also a mobile application. So staying in touch with him will not be difficult. To use cloud storage on your Android phone, follow our instructions:

Go to PlayMarket.
Type “Google Drive” in the search bar.

Click Install.

After this, a client icon will appear on the desktop. Open it up. To manage files and folders, you need to use the menu - three dots at the top right of the element’s label. There you will find the usual commands.

The same menu for the entire disk (top right of the screen) will allow you to select all objects, sort them and view properties.

There is no point in going into detail about how to use virtual storage on an Android phone, since there are no special differences compared to the web tool. Moreover, for convenience, most virtual space owners offer the same clients for computers.

How to register in the mail ru cloud

In order to use the mail ru cloud, you need to register your email on the website https://mail.ru. To do this, you go to the website and click on the “ Register a new mailbox ” button (screenshot below):

Now fill out the registration form and click “ Register ”:

So, you have registered mail ru mail and you have an account in which you can work with cloud storage and, of course, you can use email.

After you have logged into your mail, there will be a “ Cloud ” tab at the top, which you click on and you will be taken to your cloud storage:

You can also get to the mail ru cloud from the main page by clicking on “ All projects ” and “ Cloud ”:

For those who are too lazy or inconvenient to read an article in text format, you can watch the video instructions below on using the mail ru cloud:

And for those who chose to read the article further, I continue to explain in detail how to use the mail ru cloud.

By logging into the mail ru cloud, you will see some photos that will be in your cloud storage. If you don't need them, you can delete them to free up space in the cloud. In order to delete them, you need to tick the desired photos and click on the “ Delete ” button at the top (see below):

You can also delete a file or photo in another way: mark the file with a checkmark and right-click on this file and click on the “ Delete ” button (see below):

After you click the “ Delete ” button, a window will open warning you that deleted files in the Recycle Bin will be deleted after 14 days:

Choosing free cloud storage

If previously users did not have much choice of cloud storage, now almost everyone can choose it for themselves. At the same time, you can use either a free cloud or some paid analogue. The main thing you should pay attention to when choosing: the amount of space provided and the availability of a convenient service (the ability to use a mobile application or a design that is simply understandable to you personally).

The most popular options:

Yandex.Disk.
Google.Disk (Drive)
Dropbox
Mail.ru
OneDrive
SkyDrive
iCloud and many others.

It is clear that each of these services has its pros and cons. And they are all slightly different from each other. But what do they all have in common?

First of all, the need for registration. For some of them, authorization is only possible in the browser, while others allow you to register in the system through a mobile application. But you will still have to register. However, it is worth noting that, as a rule, it does not take more than a couple of minutes.

By the way, in this regard, it is worth noting the convenience of mobile devices - the vast majority of them already have cloud storage built into the system and they are created the first time they are turned on.

Have you probably noticed that when you start Android you are prompted to create a Google account? Have you noticed that an iCloud account is immediately created on the iPhone? All this is nothing more than a cloud for data storage.

Another point that all virtual storages have in common is the need to configure parameters. You can share with friends and family and let them use, edit and delete existing files or add new ones. For ease of use, many portals allow each user to set their own password for shared storage (for example, Google Drive).

Perhaps it is worth dwelling on one more point. A constant connection is established between all devices and users allowed to the cloud. What does this mean for the user? The moment any changes are made to files stored in cloud storage, they are immediately committed and all data is synchronized in real time.

We have reviewed the main common points for all virtual storages on the Internet. Now let's take a closer look at some popular services. And let's start with one of the most popular - Yandex.Disk.

Appearance of the cloud mail ru

In the mail ru cloud, you can slightly change the appearance of files and folders as you see fit. This can be done by clicking on the “ View ” button at the top right and selecting the type of arrangement you need for your files: list or tile:

You can also organize and sort your files or folders in the cloud in the way that is most convenient for you by clicking on the button in the same right corner:

How to increase memory in the cloud mail ru

Immediately after registering in the mail ru cloud, you are provided with 8 GB of memory. That is, you, by default, will be on the free plan. Cloud mail ru has several tariffs from 8 GB to 4 TB. That is, if 8 GB is not enough for you, you can increase the memory capacity to 64 GB for only 69 rubles per month.

In order to increase your cloud storage volume in the mail ru cloud, click on the blue button on the left “ Increase volume ” and select the tariff you need:

Cloud on a smartphone

The mobile application has a number of advantages. For example, you don’t need to upload photos from your phone’s memory to the Android version of the storage after taking them: just click on the blue plus button “Add” in the program.

