Moving to SkyDrive

I hope Security Garden readers haven't missed the message from the Windows Live Mesh and SkyDrive Teams announcing the retirement of Mesh earlier this month.

With the retirement of Mesh the following changes are taking place:

• Remote desktop and peer-to-peer sync are no longer be available.
• Any data on the Mesh cloud (Mesh synced storage or SkyDrive synced storage) will be permanently deleted on August 13, 2013.  (Mesh users go here to access your Mesh online storage.)
• Synced folders have stopped syncing.
• You are no longer able to connect to your PCs remotely using Mesh.

Get SkyDrive

Whether you are a former Windows Live Mesh user or just never tried SkyDrive, you will discover that it is very easy to set up.  SkyDrive works on Windows 8, Windows 7, or Vista, and Mac OS X Lion computers.

Setting up SkyDrive couldn't be easier.

1. Download SkyDrive Desktop App for Windows
2. Double-click SkyDriveSetup to start the installation.
   
3. Click the Getting Started link on the Wizard that launches after installation.
   
4. Sign in with your Microsoft Account.  If you don't have a Microsoft Account yet, just click the link to sign up.
5. Click Next and you have the option to change the location of the Skydrive folder, although you may want to stay with the default.
   
6. As appropriate, check the box to "Make files on this PC available to me on my other devices" and then click Done.
   
7. All you need to do to get started is drag the files and folders to your new SkyDrive folder and the application does the rest!

It is that easy!

Now you can easily access your files from another computer or device.  With 7 GB of free storage, you have enough space for 20,000 Office documents or 7,000 photos.

SkyDrive Desktop for Windows System Requirements

• Operating system: One of the following:
  • 32- or 64-bit version of either Windows 8, Windows 7, or Windows Vista with Service Pack 2 and the Platform Update for Windows Vista. (This app can't be installed on PCs running Windows RT.)
  • Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows Server 2008 with Service Pack 2 and the Platform Update for Windows Server 2008
• Processor: 1.6 GHz or higher, Pentium IV or higher
• Memory: 1 GB of RAM or higher
• Internet connection: High-speed Internet access is recommended.

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As a SkyDrive Insider, I am excited to share information about SkyDrive.  If you have a question about this post, please leave a comment and I'll do my best to assist.

Learn more about the SkyDrive Insiders program here. 

References

• Download SkyDrive Desktop App for Windows
• Download SkyDrive Apps
• SkyDrive Help & How-to

Remember - "A day without laughter is a day wasted."
May the wind sing to you and the sun rise in your heart...