Wednesday, March 23, 2016

UC Browser and UCloud Storage


UC Browser
http://www.ucweb.com/ucbrowser/

I had always used Chrome browser all along, for my PC and Android smartphone.

However, Chrome could not load over a slow WiFi network, even after I removed all unnecessary extensions from my PC.

Then I came across UC Browser for my Android smartphone. I downloaded and tried it. It worked faster, Facebook loaded faster. I enjoyed using UC Browser on my Android.

UC Browser icon is an orange squirrel. The tail is bushy.

I'm uncertain where UC Browser originates. I thought it was Indian, but when I installed, it displayed .cn which stands for China.

I was reading the UC Browser website. The company had just released the PC version. So I downloaded UC Browser for one of my laptops - an old Acer Aspire 4740G.

I am using UC Browser for the first time since yesterday, 22 March 2016.

I'm trying out its features and comparing UC Browser versus Chrome.

I'm checking out Facebook and Blogger on my new UC Browser since I use them a lot for my research work, contact and updates.

Facebook is loading very slow today (23 March 2016). The Notifications pull down menu won't display at all.

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UCloud Storage

Here are some useful details about UC Browser and UCloud if you are thinking about using UC Browser, which comes along with massive cloud storage.

UCloud Cloud Storage
http://cloud.ucweb.com/en/netdisk/index

UCloud

My Files 2G

Temporary Files 4G

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Do I have concerns using UCloud Storage? Definitely, yes.

Is UCloud Storage Indian or Chinese? It is Chinese/China's.

Is computing safe in India and China? I don't know about IT safety & security in China (or India).

Will my data which I store in UCloud Storage be leaked out and enter the public space? I don't know. If Wikileaks is possible, anything is possible.

I don't know about the security issues of UCloud Storage since I haven't used it before or long enough to share notes about its behaviour.

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UCloud Storage versus Dropbox

I am currently using Dropbox 3.16.1, and have been using it for quite some time. Dropbox is simple, but sometimes confusing as I have it set up on one PC in my office and 2 laptops at home. Once set up, Dropbox is good and useful - it opens fast.

Dropbox is limited for my daily use - for my academic work. Every time I get close to 1G, I get persistent and annoying messages, telling me to upgrade. All I need is temporary use of cloud storage, and not anything permanent, less if I have to pay subscription. I then just transfer out photos to my external harddisk (EHD) - Transcend (465 GB, FAT 32). Then I can continue to use Dropbox.

UCloud Storage is twice the capacity of Dropbox and with 4 times capacity for temporary files. Sounds good but I'm still cautious since I don't know performance and security of UCloud Storage. More storage comes with higher risk of security compromise. There is always worry of sensitive data. It should be safe for academic purposes.