There are many places on the web that offer virtual file storage. While sites like Rapidshare and Megaupload have become the better known of such sites, there are many more in existence and better too. This post will suggest the best hosts to upload and share files.

Box.net

Best because of its collaborative features (two accounts can be linked to a joint account—probably best for professional use). It also comes with many free, built in editing tools for dealing with exel documents/spreadsheets, word documents, and photos.

There is also an iPhone application that allows users to access their Box.net accounts.

The main drawback to using Box.net on a free account is that it allows for only 1 file (not to exceed 25mb) to be uploaded at a time, thus making the uploading process for several files very time consuming. Another problem is that file storage cannot exceed 1 gb. One gigabyte may well be good enough space, but considering there are other alternative file hosts, this could be a make or break factor in considering Box.net.

Dropboks.com

Easily the most straightforward and simple file host. Again, no more than 1gb is allotted to the user and files cannot exceed 50mb, however I think Dropboks is useful for very quick grab-and-go kind of needs. Definitely more for personal and private use than any other file hosting services.

Mediafire.com

What can I say about Mediafire? It is the best. Unlimited file storage space, multiple file uploading, up to 100mb for files… while it is not up to par with Box.net in terms of being able to edit files, as far as free online storage goes, Mediafire has the best deal. The only downside can be the numerous advertising on the webpage.

ADrive.com

ADrive is also one of the best for file storage. It allows up to 50gb storage and file sizes are unlimited. Another useful thing about ADrive, and unique to the previous sites on this list, is that ADrive also has the option for a Windows desktop client. This allows the user to sync files from a folder to the site itself.