Are free web hosting services legit?

[jdd]

I would appreciate some advice on how to transmit large files.  I don’t have the need or resources to set up a full blown website but I have some large files (50 to 100 MB) I would like to upload to a site to make available for download to selected folks.

I have seen some companies offering free web hosting services.  I was wondering if these are legitimate (free) web hosting services.  Is there another way to accomplish what I am trying to do?  Security is a concern but not a major consideration; password protection would suffice.

p.s. I am away from the house quite often and my computer is not connected much of the time so I can't use a personal web server hosted on my computer.

[mouser]

im sure people will know better than me, but my understanding tends to be like this:
1) yes, they are "legit"
but
2) they are usually designed to show ads and so
3) they dont want people just downloading files from your site without visiting it and seeing ads, so
4) they will only allow downloads from the actual page, not let you just link to the files from offiste, and
5) they have limits on bandwidth and size of files, etc.

[wr975]

I would appreciate some advice on how to transmit large files.  I don’t have the need or resources to set up a full blown website but I have some large files (50 to 100 MB) I would like to upload to a site to make available for download to selected folks.

I had the exact same need. I tried to find a free web hosting provider, but it was a waste of time. I agree with everything Mouser said.

Then I tried uploading services, like Rapidshare, YouSendIt, zUPload.. but uploading is sometimes slow and plenty of people don't know how to download from it.

So, finally, I gave up and just bought a webspace. Being cheap I tried GoDaddy. I got much more than I wanted (5 GB space, php, sql server, tons of site tools...) and I do not regret my decision.

FWIW, for easy sharing I recommend CSBFTP (http://www.toffi-net.de/cFTP-support/eindex.php). Just right-click a file and it'll be uploaded to a FTP Server + the download link(s) will be copied to the clipboard.

[Mark0]

Why not Google Pages?
Aside from the small space (100MB, at least at the moment), it's free and fast, if you want to put up some files / pages without worring to much.

Bye!