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Streamfile lets you send files to friends; malware to enemies

Send big files to people you know, or simply spoof your identity to others. Streamfile makes it easy to be good or bad when it comes to sending files to others.

Josh Lowensohn Former Senior Writer
Josh Lowensohn joined CNET in 2006 and now covers Apple. Before that, Josh wrote about everything from new Web start-ups, to remote-controlled robots that watch your house. Prior to joining CNET, Josh covered breaking video game news, as well as reviewing game software. His current console favorite is the Xbox 360.
Josh Lowensohn
2 min read

Got a big file you need to send to a friend or family member? You can either spend time uploading it to a hosting service, or start a one-time transfer that will be deleted from the cloud within 24 hours. Streamfile is a service that does just that and with a high level of simplicity, making it pretty close to perfect for sending large files to non-tech savvy individuals.

Just pick what file you want to transfer to your friend (up to 2GB in size) and the service will spit out two URLs for you to send either on your own or via e-mail. One is a generic URL, while the other is secured with AES 256-bit SSL encryption, the same level of security you'd find on most banking sites. Whomever clicks that link will begin downloading the file in their browser's download manager as the uploader on your site seeds the file onto a temporary spot on its servers. Even before you've managed to finish uploading your recipient can begin their download. Pretty cool.

One HUGE potential danger of the service is that you can spoof other people's identities and send executables--something that's been banned on most Web mail services both on the sending and receiving end. It lets you to pick both the name and e-mail of the sender which comes through as an e-mail from them instead of the service itself. If you're targeting someone and know they'll click on what you're sending them, you could easily rename malicious files and get them to open them unless they've got capable antivirus software installed.

Huge security fraud potential aside, it's blissfully simple to use and a huge asset for passing big files to friends. If you've been wary of installing a software solution and paying for premium services that let you break that 500MB to 1GB barrier found on most services, Streamfile makes a highly desirable solution.

[via SimpleSpark]

Streamfile lets you send as many files as you want, up to 2GB, either in total or per single file. CNET Networks