Google Drive - missing files!

[cassde]

I recently purchased an HP Pavilion netbook with a Windows 8.1 operating system, which comes with Google Drive already loaded. I had not used it previously so decided to move important files to Google Drive. For the first few days all was ok, then yesterday when I went to access the files I found they were missing. I had not deleted them or done anything with them.

I then opened my old laptop and found the most important folder present in Google Drive. I copied it back into My Documents and subsequently into Drop Box.

Has any member had the same problem with Google Drive and what can you do to try and recover your folders / files?

[Aachen]

In Dropbox you can recover any deleted file for 6 month. Maybe Google Drive has some same function.

[HAL9000]

Are you sure about that? Windows 8 comes with Skydrive preinstalled, not Google Drive.

[cassde]

Yes, this was Windows 8.1

[HAL9000]

Must be an HP thing. My Microsoft distribution of 8.1 doesn't have it.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[manarak]

Best advice is to waste no time, bandwidth and data with cloud services.

[alfalfa19]

Happened to me also. Fortunately, I had a laptop which had not been used in weeks, I fired it up, without connecting to the Internet, copied my files to a dvd, and put them back into my dropbox. However, as another poster mentioned, you can recover your files for quite some time from Dropbox itself.

[Artist]

I use the cloud to store all my files, mainly in Google Drive and Google+ for photos. I have been doing this for over 12 months without problems.

I am not sure how your files got deleted but they should be in the Trash folder. You can get your files into Drive by synchronising a Windows folder, uploading to it or creating a file (doc, spreadsheet etc) in drive. These are accessible from all my devices including most importantly my phone.

Photos in Drive can automatically appear in Google+ if you select that option.

Google+ is a fantastic place to store photos for many reasons including full sized original images, free storage (up to a limit), great photo manipulation, automatic generation of HDR, animated gifs, panoramas, fixing up and selecting your best images for your review. Best of all you can use Google's search capabilities to find photos with automatic or manual tagging. If you want to find that sunset you took in Pattaya 3 years ago you should be able to find it without setting up the tags yourself.

[sunshine51]

Best advice is to waste no time, bandwidth and data with cloud services.

Exactly. Never store your important files on any cloud service. Go and buy

an external HDD of a size suitable to you and put your important files on it.

Then buy another external HDD and do the same thing...just in case the

first one craps out...because it can at any time. Then stash the HDD's

in a secure place of your choice then every now & then use em to check

& verify the data is still useable.

[manarak]

Best advice is to waste no time, bandwidth and data with cloud services.

Exactly. Never store your important files on any cloud service. Go and buy

an external HDD of a size suitable to you and put your important files on it.

Then buy another external HDD and do the same thing...just in case the

first one craps out...because it can at any time. Then stash the HDD's

in a secure place of your choice then every now & then use em to check

& verify the data is still useable.

got 2 of these with RAID1:

http://www.onnto.com/product.asp?sys_sysno=75

[MJCM]

<snip>

got 2 of these with RAID1:

http://www.onnto.com/product.asp?sys_sysno=75

wow !! Raid 1 for 2.5" nice !

And there are even WD Red's for 2.5" http://www.wdc.com/en/products/catalog/#jump31

Ps: Any Local supplier ?

[manarak]

<snip>

got 2 of these with RAID1:

http://www.onnto.com/product.asp?sys_sysno=75

wow !! Raid 1 for 2.5" nice !

And there are even WD Red's for 2.5" http://www.wdc.com/en/products/catalog/#jump31

Ps: Any Local supplier ?

the best is to just order them online from the USA - by far the cheapest method.

I got mine from http://oyendigital.com/hard-drives/store/RS-S2TJ.html

but I see the product has been discontinued.

Imagine these with SSD drives and firewire B connection?

[IBoldnewguy]

Best advice is to waste no time, bandwidth and data with cloud services.

Exactly. Never store your important files on any cloud service. Go and buy

an external HDD of a size suitable to you and put your important files on it.

Then buy another external HDD and do the same thing...just in case the

first one craps out...because it can at any time. Then stash the HDD's

in a secure place of your choice then every now & then use em to check

& verify the data is still useable.

Thanks for the confirmation that my thinking is not entirely paranoid. Tried Sky Drive - it was supposed to sync with original file and Laptop.... no do... tried some fixes from forums.... wait for MS patch... minimal Microsoft help... in the end it was easier and less frustrating to return to method similar to above.

