HiDrive

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• Hidrive Free
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HiDrive allows users to backup their data “in the cloud” and access it from anywhere. Online storage also makes it easy to share data with friends, family or coworkers. Security and privacy always come first at STRATO, so HiDrive employs strict standards. STRATO operates two certified data centers in Germany. HiDrive is a program by the software company STRATO AG. Sometimes, people try to erase it. This is troublesome because removing this by hand requires some know-how related to Windows internal functioning.

Product by:

Miranda Overett

Rating:

Summary:

HiDrive review from BestBackups, taking a look at features, security, customer service and value for money.

HiDrive has a diverse range of features, although a poor website and minimal security might dissuade potential subscribers. You can read a detailed review below or sign up now.

Price Plans

HiDrive offers three personal plans, starting with HiDrive Free – a free account with 5GB of storage space that can be doubled by successfully inviting friends to sign up. For more space, you can upgrade to HiDrive 100, which offers 100GB for $6.30 per month. This plan will also give you access to extra features, including email uploads and FTP/NAS storage.

At the top end of the market, there’s HiDrive 500, which gives you (you’ve guessed it) 500GB of storage space, as well as the option to backup from up to five devices, for $13.60 per month. HiDrive 500 users can increase their storage limit to a maximum of 5TB if desired, with prices for a larger quota available upon request.

HiDrive has no subscriptions designed specifically for business users, and a five computer maximum on the largest storage plan means that it is likely to appeal most to personal users. If you want to sign up, payment can be made by Visa or MasterCard.

* Prices given in Euros. Conversions are based on exchange rates at the time of writing

Features

About HiDrive

HiDrive is owned by STRATO, a giant in European hosting services and subsidiary of Deutsche Telecom. With more than 50 thousand servers across the globe and over a million customers, Berlin-based STRATO has plenty of resources to pour into HiDrive, as well as other endeavours including hostingand website building services. STRATO is currently headed by CEO Christian Böing, who has formerly held management roles with Vodafone and 1&1 Internet.

Backup options

As a Cloud storage provider, HiDrive is best used for sharing files and keeping data synced between devices. Files can be uploaded to the HiDrive website both individually and in bulk, although there’s no option here to upload entire folders. If you want to do this, you’ll need to use the HiDrive desktop client, which creates a folder on your hard drive. All documents dragged or pasted into this folder are automatically uploaded to your HiDrive account, and can then be accessed remotely from any device.

There’s no option for automatic or scheduled backups, meaning that those looking to backup large quantities of files (rather than focusing on sync and share options) may be better off considering an online backup service.

You can also use FTP for transferring larger files, and SMB for sharing access to files and devices across a network.

Cross-platform compatibility

HiDrive can be accessed from a web browser, mobile, or using their desktop client for Windows or Mac. Although there is currently no designated software available for Windows 10 users, we found that downloading the standard Windows software worked fine. They also offer apps for Android, iOS (iPhone and iPad), and Windows Phone 7.

Sync and share options

HiDrive allows all users to share files by creating public links for read-only access, or granting editing rights to other HiDrive users.

For photos, there’s also HiDrive’s sharing gallery, which lets you create an album of images by uploading photos from your HiDrive account, desktop, Dropbox, or even by importing them from Facebook. You can grant friends, family or colleagues access to galleries, allowing them not just to view your images, but also to contribute their own – making it easy to bring together photos of events and shared experiences.

While free users won’t get much by way of security when it comes to sharing files, upgrading to a paid plan will let you add password protection to the links that you share.

From April 2016, HiDrive also offers an automatic synchronisation service, so that any changes made to your stored files are automatically applied across both your online storage and all of your registered devices.

File versioning

HiDrive does provide something very close to a file versioning service, although versions are referred to as Snapshots, and rather than saving versions of individual files, a mirror copy of your entire backup is made. This then functions very much like a typical version history,

To change your versioning settings, you’ll need to navigate to Backup Control. Once there, you can decide to keep Snapshots for either one or six weeks, and to create them once every four hours, once per day, or once a week. It’s not the simplest system, but it runs smoothly once you’ve got your head around the basics.

