Password Protected Public Dropbox?

Question

We deal with a lot of clients and passing a lot of large files back and forth between them. It is easy enough for us to send them a large file by putting it on our Dropbox and sending them the public link for it. But there is no easy way for them to send us a large file via Dropbox. The only option I'm aware of is this:

• We create a shared folder on our Dropbox account and invite ClientX to have access to it. Then the client can drop files into that shared folder and then we can retrieve them.

The biggest problem with this is asking client's to sign up for and use Dropbox. Only a small fraction of the companies we work with use Dropbox. So asking them to jump through the hoops of signing up for and installing Dropbox on their own computers is a pain. They would rather just email super huge attachments to us.

I'm wondering if it's possible with Dropbox to create some sort of publicly accessible folder that anyone can upload to (given that they provide a password) via the browser without having to sign up for Dropbox or anything like that? Is this possible?

Answer 1

The best option is to roll-your-own. There is an opensource option that takes a bit of set-up, but is fairly good and does respect permissions, however, it does require you to generate everything for your clients. In any case - worth checking into:

ownCloud

ownCloud gives you universal access to your files through a web interface or WebDAV. It also provides a platform to easily view & sync your contacts, calendars and bookmarks across all your devices and enables basic editing right on the web. Installation has minimal server requirements, doesn’t need special permissions and is quick. ownCloud is extendable via a simple but powerful API for applications and plugins.

ownCloud started with a keynote by Frank Karlitschek at Camp KDE’10 where he talked about the need of a self-controlled free and open source cloud.

Answer 2

File Transfer Protocol

It may seem far less modern and exciting than a solution involving "cloud technology", but the original FTP protocol was designed to transfer files. If the bandwidth at your location does not allow for sufficiently effective uploads, rent a server.