[Artist]

Don't get paranoid about the cloud guys. Like it or not its the future of computing operating systems like Windows have seen their day, the next decade will be almost entirely cloud.

By all means keep local copies and backup copies. The reality is that your backup drives will probably be out of date quickly as you won't get around to doing the backup. When they are out of date you and you need them you will have the whole messy business of trying restore and update them.

I have used Windows as an IT professional since it started and RAID and all that jazz, but Windows consistently screws the files up after a time.

What happens if somebody steals your machine, or it gets burnt, flooded or whatever. The chances are you will find that recovering is a nightmare.

If its in the cloud Google or DropBox or whatever backs it up for you. The guys who run these systems are professionals and they cant afford for files to go missing so any glitch which made you lose files was most likely user generated.

So keep a copy on the cloud and a local copy. Then you can access your data from your phone, tablet, laptop and desktop. Personally I access my Drive files from my phone the whole time, I couldn't do without it.

At the same time you have an identical copy on your local machine synchronised with the cloud plus and out of date copy kept in a fireproof safe in your wardrobe.

[manarak]

Don't get paranoid about the cloud guys. Like it or not its the future of computing operating systems like Windows have seen their day, the next decade will be almost entirely cloud.

By all means keep local copies and backup copies. The reality is that your backup drives will probably be out of date quickly as you won't get around to doing the backup. When they are out of date you and you need them you will have the whole messy business of trying restore and update them.

I have used Windows as an IT professional since it started and RAID and all that jazz, but Windows consistently screws the files up after a time.

What happens if somebody steals your machine, or it gets burnt, flooded or whatever. The chances are you will find that recovering is a nightmare.

If its in the cloud Google or DropBox or whatever backs it up for you. The guys who run these systems are professionals and they cant afford for files to go missing so any glitch which made you lose files was most likely user generated.

So keep a copy on the cloud and a local copy. Then you can access your data from your phone, tablet, laptop and desktop. Personally I access my Drive files from my phone the whole time, I couldn't do without it.

At the same time you have an identical copy on your local machine synchronised with the cloud plus and out of date copy kept in a fireproof safe in your wardrobe.

no.

confidentiality alone is already enough a reason to not put everything on the cloud.

[Artist]

Don't get paranoid about the cloud guys. Like it or not its the future of computing operating systems like Windows have seen their day, the next decade will be almost entirely cloud.

By all means keep local copies and backup copies. The reality is that your backup drives will probably be out of date quickly as you won't get around to doing the backup. When they are out of date you and you need them you will have the whole messy business of trying restore and update them.

I have used Windows as an IT professional since it started and RAID and all that jazz, but Windows consistently screws the files up after a time.

What happens if somebody steals your machine, or it gets burnt, flooded or whatever. The chances are you will find that recovering is a nightmare.

If its in the cloud Google or DropBox or whatever backs it up for you. The guys who run these systems are professionals and they cant afford for files to go missing so any glitch which made you lose files was most likely user generated.

So keep a copy on the cloud and a local copy. Then you can access your data from your phone, tablet, laptop and desktop. Personally I access my Drive files from my phone the whole time, I couldn't do without it.

At the same time you have an identical copy on your local machine synchronised with the cloud plus and out of date copy kept in a fireproof safe in your wardrobe.

no.

confidentiality alone is already enough a reason to not put everything on the cloud.

Where on earth do you get these ideas from? Why are cloud files not confidential? You have total control over them. If you are worried about the NSA you had better go back to using stone tablets.

[manarak]

Don't get paranoid about the cloud guys. Like it or not its the future of computing operating systems like Windows have seen their day, the next decade will be almost entirely cloud.

By all means keep local copies and backup copies. The reality is that your backup drives will probably be out of date quickly as you won't get around to doing the backup. When they are out of date you and you need them you will have the whole messy business of trying restore and update them.

I have used Windows as an IT professional since it started and RAID and all that jazz, but Windows consistently screws the files up after a time.

What happens if somebody steals your machine, or it gets burnt, flooded or whatever. The chances are you will find that recovering is a nightmare.

If its in the cloud Google or DropBox or whatever backs it up for you. The guys who run these systems are professionals and they cant afford for files to go missing so any glitch which made you lose files was most likely user generated.

So keep a copy on the cloud and a local copy. Then you can access your data from your phone, tablet, laptop and desktop. Personally I access my Drive files from my phone the whole time, I couldn't do without it.

