Since time immemorial, computer users have had problems sharing large files. Whether trying to fit Sim City on floppy disks, uploading binaries to newsgroups or sharing home movies via email, you may well have suffered the inconvenience of a file that's just too big for what you're trying to do.

This is where HJSplit comes in. It's a remarkably simple and easy-to-use little application which can split any file you like into parts of a predefined size, so that sharing them or storing them is made easier. It can also join split files back together and compare parts to see if they're the same.

Based in just one small executable (there's no installer for this old school app!), the utility weighs in at a piffling 300kb and doesn't have the world's best design. But it works surprisingly well and splits files into chunks of your chosen size, very quickly indeed. Its joining, comparing and MD5 tools all work just as efficiently. A small but very effective little utility which will split and rejoin any file you like.

Softonic rating: 8/10

Virtually all of us share files over the Internet these days. Whether you're plundering P2P networks or sending out files for your business, most problems you'll have will probably be down to the file size. The fact is that if you reduce the size of the files you're sharing, things will go a lot quicker and you'll be able to respond to transfer problems more easily. One of the best ways of doing this is to split very large files into smaller, bite-sized chunks using a program such as HJSplit. This particular app is my favourite file slicer due to its sheer simplicity. Here's how it works:

• Download HJSplit and unzip the 'hjsplit.zip' file. Refreshingly, this app doesn't require any installation so just double click on the .exe file to launch it. To start breaking up your large file, click 'Split'.

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If you want to transfer a big file, over 4GB from a PC to a Mac, here's how to do it using a small USB pen drive. I'll show you how to break the files up into manageable file sizes, copy them to your drive, and then join them together again.

Using Hjsplit on PC and Split&Concat on Mac, you can transfer almost anything.

During the summer, Gmail increased its maximum attachment size to 25MB, up 5MB on its previous limit. Great news, I hear you cry - now you can squeeze a few more photos into that email or send an album in 2 parts rather than 3!

Well yes, you can, but does that mean you should?

One thing you have to remember about email is that it's old. Really old. Although it mightn't feel it, email has been around for more than 30 years and, unlike other technologies, it hasn't been updated much. This doesn't have much of an impact on our day-to-day use, but like they say over at the Google Operating System blog, "...sending a large attachment via email is relocating using the U.S. Postal Service as your moving company. It is painful, limited, and expensive." It will get the job done, but it's not the most efficient way.

So what's the alternative? Well, if you are in physical contact with your recipient, you could just put the file on a memory stick. Once you follow the basic security principles, it's a very simple way of transferring data. Obviously, this only works if you are geographically close to the recipient. In fact, email's ability to overcome this problem is one of the reasons it became so popular. Just because it's popular, though, doesn't make it the best, so have a think about using free web hosting services instead. Don't worry if it sounds complicated - you'll get the hang of it quickly.

Go to a free hosting site - Mediafire and Hotshare are two well-known ones - and upload the file in question, just like you would attach it to an email. With 200MB of space usually available, it has a significant advantage over the now elderly email. Once it is uploaded, the service will give you a link, which you email to your friend. Your friend clicks on the link, and downloads the file that you uploaded. If it sounds complicated, it's only because I have detailed every step - do it once or twice and it will become second nature.

Even though it's not the most efficient way, you might still have your reasons for wanting to send larger files by email. If you do, you'll need to make them smaller, and there's two ways of doing this. You can compress (or 'zip') them, or divide them into smaller files. Either way, you'll need a tool to do this, and the recipient will need a similar tool to decompress or re-join. IZArc and 7-Zip are two reliable - and free - file compression and decompression utilities. Likewise, in the area of file splitting, you've got plenty of choice. Even though they're not pretty (and show little imagination in the name stakes), HJSplit and Gsplit are both fuss-free methods of chopping those unwieldy files down to size.