MEGA is a cloud storage and file sharing service created by Kim Dotcom, the founder of MegaUpload and MegaVideo. It was born as a successor to MegaUpload, which was blacked out by the US Department of Justice on 19 January 2012 but differs from the latter in many respects.
First of all, it is structured as an online hard disk, just like Dropbox, which allows you to store up to 50GB of data for free (there are also paid plans for more space). Secondly, it uses a cryptographic technology based on codes called “keys” that should make it impossible to trace data.
With today’s guide, we will discover MEGA more closely, how to use it and download files, movies, and music from it. The site is accessible from any computer and is compatible with all major Web browsers, but to take full advantage of its potential is officially recommended to use Google Chrome. So what do you say? Do you feel like starting? I bet you will learn to utilize this service in a much simpler and faster than what you imagine!
In the page that opens, fill out the form that is proposed to you by entering in it name , email address and password you want to use on MEGA, put the check mark next to the item I agree with the Terms of Service of MEGA and click on the red Create Account button to complete the operation. Then, connected to your email address, click on the confirmation link in the email received from MEGA and log in to the service to authenticate your account.
When completed, select the free service plan (the one from 50GB to 0 euro), presses on Complete and you will be redirected to the main service screen. Registering with MEGA has many advantages, such as the ability to create shared folders with other users of the service, keep your files online and manage them from any computer and much more.
To upload a file to MEGA, connected to the main page of the service using a supported navigation program (I recommend Google Chrome) and drag the file to the browser window. You can upload files of any kind, the only limit that you can not exceed is that of 50GB of “weight”.
Wait for the progress bar to reach 100% and get the link to share your file online. As? by right-clicking on its icon and selecting Get link from the menu that appears. In the box that opens, you can choose whether to share the link including “key” to provide direct access to the file or if you only share the link to the file and provide separately the “key” code needed to download it.
In the first case, you have to put the check mark next to the entry Include file key and click on the Copy button in the clipboard to copy the link for direct download of the file to the clipboard of the computer. If instead, you prefer to privately share the file access key, uncheck the option Include file key and click on Copy in the clipboard to get the link to the file and then click on Copy keys to get the keys to unlock the download.
HOW TO USE MEGA
Once you understand the file uploading mechanism, let’s see how to download files, movies, and music from MEGA. The procedure is very simple. All you need to do is connect to the link of the file to be downloaded using a supported browser (eg Chrome) and click on the Download button.
In the event that the link you used to download from MEGA does not include the key code to access the file, you must enter the “key” manually typing it in the Enter the decryption key field and then you must proceed normally to the download as seen previously.
If you are a registered user of MEGA, and then you have a personal account (free or paid), you can also choose not to download the file on your PC but import it into your virtual hard disk. To do so, click on the gray Import button instead of Download and wait for the procedure to be completed.
To rename, move or delete a file from your online hard disk, right-click on its name and select one of the items in the menu that appears. To empty the trash and permanently delete the deleted files from your MEGA space, select the Trash icon from the left sidebar and click the Empty trash button at the top.
As for the shared folders: you can create folders within your MEGA space by clicking on the New Folder button of the File Manager and share the latter with other users by selecting them with the right mouse button and clicking on the Share menu item that appears. In the box that opens, presses the + button. type the email address of the person with whom you want to share the folder and click on Add. Then set the type of permission to be given to the user ( read only, read and write or full access ) through the appropriate drop-down menu and click on the button Made to activate sharing.
If the user with whom you have decided to share the folder is not yet registered with MEGA, he will receive an email with an invitation to subscribe to the service. Then you will need to encrypt your share for its key to actually enable sharing the folder with the criteria you have previously established.
Did you know that you can also adjust upload speeds and the number of parallel connections on MEGA? Just click on the Menu button located at the top right and go to My Account > Settings. On the page that opens, you must then go to Transfer Settings and adjust in the way you prefer the values Number of parallel upload connections, Number of parallel download connections and Upload speed limit.
If you want to increase the available space on the Mega online hard disk, you need to connect to this page of the service and click on the type of subscription you want to subscribe: Pro I with 500GB of space at 9.99 euros/month, Pro II with 2TB of space at 19.99 euros/month or Pro III with 4TB of space at 29.99 euros/month.
*** DOWNLOAD ***
MEGA is also available for computers and portable devices, through which you can manage your files and synchronize them with ease (a bit like Dropbox). The computer application is compatible with Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux and you can download it from here, the one for smartphones and tablets is available on the App Store (IOS).
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