Based in New Zealand, MEGA offers a whopping 50GB free storage space compared to a maximum of 15GB offered by some of the prominent players mentioned above. Aside from the free space, the cloud storage company also offers a high level of security – a 2048-bit RSA public/private key generated when you sign up for the service. If you are on Ubuntu and are interested in giving the service a try, read on, as we’ll be discussing the download and installation of MEGA’s Linux client, as well as some of the important features it provides.

Download and install MEGAsync

MEGA’s client is available for various platforms and is called MEGAsync. To download the Linux variant, head to the downloads page on the service’s official website. Your OS will be automatically detected, and all you’ll be required to do is select your distro version and architecture.

For example, in my case I selected Ubuntu 14.04 and 32-bit. This was followed by a click on the “Free Download for Linux” button, which led to the download of a .deb file. Once that file is downloaded, just double-click on it, and the MEGAsync client should start installing.

After the download completes, open Unity Dash and search for “megasync.” You should see an icon similar to the following in your search results:

Click on that icon, and the MEGAsync client will launch, asking you to either  log in or  create an account if you are new to the service.

Needless to say, to start using MEGA, you need to have an account first. You can sign up either from within the client or by heading to the service’s official website.

The application then asks the user to choose an install type: Full sync (to sync your entire cloud drive) or Selective sync (to sync specific folders).

Depending on your needs, select either “Full sync” or “Selective Sync,” and click “Next.” In the next step the client shows you the complete path of a local folder where your MEGA contents will be synchronized.

You also have the option to specify a directory of your choice. This completes the initial setup.

You are notified that MEGAsync is now running and how you can access the client.

Here is the MEGAsync status window which can be accessed by clicking the red-colored “M” icon in the system tray and selecting the “Show status” option.

The interface shows that my local system and cloud storage is in sync. The reason no files/folders are being displayed is that I have yet to sync any. So, let’s do it. I put a “log.txt” file in my local MEGA directory, and when I again opened the status window, it showed it was synced, meaning it was uploaded to my cloud drive.

The client also shows the total amount of storage that you’ve consumed as well as displays shortcuts to your local MEGA directory and the service’s website. More options are produced once you click the gear icon on the top-right corner of the interface.

Here is what they do:

About MEGAsync – Shows you your client’s software version and what all is new in it. Import links – Lets you import the file corresponding to a MEGA link. Upload to MEGA/Download from MEGA – Lets you upload/download files from/to your device. Stream from MEGA – Lets you stream the media content (for ex: .mp4 files) stored in your cloud drive. Settings – Lets you configure the client the way you want (the following is the Settings window).

Conclusion

MEGA’s claim to fame is that it was created by Kim Dotcom, the guy behind the now-shuttered MegaUpload. But he left the company last year, after he said that MEGA is no longer safe and trustworthy; he had his own reasons for this, that unsurprisingly, were criticized by MEGA. Given that Dropbox’s name has also been involved in NSA’s snooping activities in the past, most of us already know that no cloud storage service is 100% safe and private. Keep all this in mind, and if you’re planning to give this service a try, go ahead and enjoy your free 50GB.