DriveShare - FAQ

1) How is DriveShare/ParaDrive different from Windows filesharing?

Windows file sharing is designed to share files between computers that are on the same network. ParaDrive and DriveShare allows you to access and share files no matter where you are -- from a coffee shop, a hotel room, a library or an office -- as long as there an internet connection available.

2) What type of connection is required?

ParaDrive and DriveShare can operate over any internet connection available to your computer. It can be wired or wireless, broadband or narrow-band. ParaDrive and DriveShare can also operate over VPN connections!

If you can browse the web, chances are you can use ParaDrive and DriveShare to access and share files.

3) Is the connection used to transfer data secure?

Yes. Unlike companies that are light on the details but tout "proprietary unbreakable encryption" algorithms and use algorithms designed in one evening by people with no experience in cryptography, we not only use standard algorithms, like AES for encryption and SHA-256 for hashing, that have undergone heavy scrutiny by some of the smartest security and encryption experts in the world, but we validate our implementation and audit the algorithm use to ensure the safety of your data.

Additionally, for environments that may require it, we offer FIPS-approved implementations.

4) Working with firewalls

ParaDrive and DriveShare are firewall-friendly. All traffic uses TCP and originates or terminates on port 2459. This means that administrators and end-users can easily configure firewalls and other
security devices.

Additionally, ParaDrive and DriveShare can automatically configure the Windows Firewall that is integrated in the Windows XP and Windows Vista operating systems.

5) Resources

When not used, ParaDrive and DriveShare, run unobtrusively in the background, without hogging CPU and memory. The minimum hardware requirements for ParaDrive and DriveShare are the same as those required for Windows XP.

6) Why does it take a while to display application icons, picture
previews and other file metadata in Explorer?

ParaDrive and DriveShare utilize compression techniques to improve the data transfer rate when reading or writing files, but ultimately those files reside on remote systems. Generally speaking, users with broadband connections should not notice any performance issues.

However, when browsing a remote filesystem, users may notice slight delays as Windows Explorer changes directories.

This happens because of the number of operations that Windows Explorer performs in order to display file icons and image file previews, timestamps and file metadata. For each of those operations, Windows Explorer needs to read the file in question. More files being displayed means more data needs to be transferred, which can result in a temporary drop out in performance as your internet connection is saturated.

7) Operating system support

PadaDrive and DriveShare can run on a number of operating systems, including Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows Server, Linux 2.6 and Apple's OSX.

This means that you can access your files -- regardless what computer they are on, and where in the world that computer is -- safely and securely.