At the same time you have an identical copy on your local machine synchronised with the cloud plus and out of date copy kept in a fireproof safe in your wardrobe.

no.

confidentiality alone is already enough a reason to not put everything on the cloud.

Where on earth do you get these ideas from? Why are cloud files not confidential? You have total control over them. If you are worried about the NSA you had better go back to using stone tablets.

There we go again.

Nobody will be interested in your cloud storage until your person becomes interesting.

Running for public office? Are in an important position or will get into an important position? Are you a journalist? The net won't forget anything - if your rivals have access to it, you are toast.

The big thing about the NSA leaks isn't so much the surveillance as the ability of sysops to gain access to anything. If data is stored anywhere, the sysop has access.

I'm a webmaster and programmer by trade. And I do assure you that NONE of the online storage solutions can be trusted. None. One way to use them would be to encrypt the files using a 4096 bit key if such software existed.

Sure, use the cloud to store porn movies and other unimportant stuff, but I would never trust any important information to the cloud.

Better to ruin the cloud business models right now than to let them take over.

The NSA scandal came at the right time to prevent businesses from going on the cloud. Now there is zero chance that European businesses will use the cloud for anything important. Good.

[Artist]

Don't get paranoid about the cloud guys. Like it or not its the future of computing operating systems like Windows have seen their day, the next decade will be almost entirely cloud.

By all means keep local copies and backup copies. The reality is that your backup drives will probably be out of date quickly as you won't get around to doing the backup. When they are out of date you and you need them you will have the whole messy business of trying restore and update them.

I have used Windows as an IT professional since it started and RAID and all that jazz, but Windows consistently screws the files up after a time.

What happens if somebody steals your machine, or it gets burnt, flooded or whatever. The chances are you will find that recovering is a nightmare.

If its in the cloud Google or DropBox or whatever backs it up for you. The guys who run these systems are professionals and they cant afford for files to go missing so any glitch which made you lose files was most likely user generated.

So keep a copy on the cloud and a local copy. Then you can access your data from your phone, tablet, laptop and desktop. Personally I access my Drive files from my phone the whole time, I couldn't do without it.

At the same time you have an identical copy on your local machine synchronised with the cloud plus and out of date copy kept in a fireproof safe in your wardrobe.

no.

confidentiality alone is already enough a reason to not put everything on the cloud.

Where on earth do you get these ideas from? Why are cloud files not confidential? You have total control over them. If you are worried about the NSA you had better go back to using stone tablets.

There we go again.

Nobody will be interested in your cloud storage until your person becomes interesting.

Running for public office? Are in an important position or will get into an important position? Are you a journalist? The net won't forget anything - if your rivals have access to it, you are toast.

The big thing about the NSA leaks isn't so much the surveillance as the ability of sysops to gain access to anything. If data is stored anywhere, the sysop has access.

I'm a webmaster and programmer by trade. And I do assure you that NONE of the online storage solutions can be trusted. None. One way to use them would be to encrypt the files using a 4096 bit key if such software existed.

Sure, use the cloud to store porn movies and other unimportant stuff, but I would never trust any important information to the cloud.

Better to ruin the cloud business models right now than to let them take over.

The NSA scandal came at the right time to prevent businesses from going on the cloud. Now there is zero chance that European businesses will use the cloud for anything important. Good.

I agree that if you are involved in criminal activities then its probably not a good idea to store information about them in any digital form and avoid the phone.

Sure don't post information in Facebook that you don't want others to see. Thats what Facebook is all about.

If you are saying that files stored in cloud service providers are open to anybody then you are wrong. The companies that run cloud services have to be secure or they would go broke.

Of course the guys who run the system have access to everything but the same applies to the company you work for. If you want total security don't use digital media at all. Somebody can steal your laptop, or your phone. If your computer breaks down the repair guys can access it. If you are using WiFi somebody can access it. To say that sysops can access your data in the cloud is true but so can people access it in many different ways.

Google and DropBox can't afford to have their sysops posting people's data everywhere and they are probably a lot more secure than the NSA

If you want to trade credentials I ran a an IT shop for a major oil company with 70+ staff and I was Director of IT Consulting for Ernst and Young for 10 years specialising in technology futures.

Sure the Luddites and Troglodytes will stay away from cloud computing but eventually they will be dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st C. You can't stop it. Learn to manage it.

