You can send any file as an attachment to anybody via email. Any file? Yes, as long as it meets the size restrictions of your email provider. If you have wrestled in frustration with transferring large files, try these services and tools that make sending GB-large files via email not only convenient and easy but also fast and secure. Here are my top picks.
Pando combines secure P2P file transfers with email attachments so you can send any file to any email address with speed, ease and flexibility. Unfortunately, Pando requires you to use a little Windows or Mac app for the actual file transfers and is not available if you or your recipient uses a different platform.
SendThisFile lets you send files with no size limit via email for free, while paid accounts offer many amenities and can be used to send and receive large files in a branded manner through a web site, for example. All accounts do have a six day pick-up time limit, though, and SendThisFile does incorporate secure transfer and storage, but no virus scanning.
Podmailing combines BitTorrent with email for easy, reliable and fast file transfers, even when the files are very big. Unfortunately, Podmailing does not integrate with email programs directly, and you need to use a Windows or Mac OS X application to send files.
SEND6 lets you send and track files up to 100 MB easily without registering, but you can opt for registered and paid accounts including secure connections, online storage, an address book and branding, too.
YouSendIt makes it really easy to deliver files larger than what your email service may allow. Various subscription levels cover just about every file delivery need, and desktop applications as well as plug-ins make YouSendIt particularly convenient.
Free YouSendIt accounts offer enough bandwidth only for occasional file sending, however.
TransferBigFiles.com makes it easy to deliver larger files (up to 1000 MB) to email recipients, and the files can even be protected with a password. Unfortunately, files sent through TransferBigFiles.com are available to be downloaded by the recipient for a mere five days. Amenities like an address book, distribution lists and email program integration would be nice.
YouSwap makes sending files up to 1 GB by email simple and pleasing the eye. Its limited options (you cannot password-protect files or track them, for example) mean YouSwap is best suited for the occasional transfer, though.
MailBigFile is a fast and simple way to send moderately large files (up to 512 MB) to a single email recipient. A pro version allows for larger files and more downloads as well as secure connections, but you still cannot password-protect your files.
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