Advice Request Cloud Storage rant following changes to Google Photos

Please provide comments and solutions that are helpful to the author of this topic.

Ink

Administrator
Thread author
Verified
Staff Member
Well-known
Jan 8, 2011
22,361
Disclaimer: All opinions are my own / rant.

If you're an existing free or paid user of Google, or Microsoft for Photo and File backups, it might be worth waiting for Google One with VPN to arrive in your region. Currently it is limited to the US. It looks to be relevantly cheap, for $99 a year for 2TB and other discounts and benefits. Link: VPN - Google One

Amazon Prime is also a contender, but I'm not familiar with using their cloud storage. For most it would be an extra app to download and install.
Whereas, as an example, OneDrive is integrated into Windows 10, whether you're an 365 subscriber or not. It's there and available.

iOS users are better off with iCloud Storage plans. I have a 200GB Shared Family plan for £2.50 per month and it works without breaking my wallet.
 

motox781

Level 10
Verified
Well-known
Apr 1, 2015
483
Be forewarned about Google VPN currently, here is what I found about its platform limitations:

"For starters, we will provide the service on Android. Over time, we plan to scale it across more platforms like iOS, ChromeOS, Windows, and Mac. "
 

Ink

Administrator
Thread author
Verified
Staff Member
Well-known
Jan 8, 2011
22,361
If it makes you feel better... Pixel devices will not be impacted by this change. High-quality uploads from Pixel devices will continue to be free and unlimited.

According to some comments on reddit, Pixel 1 has Original for life. Whereas Pixel 2 and 3 have an expiration date for Original quality in 2021/22, thereafter reverting to High Quality.
 

SpiderWeb

Level 10
Verified
Well-known
Aug 21, 2020
468
Today I tested Google One VPN btw. Here are my findings on a 1 Gbps Internet connection:
-The highest ping ever. Usual ping: 2-7ms. Google One: 70 ms
-Okay bandwidth: Slower than the competition and by design throttled heavily. It is nice to see "Google LLC" but that's it. My connection is usually 800 Mbps, 400 Mbps WiFi. With Google One it drops to around 30-60 Mbps download, 150 Mbps upload. So someone is intentionally throttling the max download speed at the moment.
-Does not connect to the nearest server as advertised. It connected to Mountain View, CA (Northern California). I like in Southern California so no, it does not take advantage of the nearest infrastructure.
-No WireGuard or OpenVPN. Google uses their own propietary VPN protocol
-No always-on/Killswitch support in Android, it does not auto connect at boot/login
-Only available for Android/Chromebook
-But there is more!
+Fast streaming
+Supports Google cast
+Supports QUIC which most VPN protocols don't

Screenshot 2020-11-12 at 16.22.05.png

Screenshot 2020-11-12 at 16.11.38.png

Either Google One is slow or it is intentionally throttled for Speedtest sites. I tested this theory by watching 4K 60fps YouTube content and downloading some files and it appears to be true because I am getting FULL speed when I am actually downloading real content with no buffering/stutters. So that is interesting.
 

Attachments

  • Screenshot 2020-11-12 at 16.08.10.png
    Screenshot 2020-11-12 at 16.08.10.png
    191.1 KB · Views: 488
  • Screenshot 2020-11-12 at 16.07.39.png
    Screenshot 2020-11-12 at 16.07.39.png
    71.5 KB · Views: 508
  • Screenshot 2020-11-12 at 17.04.47.png
    Screenshot 2020-11-12 at 17.04.47.png
    42.6 KB · Views: 498
Last edited:

LDogg

Level 33
Verified
Top Poster
Well-known
May 4, 2018
2,261
Today I tested Google One VPN btw. Here are my findings on a 1 Gbps Internet connection:
-The highest ping ever. Usual ping: 2-7ms. Google One: 70 ms
-Okay bandwidth: Slower than the competition and by design throttled heavily. It is nice to see "Google LLC" but that's it. My connection is usually 800 Mbps, 400 Mbps WiFi. With Google One it drops to around 30-60 Mbps download, 150 Mbps upload. So someone is intentionally throttling the max download speed at the moment.
-Does not connect to the nearest server as advertised. It connected to Mountain View, CA (Northern California). I like in Southern California so no, it does not take advantage of the nearest infrastructure.
-No WireGuard or OpenVPN. Google uses their own propietary VPN protocol
-No always-on/Killswitch support in Android, it does not auto connect at boot/login
-Only available for Android/Chromebook
-But there is more!
+Fast streaming
+Supports Google cast
+Supports QUIC which most VPN protocols don't

View attachment 248933

View attachment 248934

Either Google One is slow or it is intentionally throttled for Speedtest sites. I tested this theory by watching 4K 60fps YouTube content and downloading some files and it appears to be true because I am getting FULL speed when I am actually downloading real content with no buffering/stutters. So that is interesting.
You entered the dark side, your new name shall be known as Darth Web.

~LDogg
 

SpiderWeb

Level 10
Verified
Well-known
Aug 21, 2020
468
You entered the dark side, your new name shall be known as Darth Web.

~LDogg
LOL I had to uninstall. Not having Always-On VPN/Killswitch is making me paranoid. Sometimes it will just silently disconnect after you wake your computer up from sleep and you won't know until you check. It also doesn't work with Windscribe extension so I can't multihop from Windscribe to Google :/
 

jetman

Level 10
Verified
Well-known
Jun 6, 2017
470
I'm surprised that Google have made this move, although that's the danger of relying too much on free services.

I switched to pCloud for storage and I've found them to be really good.
 

About us

  • MalwareTips is a community-driven platform providing the latest information and resources on malware and cyber threats. Our team of experienced professionals and passionate volunteers work to keep the internet safe and secure. We provide accurate, up-to-date information and strive to build a strong and supportive community dedicated to cybersecurity.

User Menu

Follow us

Follow us on Facebook or Twitter to know first about the latest cybersecurity incidents and malware threats.

Top