Update: FileRock has been discontinued.  I recommend security-minded users check out SpiderOak or Cyphertite (open source) as alternatives.

FileRock is one of the few open-source cloud storage services on the market.  The software is released under GPL and has clients for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Pros

• Open source software
• Zero-knowledge encryption
• Fast uploads and downloads
• Share files with friends and family

Cons

• Expensive
• Few options to customize
• No backup capabilities

The Bottom Line

Although the open-source aspect is nice, FileRock is sorely lacking in features and greatly overpriced.

Pricing

FileRock has 3 plans to choose from:

Pro1

• 1GB storage space
• €9.99 per month or €99.90 per year
  

Pro4

• 4GB storage space
• €15.99 per month or €159.90 per year

Pro16

• 16GB storage space
• €39.99 per month or €399.90 per year

Storing Files

The software creates a “FileRock” folder on your computer for you to put stuff in.  There’s also an “encrypted” sub-folder, and any files you put in there will be stored encrypted.  Note: you cannot share files in the encrypted folder.

The FileRock panel.

The “hash robot” (shown on the left in the above screenshot) changes every time your files change.

Retrieving Files

Files are retrieved through the web interface, or from the FileRock folder on your hard drive.

I was unable to use Internet Explorer to access my files because it’s not a supported browser.  This is how the website looks in Chrome, however:

The FileRock web interface.

I wasn’t very impressed with the whole process.  FileRock forced me to pause the desktop client before logging into the web interface, and log out of the web interface before using the desktop client.  You can’t do both at the same time.

Sharing Files

Sharing is as simple as right clicking a file in the web interface, and selecting “Share.”  You can then send a link to the file via email or copy it to your clipboard.

Security

FileRock encrypts all files before they are sent to the cloud.

Their “Zero Knowledge Encryption” policy means your data is only viewable by you.  However, this only applies to the encrypted folder; data stored outside of it is not stored encrypted.

When first creating a password, FileRock warns it’s not recoverable if you forget it.  Having a recoverable password would break their “Zero Knowledge” policy.

Speed

FileRock was very fast in testing.

The average upload speed was 1.5 megabits per second (Mbps), which maxed out my available bandwidth, so actual speeds should be even higher.  Download speeds were 9.4 Mbps, or about 1 megabyte per second.

Summary

FileRock feels like an unfinished product.  Many features are still in beta or simply don’t work.  For instance, the only supported cloud storage provider is Seeweb.  Amazon S3 and Azure are “coming soon”.  There is no integration with Windows Explorer.  File backup and versioning capabilities are nonexistent.

The developers have a long way to go if they’re going to take on Dropbox and other mammoths in the industry.

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Geoff Akerlund

Geoff Akerlund is the founder and editor-in-chief of BackupReview.com. He enjoys attending music festivals, whitewater kayaking on the American River, and board game nights in his free time.

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