4 Shared Review | An in-depth review

Summary

4Shared online storage and file sharing offers high quality free online hosting and sharing services to a diverse customer base across the globe. Two pretty simple plans are offered; Free, which offers 15 GB of free storage, and Premium which offers pretty much the same service across the board (150 GB), but rewards customers with cheaper rates for longer contracts. The 4Shared service is simple to operate and understand, and thus the company has quickly gained a significant client base. The 4Shared platform supports both mobile and static devices, and its service is functional on most popular operating systems.

Introduction

4Shared has been around for about 7 years now, and since its inception has enjoyed a great deal of popularity. Based in Cyprus, its success is due largely to its features such as 4Sync which allows cross-platform syncronization of user accounts, innovative services, ease of use, and affordable plans. It’s also an attractive service to application developers and software professionals because it has more than 100 API functions available on its platform.

Other than being compatible with all major PC and laptop operating systems these days, 4Shared supports many smart- phone operating systems that are supported on the 4Shared’s 4Sync client application, available for free download from the company’s website. The company possesses a large team of dedicated developers who are constantly improving the service, and it shows. 4Shared is host to more than 150 million visitors and 350 million page views each month. They also enjoy a strong fan base of more than 300,000 social network friends.

4Shared offers free storage up to 15 GB and 100 GB for paying customers. Price plans are based on contract lengths of monthly, quarterly, or annually instead of upon data usage. Customer support is also highly regarded, and data security can definitely be trusted.

Plans & Pricing

4Shared seems to be a pretty good deal, but very basic. The free plan is for 15 GB of storage, but if you plan on doing much more than storing data away somewhere safe, the Premium plan is the way to go; the free plan is basically featureless and slow. The Premium plan is as low as $6.50 per month (if you pay yearly), with a free one-month trial. Plan details are shown in the following figure.

Free Plan @ Free of Charges: 15GB Storage Space, 2MB Max File Size, Low Download Speed, and Ads Delay with download.

Premium Plans with Variable Duration Contracts:

Premium One Year Contract @ $6.50/Month: 100GB Storage Space, 5GB Max File Size, High Download Speed, 100GB Premium Traffic, No Ads Delay with Downloads

Premium Three Month Contract @ $23.95/3-Months: 100GB Storage Space, 5GB Max File Size, High Download Speed, 100GB Premium Traffic, No Ads Delay with Downloads

Premium Six Month Contract @ $42.95/6-Months: 100GB Storage Space, 5GB Max File Size, High Download Speed, 100GB Premium Traffic, No Ads Delay with Downloads

Premium One Month Contract @ $9.95/Months: 100GB Storage Space, 5GB Max File Size, High Download Speed, 100GB Premium Traffic, No Ads Delay with Downloads

Features

Simple registration and service use
Simple data management and 4Sync client application
Siple service plans based on contract length instead of usage.
Support for most internet-capable devices
Support for most operating systems
24/7 Customer support
Industry grade security and encryption of data both at rest and in transition
Payment, registration and login on highly secure SSL connection
Automatic virus scans
Up to 100GB of data storage
Up to 5 GB per upload
Support for FTP and SFTP for access and upload
Drag and drop upload capability
Sub domain names up to 100 numbers for sharing your folders
Automatic social media file sharing of accounts linked with 4Shared
Large trash bin capable of restoring files deleted by mistake
Free software updates and patches
Support speed accelerator software like GetRight, FlashGet, or ReGet
Thorough usage statistics of user accounts
Direct internet uploads with Web-Grab option
Online zipping functionality
Free auto backup for paid users
Customized background and account history downloads
Photo view software allows photos to be viewed in zoomed form or slide show with comments
Anonymous file upload of multiple files and upload status
Sharing files as embedded links
Online music streaming and video streaming capability
Preview function available for text files
Tight physical security of data server premises
Network security has multiple levels of firewalls and authentication processes
Clearly defined privacy policy
Provides opportunity for reselling and advertisement business
Enterprises able to post advertisements on the website to get noticed by other users
Clearly defined service-level agreement; 99.9% network availability

Security

4Shared security consists of two very important divisions, both of which are industry-grade systems, ensuring the safety of all stored and managed data. Here’s a list of security features found in 4Shared.

