Christine Deakers
 After all of the media coverage of Edward Snowden and the NSA issues, “Big Brother” may seem to be more of a concern than ever – or perhaps since George Orwell’s 1984. People are afraid of their identity being stolen by hackers, wiretapping, and meta data being collected on them, but the biggest threat maybe more ubiquitous than one realizes. You might not know how to code in Java (neither do I!), but as more and more of people’s lives are stored as data in the cloud (photos, emails, documents, bits of information we send via computer and mobile devices), it’s important for the non-techie to understand the importance of online privacy and security in the cloud with these online tech tips.

 

 
2.18.TW
 
Tech Tip #1
 
Read the fine print Big cloud providers like Google and Dropbox offer free cloud storage space in exchange for the right to be able to own, change, or manipulate the data you store with them. My online tech tip is to read the fine print. You’ll find this in “legalese” in the Terms & Conditions section. The reason you’re able to use these services for free is because your personal information that you store in their cloud is no longer considered your data and is sold to advertisers to better target ads to you. I see the benefit in using Google Drive because it’s free; it’s a great storage option for certain types of data you own that you feel comfortable having out there. However, I would never recommend using any free cloud service for storing sensitive information such as social security numbers, tax information, legal documents or anything that would put you, your identity or your financial livelihood at risk.
 
Tech Tip #2
 
Use a private cloud for a business or for confidential financial information, my online tech tip is to always use a private cloud storage provider that encrypts at the file-level. It’s far more complicated than this basic explanation, but file-level encryption is like protecting your data inside a tamperproof box so hackers or online snoops cannot see it. The only way you decrypt the data, or unlock that box, is if you own the key, which is another code, to unlock the encrypted data. Free cloud storage options (and sometimes not free!) like Google and Dropbox hold those keys on the server-side, meaning they own the access to your data. Knowing that a third-party could access certain information without your permission should definitely change your perspective on what you’d place in that cloud.
 
Tech Tip #3
 
Protect your data to protect your identity and to protect your business IP from hackers, think of your online data as assets to your life. Protect them with the correct levels of security and privacy, and with the appropriate type of cloud storage. My online tech tip is for you to research what private and secure cloud options are best for your company. I recommend you consider the following companies: Lockbox, Wuala, SpiderOak, and BoxCrypt.
 
Do you know what cloud storage options you use? Share your techie livelihood on Twitter and connect with @cdeakers and @bSmartGuide. 
 

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