Next, in the menu that opens, we can select the option of taking photos with the phone camera. Photos will be automatically saved to storage.

On smartphones running Android, it is possible to enable automatic downloading of photos and videos taken with the phone’s camera.

On an iPhone, you can use the autoload option from the application settings for the same purpose. If it is enabled, photos will be automatically uploaded to the cloud, freeing up phone memory. The “Autoload video” option works similarly.

To enable auto-upload of photos on your iPhone, you need to do the following:

Go to settings by clicking on the corresponding icon in the upper left corner.

Then go to the startup settings menu and turn it on.

Please note that to save mobile traffic, the “Only via Wi-Fi” switches must be turned on.

How to upload files to the cloud mail ru

So, we moved on to the most important thing - uploading files to the mail ru cloud. In order to download the file, you click on the button at the top “ Download ”:

Now you click on the “ Select files ” button or simply drag and drop files into the window and the files appear in your mail ru cloud.

Don't forget that with the free plan you can upload files up to 2 GB.

Take instant screenshots

Install Screenshot and share screenshots in a couple of clicks

How to create documents in the cloud mail ru

In the mail ru cloud you can also create documents, folders, tables and presentations. To create them, you need to click on the button at the top “ Create ” and select the option you need.

If you select a document, a Word sheet will immediately open to you, where you can create your document. Once you create a document, there is no need to save it, as it is saved automatically:

You can also add a folder so that your files are not scattered across the cloud, but are each in its own folder, in general, so that there is order everywhere. In order to open a folder, you need to click on it 2 times, and it will open with your files. I'll tell you how to create a folder below.

You can edit any file in your mail ru cloud by right-clicking and selecting the desired option: delete, rename, copy, download, move, get a link, etc. To do this, select the desired file, check the box, right-click and select the desired action option:

Opportunities of [email protected] in comparison with competitors

Previously, the corporation had a project called Files Mail.ru and provided users with the ability to exchange files. Files had a number of restrictions on the size of transferred objects and much more, but since 2014 this project has been considered closed and everyone is strongly advised to move to the cloud, where all its main functionality has been transferred:

Therefore, today it makes sense to talk exclusively about [email protected]. To begin with, let me remind you that a little earlier I described several popular cloud services in RuNet, each of which is quite competitive (follow the links provided you will find their detailed description):

- a wonderful service (the founder of other clouds), which stores not only files, but also the history of their changes (this option seriously helped me out once). True, they give only about two gigs for free, although you can get sophisticated in various ways, expanding them to sixteen. On a paid tariff they give you a terabyte, but in exchange they ask for a hundred evergreen pieces of paper per year (some kind of chaos).
Create your own page on the Yandex disk - on a free account there is a limit of 10-20 Gigabits, which again will have to be obtained in various unnatural ways. I mainly use it to transfer some files (folders) by sharing, or to upload some things for downloading from the site (Dropbox in this regard is picky about the amount of traffic generated when downloading).
Log in to your account on Google Drive - just like in Dropbox, here you can save the history of document changes in the cloud, and you can also view a huge number of file types without downloading them to your computer. By default, it offers fifteen gigs for free (although they will be shared with Jimail and Google photos). There you will also find an online office (what used to be Google Docs) if you want to create and edit documents online.
OneDrive (formerly SkyDrive) is the brainchild of Microsoft. Mere mortals are provided with seven gigs of joy, and for owners of licensed eights - twenty-five. Among the features, we can note a complete analogy of the online office, which is called Office Web Apps, as well as the ability to gain remote access from the Internet to the computer where you have the cloud application installed.

Kindly skipping ahead and presenting the competitors, I think it’s time to review the capabilities of the web interface of this cloud, its program for installation on a computer and the Mail.Ru Cloud mobile application. The set is generally standard, and the capabilities of this service are somewhat similar to those already described by direct competitors.

However, a year ago there was a promotion in Mile where many were able to get one terabyte of free space in the cloud simply for installing a mobile client and connecting it to their account. Therefore, in RuNet this service is very actively used, including for sharing something useful in narrow circles. In general, I like the corporation’s approach to business, and I noted this when I wrote about their updated email. It’s not for nothing that, in total, all their resources occupy first place in terms of traffic on the RuNet.

