You don't need Google drive or other cloud storage anyway!
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| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| cmost Aug 14, 2013 6:09 PM EDT |
Anyone who thinks it's a great idea to upload private, personal files into cloud storage is an idiot! There's a reason why this sort of storage has been termed "cloud" storage; it's to impart a warm and fuzzy feeling to something that's actually quite a serious security risk. With recent news of rampant spying by the NSA and other governments, nobody in their right mind would even consider placing sensitive or even benign personal files onto a server that they do not control. The very idea of cloud storage is a solution waiting for a problem. Sure, proponents tout how convenient it is to access files anywhere and from any computer. Guess what, we've already had that ability since the advent of computers in the form of floppy disks and now flash drives which have achieved 128 GB storage capacities recently on a device the size of a thumbnail. Need more room? Then tiny traveller drives the size of a deck of cards can hold up to 2 TB at dirt cheap prices. Since these can be encrypted, data is perfectly safe if the drive is lost or falls into the wrong hands. Once files are uploaded to cloud storage services, they are no longer in your control. Ask all the innocent people who had perfectly legitimate files on MegaUpload when it was taken down for hosting copyrighted materials. Those people never will get their data back! Just say no to cloud storage - it's a really really bad idea! |
| djohnston Aug 14, 2013 6:24 PM EDT |
Quoting:Anyone who thinks it's a great idea to upload private, personal files into cloud storage is an idiot! In Ken's (helios's) defense, I highly doubt he is uploading any personal files to "the cloud". One, he's a very well-informed and principled individual who is well aware of the inherent dangers of storing files "in the cloud". Two, his Reglue Project is putting Linux-powered computers into the hands of kids whose families cannot afford a home computer. I feel confident in saying that what he is storing "in the cloud" are iso images for those computers, as well as Linux packages, configuration files and backup disk images, so that he can access them from "anywhere". Personally, I store remastered iso images in my Dropbox storage account for others to download and use. I certainly would not and will not trust any personal files to the so-called "cloud". |
| dag Aug 14, 2013 8:05 PM EDT |
I use Google drive but I am not a major cloud user. I for the most part use it to share files that are too large for emails. for a light security you can change the share option to only allow if they have a link. This is so the files are not accessible to the Internet at large and is really never anything important. |
| caitlyn Aug 14, 2013 8:09 PM EDT |
My "cloud" usage right now is limited to Amazon's cloud drive. I bought some CDs here and there and they "autoripped" them for me and I didn't have to pay for anything. They've also given me promotional credits (a free mp3 here or there) which I've used and any mp3 I get from them also goes to their music playing service. I have a client on my phone for it which can then play stuff through my car's stereo if I want. As far as putting valuable data in the cloud, my brother owns a company that is, in effect, a cloud provider. Companies, big ones, put all sorts of accounting info there. When I questioned my brother about this he said that the security practices at these companies are so lacking (as in not even locking the server room door) that as bad as the cloud is, it's a huge improvement over what they were doing in house. That is a sad commentary on the state of information security in American business. |
| helios Aug 14, 2013 11:38 PM EDT |
"Anyone who thinks it's a great idea to upload private, personal files into cloud storage is an idiot!" You know...I went back to look that article over, not that I had to because....well, I wrote the frickin' piece. But double checking anyway, I cannot find even a shred of the mention of "private, personal files." "Sure, proponents tout how convenient it is to access files anywhere and from any computer. Guess what, we've already had that ability since the advent of computers in the form of floppy disks and now flash drives which have achieved 128 GB storage capacities recently on a device the size of a thumbnail." That is a good idea. Now why don't you outfit my 71 volunteers with that kind of capacity so they can carry them along on the installs they do? I mean, if it's so convenient to do so, I am guessing you wouldn't mind springing for over a thousand dollars for those flash drives. We're lucky to be able to keep the lights on from month to month right now. Not to mention luxuries that you mention. And just so it's mentioned, since you don't seem to take it into consideration....Small portable drives fail fairly fast with heavy day in and day out usage. I've had two 32 gig top of the line thumb drives fail in 5 months. They cannot be trusted as the only media for our work. They are not or were they ever meant to handle the amount of traffic and usage my organization puts them through. Cloud storage isn't simply convenient for us, it's a valuable tool of my trade. I keep ISO files, deb and tar.gz files in accessible storage so my people have access to them on-site. They don't have to remember to bring anything and they can add the specialized apps to the installation as needed for challenged or physically challenged children. I don't know what brought on that rant, but as far as Reglue goes, you have no idea of what our needs are, how our logistics are handled and how many people answer the call on the spur of the moment to do do our work. Come volunteer for us for a week. You'll get a pretty good idea then. |
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