Access Your PC’s Files Over the Internet – Would you like to have access to your files, photos, music stored on your mobile phone or computer while on the move? The obvious solution is to copy all your files from the original source to a portable device such as a hard drive and move around with it. But this is rather cumbersome compared to other available solutions.
With technological advancements, there are several methods that allow you to access your files through the internet without necessarily having to carry a hard drive around. Platforms like Egnyte allow you to share files and collaborate with anyone in real-time without losing your sensitive data to potential hackers.
Below are some of the common online file access solutions.
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Desktop sharing software
This is a free desktop sharing tool like TeamViewer or UltraVNC. The software can help you access files on your computer from anywhere. Another product with the same features is known as LogMeIn Pro. With such tools, you can easily access all your files using the above tools.
Although you may be able to access your files using the desktop sharing software, the main disadvantage is that the remote computer must remain on. The other limitation is that such tools won’t allow you to access files via your mobile device.
Dedicated routers and NAS devices
There are dedicated network-attached storage(NAS) devices that have integrated support that make it easy for you to access your files online. In case the NAS doesn’t fail, you can still forward ports such that its web interface is accessible over the internet. But the problem with this is that your files will be vulnerable to malware and attacks.
Besides, some routers have USB ports that can be connected to a USB hard drive. The information on the hard drive can then be easily accessed via any computer through your local network.
Cloud storage services
At some point, Microsoft offered a solution where users could fetch files from their PCs over the internet. But the service was discontinued and converted to what’s currently known as OneDrive.
Similar to Google Drive and Dropbox, OneDrive is a cloud storage. Software solution that offers you a special folder on your computer.
All files and data stored on that folder are automatically uploaded to your cloud storage account and synchronized to all your devices.
FTP servers plus other software
You can also install an FTP (file transfer protocol) server on a computer and give it access to the internet. This method is not secure since you have to expose FTP servers to the internet. But you can set up a VPN with an FTP server and access it using the VPN.
VPNs
This is also another way through which you can access files on your PC remotely. All you need to do is to set up a VPN server on a home network and connect to it. Your computer will then serve as part of your local network. The process will allow you to access folders shared through Windows plus other network storage devices.
In a nutshell, there are several ways in which you can access your PC’s files over the internet.