What do you think of cloud storage? Good or bad idea?

[groze]

What do you think of cloud storage? Good or bad idea? Thank you for this information in advance.

 

[richc46]

From my personal experience, I can tell you about dropbox. It is free and allows you to even find documents that you deleted in the past. It is stored in the cloud, and documents will not be lost due to hardware problems. I use it in conjuction with Karens Replicator with the back ups on my external drive.
The good think about cloud storage is that you do not have to worry about your hard drive going bad. You can also access, items like pictures etc, to show friends or even enemies when you are not at your computer.

 

[AddRAM]

I wouldn`t trust it

What happens if their computers explode

But, I guess it`s ok for replication, or if you just don`t have the storage space.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

It depends on how you use the cloud. All media will fail eventually; how long it will last depends on the quality of the media and dumb luck. For that reason, one should not keep only one copy for all your data in only one place. The only way to ensure your data is safe is to keep multiple copies in multiple places.

Free cloud storage should be avoided since, historically, it has been known to disappear with little or no warning. Even paid for cloud storage can disappear, although it is less likely. If one uses cloud storage, your data must be encrypted before leaves your computer. Many cloud storage sites, especially the freebies, do not provide for data encryption so you would have to do that yourself. I do use Amazon's cloud storage (the first 5GB is free) to backup photos, etc. I make when on a trip but I also back them up on a thumb drive I keep in my pocket and a camera card I keep in my purse. I do not send sensitive data to Amazon. Once I get home and transfer the data to my desktop computer (and it is backed up) I delete the data on the Amazon cloud drive.

As already stated, keeping data in multiple places is the best way to keep it safe. At least two copies (the original and a copy) should be kept onsite and one copy should be kept offsite in a secure location (I use a safe deposit box at my credit union). An easy way to achieve offsite storage is to use a safe cloud backup solution. Both Carbonite and Crashplan (I prefer Carbonite) will automatically encrypt your data before it leaves the computer and send it up to their secure servers for only around $60/year.

 

[Tookeri]

I use it but to feel extra safe I encrypt private files before uploading. I use it as a remote backup of my other local physical backups.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

I use it but to feel extra safe I encrypt private files before uploading. I use it as a remote backup of my other local physical backups.

Exactly!

 

[Tookeri]

I use it but to feel extra safe I encrypt private files before uploading. I use it as a remote backup of my other local physical backups.

Exactly!

Funny, I was going to write the same thing about your post when I saw it. We posted at the same time

 

[LMiller7]

Cloud storage in itself is neither good nor bad. Whether or not it is an appropriate choice for a specific use is another matter. For some purposes it is a great idea, for others it will be very bad. It all depends on how you want to use it.

 

[gregrocker]

OneDrive leaves a copy on your hard drive so there is no worry about the copy you're storing or using to sync your other devices in the cloud.

I have been rooting my User folders in OneDrive for several years now without a hitch. This way all of my devices use the same set of files, which are also available by signing into OneDrive on the internet. Sync, Backup and Store your Files to the Cloud with OneDrive

They offer 15gb free storage with additional for cheap.

I recommend it.

 

[Penguin Mumble]

It's good if you don't mind about privacy of your data or you trust the privacy policies of those cloud storage services.
It's bad if you don't want anybody else to see your data except yourself. Once you put your data on the cloud, people can see it by this way or that way. Government guys can see it if they want too!

On a personal matter, I prefer OneDrive for personal storing (I find it's not convenient for sharing with other people) as it's convenient when using together with Windows (especially Windows 8.1). Google Drive is good for sharing large files with other people but its user interface is not friendly though. DropBox is good for quickly sharing (small) things with your colleagues or friends.

 

[Sterling Parker]

The only factor that decides whether it's good or bad is Privacy. The question here is, how secure do you want your data to be? Also the fact that there is always this element of risk associated with storing data at off-site servers. But I do believe things have changed a lot ever since the ICloud disaster back in 2012, which definitely raised a few eyebrows. The security policy is even stricter nowadays. I, for instance, make use of off-site services from Storagepipe solutions, to store data related to my company. I've found it to be quite useful till date and as long as there are no new hacks, I will continue to do so.