All To The Good

I was recently looking to free up some hard drive space (by transferring files I rarely ever use to online storage), and ran across a nice little tool for backing up files online. While it didn’t accomplish what I intended it to (namely, storing old software executables), it has served as a nice online backup for pictures. If something should happen to my hard drive, its nice to know that my pictures are not lost. Call it a digital firesafe.

It’s completely free and fairly easy to setup… especially if you already have a Gmail account that you never use (I think I have 5 or 6). The tool is called “Gmail Drive”, and can be found at: http://www.viksoe.dk/code/gmail.htm . It basically functions [almost] like a normal drive in Windows, except for a few things (e.g. the amount of time it takes to transfer files). On the backend, files you upload become email attachments in your Gmail account. At the time of this article, Gmail allots you about 7.5 GB of space (per email address).

Some of the filetypes you could backup:

• Pictures: great option, as filesizes and filenames are relatively small (more about this later).
• Music: decent, but unsure of the legality.
• Video: okay, if you have smaller videos. File attachments are limited in size (currently 25mb I believe).
• Executables: impossible- Google will not allow .exe as file attachments (which is how this extension operates).
• Documents: slightly sketchy- security is limited to your Gmail account security, and how much you trust Google ;.) . In my opinion, you’re better off using a thumb drive and putting it in an actual firesafe.

A couple notes:

1. In the Gmail account you use, it helps to create a filter so that you wont even notice anything has changed. For all subjects containing the word “GMAILFS”, set the filter to: Skip Inbox, Mark as read, Apply label “GmailFS”.Also, might be good to enable the option “Never send to Spam”.
2. Gmail limits filenames to 64 characters long (this includes folder + subfolders + filename length). So plan your folder structure on your gmail drive accordingly. Its best to have a flat folder structure if you can get away with it.
3. There was some mention that Google Buzz would interfere with this tool. Disable it in the settings.
4. You cant change the name of folders or files once they are uploaded.
5. Too much activity in one session may cause gmail to trigger a spam protection. You will have to login in a browser and verify an image to continue. Avoid this by backing up your files in increments.
6. Gmail Drive may not work with accounts that are enabled with Google Apps.

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