[manarak]

Of course the guys who run the system have access to everything but the same applies to the company you work for.

...

Google and DropBox can't afford to have their sysops posting people's data everywhere and they are probably a lot more secure than the NSA

Quite right - I have access to everything. But the company works for me, not the opposite.

And people's data gets useless if posted everywhere. It won't get posted... it will only get used, and only in rare cases (screw-ups) will the public know about it.

Information doesn't need to hint at illegal activities to be embarassing/devastating enough to allow blackmail and control of a person.

I had earlier lives before becoming my own boss as a webmaster and programmer - I have been a financial derivatives trader, bank manager and IT consultant (it was part of my job to make the access to bank customer/account data and later government data secure).

I embrace new technologies, but I refuse to use some of them because I consider them either insecure, a threat to my privacy or making me too dependent from a third party.

We can discuss endlessly about what is secure and what not, but cloud data offers too much attack vectors to be considered a safe way to store data.

You have your opinion (and coming from me it's a compliment), but I can make the prediction that scandals and crimes linked to cloud storage will be on an exponentional rise if it gets widely used. Political scandals where nobody will know where the material comes from, identity theft, intellectual property theft, you name it.

Oh, and one thing I see coming is cloud services deleting files that are deemed "inappropriate" or "harmful", LOL !

I had the case once with a renowned antivirus software - they whitelisted crapware and blacklisted software that was legal but disturbed some of their sponsors...

[davejones]

I tried Google Drive a while back and it kept having problems backing up the files. Google support wasn't any help at all. Use Dropbox now and never had a problem.

[55Jay]

Useful for people on the go but for retired folks/not working, probably an additional, unnecessary risk. Risk vs. reward decision, not same for everyone.

I, and probably like-minded expats abroad who resist the temptation to jump into the scrum of every new gadget that comes along, have, nevertheless, incrementally increased our IT risk exposure over the years. Email, using government services on line, Turbo Tax e-filing, internet banking, shopping/purchasing online. These are all "clouds" saving and storing our data in one form or another and they can, have been and will again, be hacked.

[Artist]

Useful for people on the go but for retired folks/not working, probably an additional, unnecessary risk. Risk vs. reward decision, not same for everyone.

I, and probably like-minded expats abroad who resist the temptation to jump into the scrum of every new gadget that comes along, have, nevertheless, incrementally increased our IT risk exposure over the years. Email, using government services on line, Turbo Tax e-filing, internet banking, shopping/purchasing online. These are all "clouds" saving and storing our data in one form or another and they can, have been and will again, be hacked.

I am astonished at the amount of FUD (Fear Uncertainty and Doubt) there is about this issue. What are the awful risks of the cloud?

I am a professional artist. I have had a web site since 1995 and my email address, and most of my personal details (DOB, Phone, Address etc) have been published on the web for nearly 20 years.

I get a lot of spam but I never see it as gmail filters it out. I also get a lot of Phishing but I can smell it a mile away and just report it to Google. Once I had somebody bill my credit card from Italy $1,400 but that was nothing to do with the cloud as far as I know, it could have been an ATM skimmer, just a carbon copy of my card at a restaurant many possibilities, the bank picked up the fraud and credited me automatically. I also had somebody bill a small amount to my card every month from a dummy business. It was several months before I noticed it and I had trouble getting the money back because it was too old for the bank to recover it. Again nothing to do with the cloud.

Facebook is inherently insecure in my opinion. I have posted private messages which have turned out to be public. If you are using Facebook you should expect anything you post to be made public. A few years back somebody somehow got access to my Facebook account and contact all my friends saying I was in Manilla and had had my wallet stolen, please send me money. Fortunately one of them checked with me first and I was able to warn people.That is completely different from storing files in Google Drive or DropBox.

What is the great risk you are taking by storing files in the cloud? Don't store your credit card details I guess or you bank account password. My passwords are all in LastPass and I trust them, my bank requires a password drawn on the screen which is pretty secure. If somebody hits your credit card the bank will reimburse you anyway. I am not a criminal or a terrorist, just boring really. Who is going to be interested in the files I store.

What is the risk? If you have a Google account you should use two step verification which makes it pretty safe. Google encrypts much of your data I understand. They weren't encrypting transmission from one data centre to another and it appears that the NSA may have tapped into those pipes. My understanding is that Google are working to encrypt transmissions between data centres to stop the NSA snooping.

