A little help with file sharing, please..

[grumpyduck]

I'm looking to make three files (under a meg each) available to people who want to use them. This is a one-time thing, the files are free, and there's no registration needed. Basically, "if you want to use the files, you can download them here." I know about Dropbox and a couple of others, but wanted to see if you folks have other suggestions or favorite sites.

[mr_lebowski]

1. You could also configure your PC as a FTP server and give those people URL's to your PC

Of course your PC would have to be on at the time for them to get it.

Then you'd give them an URL like ftp://72.134.45.126/files/myfile.pdf. Where that IP is your public IP address (easy to find out, but it can change occasionally with most ISP's, thus breaking people's ability to reach it from outside your network)

I mean, unless you've registered your PC with a Domain Name. Which you wouldn't do unless you can get a Static (unchanging IP address) from your ISP.

https://www.windowscentral.com/how-set-ftp-server-windows-10

Looks like a lot of work but it's not really that hard

[Sunriser13]

2. Little overboard for a one-shot deal!

Heck, my eyes crossed and I used to be pretty darn good at that stuff!

OP, I don't know what's best, but I remember something about Dropbox that made me drop them. It could have been privacy or some other TOS matter. Hope that helps just a little...

[mr_lebowski]

4. Once you have it running, you might find it has a lot more uses than first expected ;)

It's really not that hard to config, it's just a LOT ... of fairly easy/simple steps.

[Sunriser13]

5. Oh, you're right, of course.

It still struck my funny bone!

[mahina]

8. The one challenge w dropbox on top of paying for it is that if you aren't careful with backups,

Anyone you share the file with, once they download it, if they delete it, it’s Poof. Gone.

[CloudWatcher]

6. FTP servers

One problem with people setting up FTP servers is that a lot of folks live behind a NAT tunnel. So connections can go out, but without some "advanced" configuring of the NAT engine, the connections can't come in.

Also .. FTP sends passwords un-encrypted, so unless you're willing to set up anonymous FTP I'd suggest SFTP or something more secure.

In any event, Dropbox works fine for light use

Beyond that, I'd personally look into iCloud file sharing.

For advanced work, I'd consider setting up a virtual host (e.g. a virtual machine with linode.com). I'm not a big fan of self-hosting ... especially after having done it here for 20+ years. It's nice to have a machine in the cloud that's just always up

[LuvLoogie]

3. This might be an option

[Make7]

7. FireFox/Mozilla has an anonymous file sharing service.

https://send.firefox.com/

The emphasis is on privacy, so the file is deleted after it is downloaded or after 24 hours expire. That may not work for your needs, but I trust Mozilla - not so sure about other anonymous file sharing sites out there.

https://blog.mozilla.org/blog/2019/03/12/introducing-firefox-send-providing-free-file-transfers-while-keeping-your-personal-information-private/


I normally use DropBox. Of course, they do require that you register with a valid email address, but the basic service is free and they don't annoy too much with trying to up sell.

ETA: You as an uploader need to create an account with DropBox to store files on their server. You can create a link that will allow anyone to download the file - without needing an account.

[mahina]

9. Just a cautionary note that even accidentally they can delete the file easily, so have a backup

If you want one.

I‘M no expert that is for sure but this mistake, I’ve made.

[ManiacJoe]

10. Any of the file sharing sites will work fine.

For your purposes, none will be better than the others.

Make sure you set the public access to read-only when creating the URL(s) for sharing the file(s).

Setting up your PC as an internet server is overkill and far too much work for what you want.

[OAITW r.2.0]

11. If you already use Google Drive, this is as easy to share files as Dropbox.

I can create a folder that is accessible by the email addresses that I want to share it with. No time limit on access and you can delete the folder, once the files are downloaded and distributed.