One-click hosting generally describes web services that allows internet users to easily upload one or more files from their hard drives onto the one-click host's server free of charge.
Most such services simply return a URL which can be given to other people, who can then fetch the file later on. As of 2005 these sites have drastically increased in popularity, and subsequently, many of the smaller, less efficient sites have failed. Many internet forums exist in order to share such links; this type of file sharing has, to a degree, taken over from P2P filesharing services[1].
The sites make money through advertising or charging for premium services such as increased downloading capacity, removing any wait restrictions the site may have or prolonging how long uploaded files remain on the site. Many sites implement a CAPTCHA to prevent automated downloading.
Notable one-click hosting services
The table below compares general information for notable one-click hosting services used for file sharing.
| Web Host |
Language |
Max. file size |
Direct access[2] |
Traffic/bandwidth limit |
File expiration |
Misc. notes |
Remote Uploading? |
Affiliate or Rewards Program? |
Ability to delete files? |
| Box.net |
EN |
&0000000000000010.00000010 MB (free) |
? |
10 GB of monthly traffic |
? |
1 GB file size limitation for non-free accounts |
? |
? |
? |
| FileFront |
EN |
&0000000000001000.0000001,000 MB |
Yes |
? |
6 months of inactivity |
Premium advert-free service available via FastPass. Limited to video gaming files. |
? |
? |
Yes |
| Mediafire |
EN |
100 MB |
Yes |
none |
none |
Completely cost-free. Resuming of interrupted downloads possible. |
No |
No |
Yes |
| Megaupload |
EN, DE, FR, IT, ... |
1024 MB (Free Users), No size limit (Premium users) |
No
CAPTCHA,
45 s |
Traffic limit, no parallel downloads (Non-paying Users), Unlimited downloads (Premium users) |
21 days of inactivity |
For users with a cost-free account the waiting time is 25 s and the file expiration period is 90 days of inactivity. Less restrictions for premium accounts. Premium accounts can store up to 1TB.[3] |
Partial
Only for premium members |
Yes |
Yes |
| RapidShare |
EN/DE |
&0000000000000200.000000200 MB (Non-paying Users), 2000 MB (Premium users) |
Yes |
Wait 1 minutes every MB downloaded up to 104 minutes (non-paying users), 10 GB every day (paying users) |
90 days of inactivity |
Non-paying users have to wait up to 104 minutes between downloads exceeding 100 MB. Separate paying accounts for rapidshare.de and rapidshare.com. |
Yes
50 running jobs at a time for Free & premium users |
Yes |
Yes |
| SendSpace |
EN |
&0000000000000300.000000300 MB (free) |
? |
? |
7 days of inactivity |
? |
? |
? |
Yes |
| SteekR |
EN, FR, DE, IT, BR |
&0000000000000001.0000001 GB (free) |
Yes |
none |
none |
Total storage space limited to 1 GB for non-paying users. |
Yes SteekR DriveDrive |
No |
Yes |
| YouSendIt |
EN |
&0000000000000100.000000100 MB (free) |
Yes |
100 downloads per file for free registered (YouSendIt Lite) users. 3 downloads for unregistered users. |
7 days |
? |
? |
? |
? |
| Letitbit |
EN, RU, DE |
Unlimited |
|
Unlimited |
Unlimited |
|
|
|
|
| Web Host |
Language |
Max. file size |
Direct access |
Traffic/bandwidth limit |
File expiration |
Misc. notes |
Remote Uploading? |
Affiliate or Rewards Program? |
Ability to delete files? |
References
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