Main characteristics of the Mailrush cloud

So, what properties and characteristics does [email protected] have :

High speed of downloading and uploading files, which in theory should be limited only by the width of your Internet channel. In principle, I can confirm about downloading, because I had to do it several times. Moreover, when downloading, you can select (by checking the boxes) several files and folders at once, which in the cloud itself will be packed into an archive and downloaded as one file, which is very convenient.
All files uploaded to this server are scanned by Kaspersky anti-virus, which is again quite a significant advantage, especially if someone offers you to download something using a link shared from the Mail.ru disk.
You can download the program from the page cloud.mail.ru to work with the cloud both from a desktop computer (Windows, Linux and MacOS are supported) and from a mobile device (there are applications for Android, iOS and again Windows).

This significantly increases the functionality and ease of use (data will be automatically synchronized on the desktop). Although, the competitors mentioned above also have this entire arsenal in their stash.
When you install the mobile application on your gadget, by default it will immediately start synchronizing your existing pictures and videos with the Mail cloud (there will be a special folder there for this purpose). A very convenient option that allows you to quickly transfer your masterpieces from your mobile phone to your computer, or simply quickly free up space on your gadget for new creative impulses.
As I already mentioned, this service works on the same principle as other competitors - on a computer (you can connect up to five of them to one account and the same number of gadgets with each of the OS mentioned above) a folder is created, the contents of which are in real time will be synchronized with the cloud. In addition, on Mail.ru itself, your files will be stored in two different data centers (in one there is a main copy, in the other there is a backup copy). This further improves reliability and reduces the chance of losing valuable data.
You can share your files and folders by providing a link to them. The user who clicks on it will be able to either view or download this content.
On the “Sharing” , you can open folders to share them with another Mail.ru-cloud user.
You send him an invitation to Email, after confirmation of which he will be able to either only view the contents of this folder, or be able to edit it (your choice). The possibility of joint editing of one document by different users (WebDAV) is still in the testing stage.
The cloud is connected to Mail.ru mail, in it you can save files from letters or, conversely, pin something from the storage to messages.
It is possible to create text documents directly in the browser in an online editor similar to Word, as well as spreadsheets and presentations in appropriate online editors. [email protected] surprised me somewhat with this, because I have never seen anything like this in Runet projects.
By default, you are immediately given 25 GB of free space on the virtual disk. Previously, as far as I understand, they provided a hundred, but then, apparently, they began to get greedy. But nevertheless, for a free service this is a pretty decent figure, especially since you don’t have to make any additional movements to get them.

As you can see, the history of file changes is not kept here, which means you will not be able to restore the appearance of the file as it was a week ago. On the one hand, this is a minus, but on the other hand, in two years I have used this opportunity in Dropbox only once.

How to create a link to transfer a file in the mail ru cloud

In order to give a person a link to download your file, you first need to upload this file to your mail ru cloud, mark it with a checkmark, right-click and select “Get link ” or click on the “Get link” button at the top

Now a window will appear in front of you with your ready-made link, where you need to click the “ Copy ” button and you can already provide it to third parties:

You can give this link to other people to download the necessary files. The person to whom you passed the link will see the file exactly like this, where he must click on the “ Download ” button to download it to his computer. He can also view this file without downloading it directly on this page:

If you want to delete a link and make it so that it no longer works, then simply check the file again, right-click and click “ Delete link ”. From this moment on, your link will become non-working, and no one will be able to view this file anymore:

PC program Disk-O

The application is designed to access the Mail.Ru Cloud through the standard system explorer. To work with it, you do not need to open a browser - viewing files and working with them is carried out through programs that support certain extensions.

In the article about creating a cloud, the link to which is at the beginning of the article, we also looked at the method of authorization in this program. When you launch Disk-O and after logging in, the cloud will be emulated as a hard drive. However, it is displayed only at the time the software is launched - if you quit the application, the connected disk will disappear.

You can simultaneously connect several cloud storages through the program.

Adding to startup

To make the program run along with the operating system and connect as a disk, add it to startup. For this:

Left-click on the tray icon.

Click on the gear icon and select Settings.

Check the box next to the “Autostart application” option.

Now the disk will always be among the others in the “Computer” folder when the PC starts. When you exit the program, it will disappear from the list.

Disk setup

The disk has few settings, but some may find them useful.

Launch the program, hover over the connected drive and click on the gear icon that appears.

Here you can change the drive letter, its name and enable the function of moving deleted files to your own trash for quick recovery.

