Heh. We've run into this very problem for one of our clients, who occasionally needs to share hefty files with remote contractors. Dropbox and other centralized

Heh. We've run into this very problem for one of our clients, who occasionally needs to share hefty files with remote contractors. Dropbox and other centralized services was a no-go. It needed to be idiot-proof. We're just about done coding up a pretty nice little system that allows users to log in and upload a file through a web interface along with a destination email address. File gets permanently stored to their local server along with some other details, and a copy gets temporarily sync'd up to an external server with better bandwidth. After the sync is complete, an email is sent to the destination, and the recipient receives a link to click on which will immediately begin the download, with no intermediate nonsense. Files can be downloaded only once, and only for a specific period of time (currently hardcoded to 24 hours; configurable later). Information is recorded when the file is downloaded, and sync'd back to their internal server. Admins can choose to receive email notifications when files are shared, and can later look at the originals. It's pretty OK. I've been thinking about adding it as a what-the-hell feature to some of our other stuff. Maybe I should.