Your greatest risk is Phishing, somebody getting access to your home computer though a virus or spoofing your bank etc. Your weakest link is not the cloud but your home computer.

Unless you have really big secrets don't worry, take advantage of the new technology. If you are truly paranoid about security and privacy disconnect all your devices from the Internet.

[55Jay]

Useful for people on the go but for retired folks/not working, probably an additional, unnecessary risk. Risk vs. reward decision, not same for everyone.

I, and probably like-minded expats abroad who resist the temptation to jump into the scrum of every new gadget that comes along, have, nevertheless, incrementally increased our IT risk exposure over the years. Email, using government services on line, Turbo Tax e-filing, internet banking, shopping/purchasing online. These are all "clouds" saving and storing our data in one form or another and they can, have been and will again, be hacked.

I am astonished at the amount of FUD (Fear Uncertainty and Doubt) there is about this issue. What are the awful risks of the cloud?

I am a professional artist. I have had a web site since 1995 and my email address, and most of my personal details (DOB, Phone, Address etc) have been published on the web for nearly 20 years.

I get a lot of spam but I never see it as gmail filters it out. I also get a lot of Phishing but I can smell it a mile away and just report it to Google. Once I had somebody bill my credit card from Italy $1,400 but that was nothing to do with the cloud as far as I know, it could have been an ATM skimmer, just a carbon copy of my card at a restaurant many possibilities, the bank picked up the fraud and credited me automatically. I also had somebody bill a small amount to my card every month from a dummy business. It was several months before I noticed it and I had trouble getting the money back because it was too old for the bank to recover it. Again nothing to do with the cloud.

Facebook is inherently insecure in my opinion. I have posted private messages which have turned out to be public. If you are using Facebook you should expect anything you post to be made public. A few years back somebody somehow got access to my Facebook account and contact all my friends saying I was in Manilla and had had my wallet stolen, please send me money. Fortunately one of them checked with me first and I was able to warn people.That is completely different from storing files in Google Drive or DropBox.

What is the great risk you are taking by storing files in the cloud? Don't store your credit card details I guess or you bank account password. My passwords are all in LastPass and I trust them, my bank requires a password drawn on the screen which is pretty secure. If somebody hits your credit card the bank will reimburse you anyway. I am not a criminal or a terrorist, just boring really. Who is going to be interested in the files I store.

What is the risk? If you have a Google account you should use two step verification which makes it pretty safe. Google encrypts much of your data I understand. They weren't encrypting transmission from one data centre to another and it appears that the NSA may have tapped into those pipes. My understanding is that Google are working to encrypt transmissions between data centres to stop the NSA snooping.

Your greatest risk is Phishing, somebody getting access to your home computer though a virus or spoofing your bank etc. Your weakest link is not the cloud but your home computer.

Unless you have really big secrets don't worry, take advantage of the new technology. If you are truly paranoid about security and privacy disconnect all your devices from the Internet.

Sure, that's more or less what I was getting to.

On face value, with all the hacks and heists that have already occurred with email services, banks, government systems, it wouldn't make much sense to unnecessarily open yourself to another vulnerability and 3rd party risk, if you really don't need to. I do see and understand the value in off site storage, in particular for folks who are mobile.

I used to use a typewriter at work and thought I was hot &lt;deleted&gt; when I got an IBM Selectric model. A year or so later, I got a hand-me-down Zenith all in one computer (486 ~ the green screen?). Anyway, the older guys in the office gave me a lot of crap for wasting time trying to figure the damn thing out, when I could of been doing productive work still on the typewriter. I eventually did figure it out, on my own and through a lot of trial and error, how I could use it for work output. The old farts still gave me a hard time about it, especially when it didn't work right and I would get pissed off at it, they would laugh and tell me to plug the damn typewriter in and get back to work. Before I left that job, the typewriter was gone and there were two newer model computers on the desk with Lotus and Word Perfect. Astonishing where things are these days.

[manarak]

Useful for people on the go but for retired folks/not working, probably an additional, unnecessary risk. Risk vs. reward decision, not same for everyone.

I, and probably like-minded expats abroad who resist the temptation to jump into the scrum of every new gadget that comes along, have, nevertheless, incrementally increased our IT risk exposure over the years. Email, using government services on line, Turbo Tax e-filing, internet banking, shopping/purchasing online. These are all "clouds" saving and storing our data in one form or another and they can, have been and will again, be hacked.