After changing the parameters, the program will reboot itself.

Viewing and editing files

All files stored on the disk can be opened for viewing and modification in programs that correspond to their extension.

Therefore, if any file cannot be opened, you will need to install the appropriate software. On our website you will find articles devoted to choosing applications for certain file formats.

All changes you make to files are instantly synced and updated in the cloud. Do not shut down the PC/program until it is uploaded to the cloud (during synchronization, the application icon in the tray rotates). Please note that files with a colon ( : ) in the name are not synchronized!

Uploading files

You can upload files to the Cloud by adding them to a folder on your computer. This can be done in the usual ways:

Drag and drop. Drag a file/folder from anywhere on your PC. In this case, it will not be moved, but copied.

Copy and paste. Copy the file by right-clicking on it and selecting “Copy” from the context menu, then right-clicking inside the cloud folder and selecting “Paste.”

Or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + C to copy and Ctrl + V to paste.

To download large files, we recommend using the program, since this process is much faster than through a browser.

Getting a link to a file

You can quickly share files and folders on your disk by receiving a link. To do this, right-click on the file and select “Disk-O: Copy public link” from the context menu.

Information about this will appear as a pop-up notification in the tray.

This is where the main capabilities of the web version and computer program end. It is worth noting that Mail.Ru is actively developing its own cloud storage, so we should expect new features and functions for both platforms in the future.

Thank the author and share the article on social networks.

Files in the Cloud are protected from loss and accidental access

How to set up access to your files in the mail ru cloud

You can go to the “ Sharing ” tab at the top, where all your files that you have shared with people will be located:

In this section, you can configure access to your files to other participants so that they can also view your files, edit them or add new ones. In order to set up access, you need to create a folder in which you place the necessary files.

To create a folder, click on the “ Create ” button and select “ Folder ”:

Now in the window, name your folder as you need and click “ Create ”:

Your folder is now ready and located in your cloud storage. In order to move files to your newly created folder, you mark the files with a checkmark, right-click and select “ Move ”:

After you clicked “ Move ”, a window will appear in front of you where you select the desired folder to which you want to move the file and click “ Move ”:

Now your folder appears in the “ Sharing ” tab, you select it by checking the box and clicking “ Configure access ” at the top:

In the window that opens, you change the settings to “ Available to individual participants ” and in the empty field write the mailbox address of the person to whom you are providing access and click “ Add ”:

Immediately after this, an invitation letter is sent to the person to whom you have granted access. The person who received the invitation must click on the “ Accept ” button in the letter and he automatically gets into his mail ru cloud and gets access to the folder:

How to use on your phone

Let's look at how to upload and download files through the application on your phone.

How to upload a file

1. Open the application and log in using your username and password.

2. To download a file, click on the + icon in the right corner.

3. Select what you want to download.

Pictures from the gallery. The phone's gallery will open from which you can select a photo to upload.
New photo. The app uses your phone's camera to take a new photo and upload it.
New folder. The service will create a new directory.
Files from the device. The application will open the file manager to download data from the phone memory.
Files from applications. They use data from the phone, but in a different visual mode.

How to download a file

1. Open the application and click on the “Files” button in the bottom menu of the screen.

2. Press your finger on the file (folder) you want to download. It will be marked with a tick.

3. Click on the three dots icon in the top corner.

If you select “Download”, the service will open a window with a choice of directory for downloading. By opening a folder in the directory and clicking the “Save here” button, the file will be downloaded to the specified location.
If you select "Save to device", the image or video will be recorded in the phone's gallery. This item appears only for images or videos. For other data types, only the “Download” item is available.

Mobile application Cloud mail ru

The mail ru service on its website offers you to download a mobile application by installing the mail ru cloud on your smartphone. If it is more convenient for you to use the cloud on your smartphone, then you can download this application and use files from the mail ru cloud storage anywhere, and not just at home on your computer:

If you have any questions about the Mail ru cloud, then you can find the “ Help ” button at the bottom of the mail ru cloud page, click on it and there you can find the answer to any question, both in the form of text content and in video format:

This is what the page looks like where you can find any information in text format on the mail ru cloud:

Scroll down a little and you will see video tutorials on working with the mail ru cloud:

Why share files on android?

Sharing files can be useful in a wide variety of situations. Sharing files on Android is especially convenient if several people are working on the same project at once and most of the work is done using a mobile device. This approach is often practiced in large organizations, as well as some educational institutions.