A few years ago it was a big deal to find a place that would let you share 1 gigabyte files. Things change, though.

The first step in building your online presence is finding a web host, the company that will store your website's files on its servers and deliver them to your readers' and customers' browsers.

Bandwidth keeps growing, and the cost of Web storage. That's good news for people looking to share increasingly large files, be it an HD video recording or an archive of several files that tops out at over a gig. There are now a handful of free and paid services that make it easy to host these gigantic files and send them to a friend, family member, or business associate. How to show average for subtotals in pivot table on mac. The key thing to point out here is the individual file size limit. Many storage services will throw gigabytes at you without any real strings attached except for the fact that you cannot upload files larger than a gig.

This really isn't a big deal, that is until that first time you need to do it. Below are a handful of sites, both free and paid, that are up to the task. The free ones There's no such thing as a free lunch, but the same cannot be said about storage. You can, with little effort, dump large files in a number of places. The usual caveat there is that there tends to be a lot of on-site advertising and your files may not be saved for very long in case you want to come back to re-download or share them later on.

(2GB): ADrive is more of a personal file storage service, but files can be shared via a direct link, or via e-mail. The service gives users 50GB of total storage and uploads at up to 2GB a pop.

It has both a Web-based uploader and a desktop software version. There's also a paid version of the service that adds more space and FTP access. (2GB): File Xpressit actually tops out at 300MB a file but will go up to 2GB if you register with the service. It is free, it just requires clicking an activation link in an e-mail. The uploader does not require Flash or Java, which is nice if you're trying to use it on a computer without it installed. The service can also give you an e-mail notification when the file has been downloaded by your recipient.

Worth noting is that to use FileXpressit, you'll need to have an e-mail address for the person you wish to send the file to. This won't actually send the gigantic file to their in-box, but it means you can't start the upload without typing it in first. (10GB): Humyo has a free and a paid plan, but the free plan is very generous at 10GB of free storage. There are basically no set-in-stone file size limits, just that encourages files that are over 10GB to be split into smaller segments. We didn't actually test this with a 10GB file (and we doubt you will either), but it's nice to know you could if you wanted to. (2GB): Dropbox is a file storage and synchronization service.

Free users get 2GB, which can be upgraded to 50GB and 100GB for $10 or $20 a month respectively. Still, if you have a file that's at exactly 2GB, or just a little bit less, you can store it on Dropbox free of charge.

The only caveat here is that you need to use the software file transfer tool, as the Web-based uploader tops out at 300MB. You, and whomever you're sending the file to can also score an extra 250MB of storage to use the service. File Dropper is one of the heartiest services on this list, handling 5GB files right in the browser, and all for free. (Click to enlarge) Screenshot by Josh Lowensohn (5GB): File Dropper allows file shares of up to 5GB. That's not as much as Humyo's service, but it's still more space than you're able to fit on a single-layer DVD (not that you're sharing those, right?). Files are kept 'forever,' and best of all, there's no registration required.

Instead, when your file is done you get a URL that links directly to the file, as well as embed code to stick a download link on a blog or personal Web site. Along with the free service, File Dropper also has three paid plans which run anywhere from $1 to $10 a month. These can up the file size up to 50GB and 250GB in the two upper tiers. (2GB): Sizable Send is another one of those services aimed at people who are trying to get around the attachment size limits put in place by most e-mail providers. Using the service, you cannot share a file with someone else without first filling out your e-mail address and that of the person you intend to share the file with.