I am astonished at the amount of FUD (Fear Uncertainty and Doubt) there is about this issue. What are the awful risks of the cloud?

I am a professional artist. I have had a web site since 1995 and my email address, and most of my personal details (DOB, Phone, Address etc) have been published on the web for nearly 20 years.

I get a lot of spam but I never see it as gmail filters it out. I also get a lot of Phishing but I can smell it a mile away and just report it to Google. Once I had somebody bill my credit card from Italy $1,400 but that was nothing to do with the cloud as far as I know, it could have been an ATM skimmer, just a carbon copy of my card at a restaurant many possibilities, the bank picked up the fraud and credited me automatically. I also had somebody bill a small amount to my card every month from a dummy business. It was several months before I noticed it and I had trouble getting the money back because it was too old for the bank to recover it. Again nothing to do with the cloud.

Facebook is inherently insecure in my opinion. I have posted private messages which have turned out to be public. If you are using Facebook you should expect anything you post to be made public. A few years back somebody somehow got access to my Facebook account and contact all my friends saying I was in Manilla and had had my wallet stolen, please send me money. Fortunately one of them checked with me first and I was able to warn people.That is completely different from storing files in Google Drive or DropBox.

What is the great risk you are taking by storing files in the cloud? Don't store your credit card details I guess or you bank account password. My passwords are all in LastPass and I trust them, my bank requires a password drawn on the screen which is pretty secure. If somebody hits your credit card the bank will reimburse you anyway. I am not a criminal or a terrorist, just boring really. Who is going to be interested in the files I store.

What is the risk? If you have a Google account you should use two step verification which makes it pretty safe. Google encrypts much of your data I understand. They weren't encrypting transmission from one data centre to another and it appears that the NSA may have tapped into those pipes. My understanding is that Google are working to encrypt transmissions between data centres to stop the NSA snooping.

Your greatest risk is Phishing, somebody getting access to your home computer though a virus or spoofing your bank etc. Your weakest link is not the cloud but your home computer.

Unless you have really big secrets don't worry, take advantage of the new technology. If you are truly paranoid about security and privacy disconnect all your devices from the Internet.

Surprising path of thought for someone who claims to have led an IT-department!

1- nature of data stored

You talk about DOB, address... Peope like me who store documents digitally also store passport copies, all kinds of official documents including birth certificates, contracts of all sorts, social security number, work permit, tax filings, etc. Easy to see how vital and dangerous this data is and how easily my identity could be stolen using it.

2- attack vectors

Your own computer might be your biggest risk, not mine.

My computers are behind two firewalls (the first sitting on the router and doing the usual NAT and port filtering/forwarding stuff, and the second sits on every machine) and running software that asks me before other software is authorized to perform anything significant on my systems (I have to approve or decline requests for every change in the registry and access to system components if I wish), and software that filters I/O, be it local (thumb drives, disk access, etc.) or network based - there also I can approve or deny every request.

The software is a pain to teach about what requests are ok and which not, but once it's running correctly, it's almost impossible for malicious requests to get past.

3- biggest risk is phishing

No, seriously... who falls for fishing mails? 5555

4- biggest risk: computer or cloud?

Flawed logic on this one.

When files are stored in the cloud, then your computer is also included in possible attack vectors.

So the risk of storing files locally is solely determined by the vulnerability of your computer or your network.

When storing files in the cloud, the risk is determined not only by the vulnerability of your computer and network (because anyone that gains control over your computer can access your cloud storage), but ALSO by the vulnerability of the cloud itself - the risks are additive, so the risk of storing files in the cloud are at all times higher than for local storage.

5- who is talking?

- you have been frauded twice on my bank card

- someone hacked you facebook account

- you say the greatest risk is phishing

- you have all your passes in lastpass, you trust them

LOL

[Artist]

Useful for people on the go but for retired folks/not working, probably an additional, unnecessary risk. Risk vs. reward decision, not same for everyone.

I, and probably like-minded expats abroad who resist the temptation to jump into the scrum of every new gadget that comes along, have, nevertheless, incrementally increased our IT risk exposure over the years. Email, using government services on line, Turbo Tax e-filing, internet banking, shopping/purchasing online. These are all "clouds" saving and storing our data in one form or another and they can, have been and will again, be hacked.

I am astonished at the amount of FUD (Fear Uncertainty and Doubt) there is about this issue. What are the awful risks of the cloud?

