Q. What's the benefit of storing my files online?
A. It primarily depends upon how important the data is to you. Each person must identify their own risk factor. In other words - if you lost the information how would it impact your life?
Some benefits include:
-Many web sites offer free storage (space limitations apply)
-Protects your data in the event of a HD crash, theft, fire, or any natural disaster etc.
-You might not have the physical space anywhere else to store your data
-Might be cheaper than purchasing an external hard drive
-Impossible to misplace (such as a flash drive), although you will need to remember your password
-You don't have to be on any specific computer or in any specific location to access your files
Q. What types of information are people storing online?
A. Photos, videos, audios, resumes, tax info, insurance info, sensitive emails, and tons of other misc. junk they just don't want to keep on their hard drives.
Q. What are some alternate storage options?
A. List below...
1. Flash/thumb drives - Small and compact, yet easy to misplace if you're not careful. Storage for these has increased dramatically over the past two years. There are now flash drives capable of storing up to 64GB. Example follows:
If you want a state of the art encrypted flash drive my recommendation is Iron Key.
2. External drives - Either powered by USD or outlet plug-in, these devices allow for greater storage capacity. Storage capacity range is typically between 120GB to 2TB.
3. Hard drive docking station - Allows you to hot swap physical hard drives by placing them into a device that will read the drive. I've provided examples of two products in the links below.
4. CD or DVD (read/read-write, etc.)
Q. How safe and secure are these online storage sites?
A. This is a multiple part answer with many shades of gray.
1. First and foremost - it's impossible to know for sure who has access to your online data. You must assume it can be breached/accessed by any employee from the host site...or from the outside for that matter. (I'm not saying this would happen, but this is the line of thought that you should be considering).
2. Consider storing critical information on a site that offers SSL encryption (Secure Sockets Layer) of at least 128 bits. Note: Many sites will make you pay for encryption.
3. One option is to encrypt a file (example: .zip) and place your data in the file, then place the encrypted file on the site. This provides you with an additional layer of protection, but is obviously less convenient. Anytime you add security, the take-away is convenience.
4. You should always have an additional backup option. For example, you might have files on your computer, another backup copy on an external drive, and also one online.
6. Also, the digital certificate should be reviewed to help legitimize the security level of the site. (this can be done by double-clicking the padlock at the bottom of a secure log-in/page and viewing the certificate). A digital certificate is issued to sites/companies by a Certificate Authority (CA) - an example is VeriSign. This is basically a level of trust certificate that is supposed to validate that the site is who they say they are and can be trusted. However, not all digital certificates are created equal. This is a topic for another day and I'll dive deeper into it in a future issue.
Personally, I haven't settled on a long-term host site just yet, but here is a short list of a few that I'm considering. Once I make my final decision, I'll let you know.
Movie pick of the week: Fanboys
Just watch the clip below and judge for yourself...
Optional site of the week:
Want another option if you're not get your stuff sold on Craigslist or eBay? Try HP's tradeup site and they'll give you an online quote. Shipping expense is on your dime. It doesn't have to be an HP product, but one word of caution, the quotes seem to be a little lower than I'd prefer to see. It's just another option that's out there.
News of the week:
Tetris anyone?
According to researchers at Oxford University, playing the popular, classic puzzle game Tetris after a traumatic experience could significantly reduce emotional scars. Apparently Tetris—which requires serious brain power on your part blocks your brain from storing those bad memories. The catch: It needs to be played immediately following the traumatic event, so break out your old Game Boys and stick 'em in your backpack.
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