NAS compatibility

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HiDrive is also compatible with Synology NAS servers, and can be used to run automatic backups from a NAS drive.

Email uploads

With many important files sent via email today, HiDrive has introduced a system allowing you to save email attachments directly to your storage account. All you’ll need to do is forward any attachments you want to save to your HiDrive upload email address, or ask friends and colleagues to send messages directly to that account, and they’ll be backed up.

Data Send In service

If you’re relying on a broadband connection that’s not top-notch, you might find that it takes a long time to backup your files. In order to avoid this, HiDrive offers their Data Send In service, which lets you ship your data directly to STRATO on a collection of high-capacity DVDs. They will then do the uploading for you, which should save you a lot of time.

Mount HiDrive on your PC or Mac

Although most other backup services create a folder on your computer, HiDrive creates a mountable drive, which acts much more like an additional hard drive. The big advantage of this is that file transfers are much faster, as the files can be saved in a location that is integrated into your PC.

Security

There’s a notable lack of information available on HiDrive’s security features, with nothing to be found on their website and an email request for details on encryption only returning the response “I am sorry but I cannot give you that information”. What can be discovered, however, is that files are encrypted during transfer using SSL and 246-bit encryption, but not at rest or before being transferred to HiDrive’s servers. This means that your files are not protected at any time other than when they are moving between your computer and your Cloud storage.

In addition to this, as you can’t set a private encryption key and documents aren’t protected before they are passed on to HiDrive, the company would theoretically be able to decrypt your files at any time. While that doesn’t matter too much if you’re just uploading a few photos, if you want to backup any personal or confidential data, it could become a major cause for concern.

If you still want to use HiDrive regardless, then there is a silver lining, as their software supports uploads of files that have been encrypted in advance using third party software such as Boxcryptor.

Once backed up, your files are stored in data centers around Germany, where they are protected not just from external damage but also from data loss and access by any unauthorised persons. Your information is also covered by the German Data Protection Act.

Customer Support

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If you want to contact a member of staff, you’ll be directed to the STRATO website, from where you can email a support desk for help with HiDrive.

Other than this, there’s a limited FAQ and a Community forum, where you’ll find help requests across a broad range of topics and can browse previous posts for information. Boards are regularly updated, and replies contain plenty of information (including from certified HiDrive reps), although we would like to see a better-integrated means of contacting the team directly.

Response time and quality of service

The email enquiry we sent received a reply within two days – not the longest wait we’ve experienced, but certainly lagging behind the average of around eight hours. The answer, when it came, was friendly and professional, although it required a little extra research on our part before the issue was fully resolved. A second enquiry (concerning their encryption standards) was much more reserved however, giving us very little to go on.

Blogs and Social Networks

HiDrive doesn’t have much of a social media presence, with all of the company’s accounts long out of date, and Twitter limited to a ‘HiDrive 5GB Free’ page with minimal activity or followers. There’s more to be found by searching for parent company STRATO, although their Twitter, Facebook and blog are all written exclusively in German.

The Process

Getting started

Installing HiDrive is a straightforward process – just a matter of a few clicks. While the website certainly can’t be described as too complicated, the lack of product details might leave you feeling a little lost – especially if you’re looking for details on security features. However, if this doesn’t bother you too much, it’s easy to browse through their different account options and sign up.

Using HiDrive

The HiDrive desktop client is very easy to use, as it consists only of an empty folder and a small navigation pop up on your taskbar. Just copy or drop and drag files into the folder and they’ll be backed up automatically, or use the pop-up to change your settings or navigate straight to the HiDrive website.

This site is where most of the more complex processes take place, from restoring and sharing files to accessing Snapshots and monitoring your available storage space. The interface is dated but fairly intuitive, and although some of the non-standard terms used can be a little confusing at first, it shouldn’t take long to find your way around.

The main problem we encountered with HiDrive’s software is that the whole operation feels like a bit of an afterthought; from its underdeveloped website to its limited customer support. There’s also a notable absence of the HiDrive brand online, with STRATO taking up most of the space but difficult to navigate to thanks to the constant need for a third party translator. The website www.hidrive.com won’t even take you to the page devoted to the backup software – instead, you’ll be sent straight to an overview of all of STRATO’s projects.

