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Screenshot  | |
Type of site | File hosting |
|---|---|
| Available in | English, German, Russian, Korean, Indonesian, Malay, Portuguese (Brazil), Italian, French, Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, Vietnamese, Thai, Japanese, Persian, Polish, Turkish |
| Founded | 2005 |
| Headquarters | Kyiv, Ukraine |
| URL | www |
| Commercial | Yes |
| Launched | 2005 |
| Native client(s) on |
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4shared, also known as 4shared.com, is a file-sharing website.
4shared supports the WebDAV, FTP, and SFTP protocols, in addition to having a web interface. 4shared is a freemium service, with significant usage limitations on non-paying users, such as a daily bandwidth limit of 3 GB. [1]
In 2011, 4shared was ranked the largest file-sharing website, beating out others such as Megaupload and MediaFire. [2]
The site was labelled as a notorious market in 2016: "While 4shared provides legitimate file-storage services, the site also facilitates the streaming and downloading of high volumes of allegedly pirated videos, music, books, and video games." [3]
In 2019, 4shared's Android app was discovered to be serving invisible advertisements to users, and automatically signing them up for unwanted services. The app was replaced with a non-malicious version on April of the same year, after being removed on Google Play. [4]
Gmail is a free email service provided by Google. As of 2019, it had 1.5 billion active users worldwide making it the largest email service in the world. A user typically accesses Gmail in a web browser or through the official mobile application. Google also supports the use of email clients via the POP and IMAP protocols.
Baidu, Inc. is a Chinese multinational technology company specializing in Internet-related services, products, and artificial intelligence (AI), headquartered in Beijing's Haidian District. It is one of the largest AI and Internet companies in the world. The holding company of the group is incorporated in the Cayman Islands. Baidu was incorporated in January 2000 by Robin Li and Eric Xu. Baidu has origins in RankDex, an earlier search engine developed by Robin Li in 1996, before he founded Baidu in 2000.
A file-hosting service, also known as cloud-storage service, online file-storage provider, or cyberlocker is an internet hosting service specifically designed to host user files. These services allows users to upload files that can be accessed over the internet after providing a username and password or other authentication. Typically, file hosting services allow HTTP access, and in some cases, FTP access. Other related services include content-displaying hosting services, virtual storage, and remote backup solutions.
Megaupload Ltd was a Hong Kong–based online company established in 2005 that operated from 2005 to 2012 providing online services related to file storage and viewing.
Google Workspace is a collection of cloud computing, productivity and collaboration tools, software and products developed and marketed by Google. It consists of Gmail, Contacts, Calendar, Meet and Chat for communication; Currents for employee engagement; Drive for storage; and the Google Docs Editors suite for content creation. An Admin Panel is provided for managing users and services. Depending on edition Google Workspace may also include the digital interactive whiteboard Jamboard and an option to purchase add-ons such as the telephony service Voice. The education edition adds a learning platform Google Classroom and today has the name Workspace for Education.
Microsoft OneDrive is a file hosting service operated by Microsoft. First launched in August 2007, it enables registered users to share and synchronize their files. OneDrive also works as the storage backend of the web version of Microsoft Office. OneDrive offers 5 GB of storage space free of charge, with 100 GB, 1 TB, and 6 TB storage options available either separately or with Microsoft 365 subscriptions.
MediaFire is a file hosting, file synchronization, and cloud storage service based in Shenandoah, Texas, United States. Founded in June 2006 by Derek Labian and Tom Langridge, the company provides client software for Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, BlackBerry 10, and web browsers. MediaFire has 43 million registered users and attracted 1.3 billion unique visitors to its domains in 2012.
Dropbox is a file hosting service operated by the American company Dropbox, Inc., headquartered in San Francisco, California, U.S. that offers cloud storage, file synchronization, personal cloud, and client software. Dropbox was founded in 2007 by MIT students Drew Houston and Arash Ferdowsi as a startup company, with initial funding from seed accelerator Y Combinator.
WhatsApp is a freeware, cross-platform, centralized instant messaging (IM) and voice-over-IP (VoIP) service owned by United States tech conglomerate Meta Platforms. It allows users to send text, voice messages and video messages, make voice and video calls, and share images, documents, user locations, and other content. WhatsApp's client application runs on mobile devices, and can be accessed from computers. The service requires a cellular mobile telephone number to sign up. In January 2018, WhatsApp released a standalone business app called WhatsApp Business which can communicate with the standard WhatsApp client.
Google Drive is a file storage and synchronization service developed by Google. Launched on April 24, 2012, Google Drive allows users to store files in the cloud, synchronize files across devices, and share files. In addition to a web interface, Google Drive offers apps with offline capabilities for Windows and macOS computers, and Android and iOS smartphones and tablets. Google Drive encompasses Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Google Slides, which are a part of the Google Docs Editors office suite that permits collaborative editing of documents, spreadsheets, presentations, drawings, forms, and more. Files created and edited through the Google Docs suite are saved in Google Drive.
WeChat and Weixin are a Chinese instant messaging, social media, and mobile payment app developed by Tencent. First released in 2011, it became the world's largest standalone mobile app in 2018 with over 1 billion monthly active users. WeChat has been described as China's "app for everything" and a super-app because of its wide range of functions. WeChat provides text messaging, hold-to-talk voice messaging, broadcast (one-to-many) messaging, video conferencing, video games, mobile payment, sharing of photographs and videos and location sharing.
The seizure of Megaupload, a popular filesharing website with 150 million registered users, occurred on January 19, 2012, following a US indictment accusing Megaupload of harbouring millions of copyrighted files. According to the indictment, Megaupload was costing copyright holders over $500 million in lost revenues.
MEGA is a cloud storage and file hosting service offered by MEGA Limited, a company based in Auckland, New Zealand. The service is offered through web-based apps. MEGA mobile apps are also available for Android and iOS.
Baidu Wangpan or Baidu Netdisk is a cloud service provided by Baidu, Inc., headquartered in Haidian District in Beijing. It offers a cloud storage service, client software, file management, resources sharing, and Third Party Integration. After being created on one client terminal, files can be synchronized automatically on other internet-connected client terminals. It was launched as Baidu WangPan on 23 March 2012. On 22 August 2013, an offer of permanent free 2 terabytes of storage for users was announced.
Google Photos is a photo sharing and storage service developed by Google. It was announced in May 2015 and spun off from Google+, the company's former social network.
Microsoft Teams is a proprietary business communication platform developed by Microsoft, as part of the Microsoft 365 family of products.
Google One is a subscription service developed by Google that offers expanded cloud storage and is intended for the consumer market. Google One paid plans offer cloud storage starting at 100 gigabytes, up to a maximum of 30 terabytes, an expansion from the free Google Account storage space of 15 GB, which is shared across Google Drive, Gmail, and Google Photos. Launched in May 2018, Google One replaced the paid services of Google Drive to emphasize the fact that the program is used by multiple Google Services. The program's raw storage is not accessible by users, but emails, files, and pictures can be added and removed through Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Photos.
Microsoft 365 is a product family of productivity software, collaboration and cloud-based services owned by Microsoft. It encompasses online services such as Outlook.com, OneDrive, Microsoft Teams, programs formerly marketed under the name Microsoft Office, enterprise products and services associated with these products such as Exchange Server, SharePoint, and Yammer. It also covers subscription plans encompassing these products, including those that include subscription-based licenses to desktop and mobile software, and hosted email and intranet services.
Openload was a file-sharing website shut down in 2019 after legal action by the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment. The site was highly-used before its shutdown, making most of its money from advertising and cryptojacking. The site was designated as a notorious market and often used for copyright infringement.