Bulk data transfer made easier

Written by Narmad

Last weekend, while I was enjoying my short trip in the country side, I got a message from my office, asking me to send emails to a client by the end of the day. Sounds simple! However, when I checked the file to be sent, I realized that it was a large animation clipping. Sending it through email was ruled out. Uploading it to FTP and explaining the download process to the client was not something I was looking forward to. Did I have another option? Well, ‘Pando’ came to my rescue. Find out how.

Pando is a peer to peer (P2P) software, which allows users to send and receive jumbo-sized files and folders in no time. If you want to send large email attachments to your contacts or IM large folders or even post HD videos, you can try Pando. Click here to go to the home page.

I hate the idea of creating yet another email Id. Thank God, Pando works with any existing email address. When you send your first Pando package, Pando will ask for your name and email address. If you wish to use a different email address or a different name, you can change your settings before you send the packages.

As Pando is based on P2P technology, the person to whom you are sending your file also needs to install Pando to download the file. I reckon your recipient won’t mind downloading a meager 1.6MB file in their hard drive, if they wish to receive large business emails.

Most of the users are wary of receiving files via the Internet as there is always a lurking danger from viruses or worms masquerading as messages sent using Pando. Pando disappointed me as it does not have inbuilt online scanner. Never mind, you can use your own virus protection program to scan the file you have downloaded using Pando.

While a Pando file attachment does occupy space in your email program, the attachments are very small. Even if you send an email file of 500MB, the typical .Pando file attached to your email is just 30KB. The 500MB Pando package gets stored directly into your hard drive, bypassing your email storage entirely.

Pando guarantees privacy and security as the messages sent through Pando are encrypted. The receiver will not need any password to retrieve the messages via Pando. However, premium users of Pando can set passwords for the messages. If your friends are not sending the content, you can check out Pando channels to download videos to your hard drive.

Apart from .Pando files, Pando can send and receive different formats of video and data files. Click here to check out the file formats supported by Pando.

You can also post messages on web pages using Pando. Pando generates HTML codes with an image, description and a download button that you can use in the webpage.

When I installed Pando on my mini-notebook, it created a folder “My Pando Packages” in C: \Documents and Settings\My Documents. So this is the default location for all downloads from Pando. However, from the ‘option’ menu you can change the location of your download.

The Pando interface lets you see if you are connected to the Pando network. When you are ‘online’, it starts sending messages. If you want to have a break in the middle, you can stop the file transfer by changing the Pando status to ‘offline’. Once you go ‘online’ again, Pando will resume the transfer.

Please don’t confuse Pando with a directory or a cloud application where you can post contents of your hard drive for everyone to view. It is also not a social networking site. Pando is based on P2P technology, which breaks larger files into smaller bits and then distributes these small bits to the recipients in the fastest possible way.

The free version of Pando allows you to share bigger files of up to 1GB. However, if you sign up for the Pando PRO version, you can share files of up to 3GB for onetime payment of $24.95.

With Pando on my mini-notebook, I don’t have to take a break from my holiday to upload large files to FTP and ‘enlighten’ clients about using it. I can depend on Pando to do these tedious tasks. You can check it out too!