Physical Security:

State of the art data centers located in secure industrial areas
Automatic door locks integrated with biometric authentication
Photo IDs required for entrance into the data centers and hardware cabinets
CCTV cameras
Fire alarm system synchronized with local fire departments
Customer and partner access is managed by Siebel
Multi-tier security levels
Redundant equipment for critical operation like network connectivity, network cards, server processors, power supplies and switches etc

Logical Security:

Data’s biggest risk is not physical threat of equipment but instead through system hackers of databases and the like. Here’s how 4Shared protects against such attacks.

Secure multilevel firewalls within the network to safeguard data and network access
Latest access-control lists and security policies pertaining to network control
Data transport takes place within 128-bit secure SSL connections
Encrypted data transfer and storage
Encryped passwords and user names
Data access granted through application server for different partners, thus ensuring security and integrity of data is maintained
All data folders are password-level capable
Regular data backup
General search exclusion for files chosen to be nonpublic
Industrial-strength antivirus/anti-malware software

Customer Service

4Shared has dedicated 24/7 staff for each branch of customer service, ensuring a specialized agent for each customer concern. There is a predefined TAT for the resolution of the queries, and most issues are resolved in less than a day.

There is also a good number of technical articles, videos, and answers to FAQs available. A tour of the services is available on the website, as well as a customer blog available for discussion of issues or for creating new leads related to questions or concerns.

The process (Sign-up & Install)

4Shared registration is simple and the client application is light-weight. simple download/install for most computers and devices. The registration and system usage processes are illustrated here.

Go to 4Shared.com and fill in the Sign Up fields on the right right of the page
Fill in the registration form as shown in the following figure and select Create Account

A confirmation prompt will direct you to your email for account verification

Login to your email provider and open your email
Click the confirmation link, such as the one below

Once you’re bonafide, feel free to click Home

Your Home page will look like this

To make changes to your settings, click the Settings icon located at the top right of your Home page
You’ll be presented with a Settings page as shown in the following figure
Settings will allow you to make account customizations from the following tabs, as well as view messages and perform tasks

Download and Installation of 4Sync Software

In order to use the 4Shared program, you first need to download the software, which you’ll find on your Home page under the Sync link above the big cloud with a 4 in it. Select the appropriate operating system for your computer and follow the installation instructions once 4Sync is finished downloading.

Choose Standard installation

Using 4Shared

Once 4Sync has finished installing, open the 4Sync file on your computer

You can use all default folders as shown in the following figure

Upload pictures by double clicking the My Photo folder and copy/paste photos from your computer into the folder
4Sync will automatically upload to your account and will verify success with a green check mark on each file, such as seen in the picture below

You can verify these uploading of the pictures by logging through web browser to 4Sahred account and going to My 4Shared home as shown in following figure

Sharing Files

To share files, select them from the directory and click Share from the toolbar
Select Send file from the following popup, input the detination email address, and click Share

New Folder

Highlight a directory, such as the My Photo folder
Click New Folder and enter the new folder’s name
Click OK to confirm

To upload files using the 4Shared interface, click Upload Files or Upload Folder from the bottom of the page
Choose the data to be uploaded from your computer’s files and click OK
Your folder will automatically upload

Conclusion

4Shared has been a popular storage and file sharing service since its humble beginnings, and to date the company can boast millions of users worldwide. It houses a plethora of shared public content and it provides excellent security. Its service is well-featured and easy to use. Its customer support provides users with plenty of educational material, and agents are standing by in case of problems. 4Shared is suitable for both home and office use, thus making it highly recommended.

Review

4Shared Review