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Mega (service)

Mega (stylised as MEGA) is a file hosting service offered by Mega Cloud Services Limited, a company based in Auckland, New Zealand, and owned by Hong Kong-based Cloud Tech Services Limited.[2][3] The service is offered through web-based apps. MEGA mobile apps are also available for Android and iOS.

The website and service was launched on 19 January 2013, by Kim Dotcom, who had founded the now-defunct service Megaupload, which was seized by the United States government in 2012. However, in 2015 Kim Dotcom had distanced himself from the service and stated that the New Zealand government had seized the shares of a Chinese investor and has control of the site. Mega Limited responded that the authorities have not interfered with its operations.[4]

History

MEGA was launched by Kim Dotcom in 2013 as a cloud service and successor to Megaupload.[5][6] On 4 July 2013, the MEGA Android application was released on the Google Play marketplace.[7] Four days later, on 8 July 2013, the MEGA software development kit (SDK) and affiliate program was released.[8]

In February 2013, MEGA announced it would be expanding into e-mail, chat, voice, video, and mobile.[9] In December 2014, MEGA said it would "soon" launch a browser-based chat service.[9] In mid-January 2015, MEGA launched MEG Chat in beta,[10][11] marketed as a web-based, encrypted alternative to applications like Skype and FaceTime.[10][11]

Files hosted on MEGA are end-to-end encrypted. As a result, the company cannot decrypt or view the content, and cannot be responsible for the contents of uploaded files.[12] In the first few weeks after the MEGA launch, various security problems were found that researchers said an attacker could use to gain access to a logged-in user's files.[13][14][15]

On 4 September 2013, Kim Dotcom stepped down as Director of MEGA so he could pursue his political ambitions with the Internet Party.[16] In a later interview with The Washington Post on 7 September, Kim Dotcom announced MEGA was getting 20,000 signups for the service every day.[17] Furthermore, in 2013 MEGA was receiving about 100 DMCA takedowns per day.[18]

On 26 November 2013, the official MEGA iOS application was released on the App Store marketplace.[19] On 20 January 2014, the official MEGAsync application was released for Windows[20] and on 6 September 2014, the official MEGAsync application was released for Linux.[21]

In January 2016, MEGA announced that the service has 35 million registered users that have uploaded 12 billion files.[22] Later in 2016, MEGA Ltd. released the source code to their client-side software under the Mega Limited Code Review License, a source-available software license, on GitHub.[23] This allows independent verification of the correctness and integrity of the implementation of MEGA's cryptographic model and service reliability.

On 5 September 2018, it was reported that the extension on the Chrome Web Store was compromised by the addition of code designed to steal website credentials and cryptocurrency.[24][25][26]

In 2021, MEGA added a domain name to include Mega.io and Mega.nz.[27]

See also

  • Comparison of file hosting services
  • Comparison of file synchronization software
  • Comparison of online backup services

External links

References

  1. Mega Mega LTD, retrieved 18 May 2022^
  2. MEGA Limited in the New Zealand Companies Office Companies Register.^
  3. Rebecca Stevenson. Mega, the encryption company that wants to be everything businessdesk.co.nz, retrieved 2024-08-25^
  4. Chris Duckett. Mega denies claims by Kim Dotcom of NZ government control of company ZDNet, retrieved 2019-06-17^
  5. Toby Manhire. Mega spectacle at launch of Kim Dotcom's new file-sharing site The Guardian, 2013-01-20, retrieved 2024-08-25^
  6. Rebecca Stevenson. Mega, the encryption company that wants to be everything businessdesk.co.nz, 2020-09-28, retrieved 2021-03-04^
  7. MEGA mega.co.nz, retrieved 7 September 2013^
  8. MEGA launches SDK and Affiliate program Official blog, 8 July 2013, retrieved 2 May 2014^
  9. Emil Protalinski. Kim Dotcom's Mega to launch browser-based encrypted video call and chat service 'soon' VentureBeat, 28 December 2014, retrieved 23 January 2015^
  10. Lee Mathews. Kim Dotcom launches MegaChat, the video chat service even Snowden trusts Geek.com, 22 January 2015, retrieved 23 January 2015^
  11. Jamie Condliffe. Mega Just Launched End-to-End Encrypted Audio and Video Chat Gizmodo, 22 January 2015, retrieved 23 January 2015^
  12. Charles Graeber. Megaupload Is Dead. Long Live Mega! | Threat Level Wired, 2013-03-28, retrieved 2013-06-14^
  13. SpiderOak's Analysis and Recommendations for the Crypto in Kim Dotcom's Mega, Part One Spideroak.com, 23 January 2013, retrieved 14 June 2013^
  14. A word on cryptography Mega.co.nz, 22 January 2013, retrieved 27 June 2013^
  15. Mega's first week - a retrospective Mega.co.nz, 26 January 2013, retrieved 27 June 2013^
  16. Worried about Kim Dotcoms tweet concerning MEGA? - MEGA 23 April 2016, retrieved 14 June 2021^
  17. Kim Dotcom is still wanted by the FBI. But that isn't slowing him down The Washington Post, 27 November 2013, retrieved 28 February 2016^
  18. Keynote at OSDC 2013 Internet Ganesha, 7 November 2013, retrieved 27 November 2013^
  19. MEGA mega.co.nz, retrieved 27 November 2013^
  20. MEGA mega.co.nz, retrieved 21 January 2014^
  21. MEGA mega.co.nz, retrieved 6 September 2014^
  22. MEGA turns 3! 20 January 2016, retrieved 7 June 2016^
  23. Mega Limited GitHub, retrieved 29 January 2017^
  24. Michael Kan. Mega.nz Chrome Extension Hacked to Steal Logins PC Magazine, 5 September 2018, retrieved 23 January 2019^
  25. Catalin Cimpanu. MEGA.nz Chrome extension caught stealing passwords, cryptocurrency private keys ZDNet, 4 September 2018, retrieved 23 January 2019^
  26. Chuong Nguyen. Hacked Chrome extension disguised as legitimate version steals logins Yahoo! Finance, retrieved 23 January 2019^
  27. Additional Domain for MEGA: mega.io 2021-01-18, retrieved 2021-04-09^