Many people today store documents and photos in the cloud. Handy, but are there also dangers?
Store in the cloud
Storing in the cloud means storing online. A company then makes space available for this, possibly for a fee. Read here what that means. Below are the possible dangers of the cloud.
Fear
Some people are concerned that files are not safe in the cloud or that others will be able to access the data. In general this is not the case. It is of course wise to choose a strong password and to keep your login details safe. This prevents someone from logging into your account with a cloud service.
Survival service
To use a storage service, you must have faith in the service’s continued existence. If a company goes bankrupt, there is a good chance that the stored files will be lost. It is therefore wise to use one of the major cloud services such as iCloud, OneDrive, Google (Drive/Photos) and Dropbox. The risk that one of these companies will suddenly go bankrupt is many times smaller than with small companies.
ransomware
With ransomware, malicious software takes the computer hostage. All files on a PC or the computer itself are encrypted. If the program of the cloud service is on the computer, this is a risk. There is then a folder on the computer with the files that are stored in the cloud. If the computer becomes infected with ransomware, the encrypted files (in the special folder) are also sent to the cloud service. They are therefore also illegible there. This is a danger only if the service’s program is installed on the computer.
Some storage services, such as Dropbox, also protect customers from ransomware through version control. The user can always go back to an earlier, unencrypted version of a file.
Accidentally deleting files
If someone accidentally deletes a file from a cloud service, there is no need to worry. All major cloud services first move deleted files to a trash can. The user can temporarily retrieve the file from there. How long files are kept in the recycle bin varies by service. But that is at least a few weeks for each shift.
Additional backup
If you want to protect yourself against the above dangers, you can occasionally back up the files in the cloud to an external hard drive. In this way, the user always has an up-to-date, automatic backup in the cloud and can access his files anywhere. But there is also a copy of the files elsewhere, just to be sure.