All in all, this doesn’t inspire much confidence that HiDrive is being given much love, which in turn throws up some questions about their commitment to customer support and product development.

Using the mobile app

The HiDrive mobile app is certainly functional, giving users access to a broad range of features including uploading and downloading files, accessing shared folders, and automatically backing up photos from your device’s camera. It should come as no surprise that the interface is a little dated, and transfers can be very slow, but it’s simple and flexible enough to serve its purpose with no major problems.

HiDrive Review Conclusion

We liked

• Good file sharing options
• Data Send In service
• NAS compatible
• Mountable drive

We weren’t so sure about

• Brand feels underdeveloped
• Lack of information available
• Limited free account

We hated

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• Weak security – data only encrypted during transfer

There are actually some very interesting features to be found in HiDrive, although they are buried beneath a poor website and an overall lack of easily available information. Despite this, NAS compatibility and the option to increase transfer speeds by mounting HiDrive as an additional drive both give this service a degree of versatility that is difficult to find with other providers.

On the downside, customer service is limited, and the whole endeavour feels like something of an afterthought, with features not explored or advertised to their full potential. Most importantly, security is given little to no priority, with your files only protected during transfer.

If you’re willing to see past its limitations and take the time to encrypt your files in advance, then HiDrive can be a rewarding option. Those looking for a simple service that requires minimal input, however, may wish to look elsewhere.

We strive to keep our articles as accurate as possible. If you notice any inconsistencies or outdated info please let us know.

HiDrive is a cloud storage provider supported by Backup4all to store your backups online. You can easily backup your data to your cloud HiDrive account. This is a practical remote backup destination as it allows you to store important files offsite. It can be considered as an additional protection against data loss as the result of hardware failure or other disasters.

On this page:

• How to restore from HiDrive

HiDrive is an online service which stores your files securely and keeps them well organized. All of your files are brought together in one central location, accessible to you, anytime, anywhere. All you need is internet access via your PC, Laptop, tablet or smartphone.

HiDrive has further access options for you: for example, log in to online File Manager via your browser, or on your mobile via WebDAV. For advanced users, SMB, FTP and rsync are available.

This means you can use HiDrive as a conventional hard drive (SMB), transfer large files (FTP) or even use your HiDrive with an NAS box (rsync). In your account settings you can activate whichever transmission protocols you want to use at any time.

How to set up a new HiDrive account

To create a new HiDrive account, please follow these steps:

1. Go to HiDrive website
2. Follow the steps to create a new account.
   

How to backup to HiDrive

Steps to follow:

1. Open Backup4all and select File -> New (Ctrl+N).
   
2. In the Where do you want to save your backup page, select HiDrive as backup destination.
   
3. Press Choose account. A new window will appear to log on into your HiDrive account. Then press Next.
   
4. On the What do you want to backup page, add the backup sources. Press Next.
   
5. On the Filter the backup sources page, you can set include/exclude filters for backup sources. Then press Next.
   
6. On the How do you want to backup page, you can choose the backup type and optionally set the encryption. Press Next.
   
7. On the When do you want to backup page, you can set the backup job to automatically run on the specified time and days.
   
8. On the Personalize your backup job page, enter a name for the backup in the Backup name field.
   
9. Press Save -> Save and run.

How to restore from HiDrive

Steps to follow:

1. If the backup job does not exist in Backup4all, you must open it from File -> Open from.
   
2. Select HiDrive page. Configure the HiDrive account
3. After the HiDrive account was set, press Show to display the backup jobs in destination. Select the catalog you want to open and press Open. Backup4all will recreate that backup job.
4. Press the Restore (F7) button. Optionally you can select the location you want to restore the files to. Original location is selected by default.
   On the same page, you can choose how do you want to restore or you can filter the files before the restore.
   If you select to restore from a specific version, press Next to indicate the version or the date you want to restore the files. Press Next
5. Press Finish to start the restore process.
   

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