I am a professional artist. I have had a web site since 1995 and my email address, and most of my personal details (DOB, Phone, Address etc) have been published on the web for nearly 20 years.

I get a lot of spam but I never see it as gmail filters it out. I also get a lot of Phishing but I can smell it a mile away and just report it to Google. Once I had somebody bill my credit card from Italy $1,400 but that was nothing to do with the cloud as far as I know, it could have been an ATM skimmer, just a carbon copy of my card at a restaurant many possibilities, the bank picked up the fraud and credited me automatically. I also had somebody bill a small amount to my card every month from a dummy business. It was several months before I noticed it and I had trouble getting the money back because it was too old for the bank to recover it. Again nothing to do with the cloud.

Facebook is inherently insecure in my opinion. I have posted private messages which have turned out to be public. If you are using Facebook you should expect anything you post to be made public. A few years back somebody somehow got access to my Facebook account and contact all my friends saying I was in Manilla and had had my wallet stolen, please send me money. Fortunately one of them checked with me first and I was able to warn people.That is completely different from storing files in Google Drive or DropBox.

What is the great risk you are taking by storing files in the cloud? Don't store your credit card details I guess or you bank account password. My passwords are all in LastPass and I trust them, my bank requires a password drawn on the screen which is pretty secure. If somebody hits your credit card the bank will reimburse you anyway. I am not a criminal or a terrorist, just boring really. Who is going to be interested in the files I store.

What is the risk? If you have a Google account you should use two step verification which makes it pretty safe. Google encrypts much of your data I understand. They weren't encrypting transmission from one data centre to another and it appears that the NSA may have tapped into those pipes. My understanding is that Google are working to encrypt transmissions between data centres to stop the NSA snooping.

Your greatest risk is Phishing, somebody getting access to your home computer though a virus or spoofing your bank etc. Your weakest link is not the cloud but your home computer.

Unless you have really big secrets don't worry, take advantage of the new technology. If you are truly paranoid about security and privacy disconnect all your devices from the Internet.

Surprising path of thought for someone who claims to have led an IT-department!

1- nature of data stored

You talk about DOB, address... Peope like me who store documents digitally also store passport copies, all kinds of official documents including birth certificates, contracts of all sorts, social security number, work permit, tax filings, etc. Easy to see how vital and dangerous this data is and how easily my identity could be stolen using it.

2- attack vectors

Your own computer might be your biggest risk, not mine.

My computers are behind two firewalls (the first sitting on the router and doing the usual NAT and port filtering/forwarding stuff, and the second sits on every machine) and running software that asks me before other software is authorized to perform anything significant on my systems (I have to approve or decline requests for every change in the registry and access to system components if I wish), and software that filters I/O, be it local (thumb drives, disk access, etc.) or network based - there also I can approve or deny every request.

The software is a pain to teach about what requests are ok and which not, but once it's running correctly, it's almost impossible for malicious requests to get past.

3- biggest risk is phishing

No, seriously... who falls for fishing mails? 5555

4- biggest risk: computer or cloud?

Flawed logic on this one.

When files are stored in the cloud, then your computer is also included in possible attack vectors.

So the risk of storing files locally is solely determined by the vulnerability of your computer or your network.

When storing files in the cloud, the risk is determined not only by the vulnerability of your computer and network (because anyone that gains control over your computer can access your cloud storage), but ALSO by the vulnerability of the cloud itself - the risks are additive, so the risk of storing files in the cloud are at all times higher than for local storage.

5- who is talking?

- you have been frauded twice on my bank card

- someone hacked you facebook account

- you say the greatest risk is phishing

- you have all your passes in lastpass, you trust them

LOL

Take it easy mate you will have a stroke. If you are so afraid of the cloud I strongly recommend that you do not take part in any new technology. There will always be people like you who are afraid of change. Give it time and you will get used to it.

In the meantime don't use the Internet its far to dangerous. Hang On what are you doing here? Quick delete your account before somebody attacks you!

This is pointless, it is close to religion for some people. I just can't get over how emotional this subject is. Why are you so upset? Its not a big deal.

I nearly forgot why I came back to this conversation. Read this if you are interested in cloud futures, imo its fairly accurate. http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2013/11/12/why-google-drive-has-become-microsofts-worst-night.aspx

[dharmabm]

Can you guys please quit with the needless multi-quoting?

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