"The Cloud"

[rowech]

Sweet and fluffy or a storm waiting to happen?

I'm debating starting to use the program dropbox so that I can access some files from my pc on another computer and my ipad. In the back of my mind, I think it's stupid to do. It's not that the files have all kinds of private information but just the knowledge that somebody could either get into my files and/or get into my computer somehow through such things.

I'm not a tech person by any means so I wonder how safe things like these are and if people aren't using them for the same reasons I'm wondering about. Or, am I making a mountain out of a molehill?

[Comey]

Dropbox is great, but I also have 53GB (and growing). I keep everything backed up anyway, so it's all good.

I love Google Sync and Drive...both have made my life so much more accessible. And, thus, more time-consuming...yet, awesome at the same time.

[samifan24]

Dropbox is fantastic and a must have service for cloud storage. My rule is that I'll put anything in Dropbox as long as it doesn't have my address or social. But mostly I just use it for documents and the like. It really shines if you pick up an iOS text editor that supports Dropbox.

[RainMaker]

It's pretty safe. Been out for awhile and there are other options like Google Drive that work just as well. I wouldn't post highly valuable information on there, but I do trust it with almost anything else.

If you are overly concerned about security, give Spider Oak a try. They are different by having a client side encryption key. Their way of syncing is also a bit different (you don't need to save in your dropbox folder, can designate ones on your computer). More advanced and a little more effort to get used to, but if you're paranoid about information getting out, it's far safer.

[lighthousekeeper]

I have a document on dropbox called password.doc that contains password to all my critical accounts.

I like to live life on the edge.

[Desnudo]

Generally speaking keeping things in a cloud data center is much more secure than storing things locally on your pc, tablet, or phone. The odds are much higher of your pc getting a virus or stolen than someone hacking in on the cloud side. It's more of a mindset change.

[MacroGuru]

My company is a Microsoft 365 shop, we sell it as well and I will tell you this much. Between MS 365, Skydrive and everything else tied with it, I am able to work anywhere at any point in time that I need to.

As for personal, I am shifting everything to the cloud, it makes it easier for me and I am not worrying about the laptop corruption or if I lose the HD, my data is still safe.

[rowech]

I'm semi-surprised by the responses so far. I trust the opinions of people here more than just about anywhere else I might read.

[RainMaker]

Generally speaking keeping things in a cloud data center is much more secure than storing things locally on your pc, tablet, or phone. The odds are much higher of your pc getting a virus or stolen than someone hacking in on the cloud side. It's more of a mindset change.

This is true. Much easier to take over someone's computer remotely and go through their files than it is to take over a major company like Dropbox. Sort of similar to the argument about using your credit card online. It's much safer than handing it to the waiter at a restaurant who can write it down.

Honestly, there isn't much out there that can really hurt me. Even stuff like my SS would be caught quickly as I keep an eye on my credit reports. But I don't think a hacker would have much interest in what I store on my computer. I don't even have good porn.

[jeff061]

I have a Qnap NAS. I enabled Webdav on it and I can get to my files from everywhere and anything that supports Webdav(including my phone). Probably too involved/pricey for most people, but it's what do.

I'm Paranoid about things like Dropbox, where once your files are up there they are likely up there forever. Even if you delete them. Once you've shared your data it's no longer yours.

VMware will be releasing a product called Horizon Data Manager that is functionally identically Dropbox except you manage it and data stays internal. Likely going to be priced for businesses though. I have a lot of discussions with companies anxious to replace Dropbox and Skydrive with it.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Security, in the hacking/theft sense, doesn't turn me away from the cloud.

Lack of trust in those maintaining my data at all, as a microscopic user, turns me away from the cloud. As in, I really don't believe they give a damn whether my data lives or dies.

[QuikSand]

I use Dropbox personally (including stuff for work), and am enough of a fan that I am planning to move my office to some sort of cloud-based system soon. I don't foresee us hosting personnel or other sensitive stuff in a shared drive, but access from multiple places is really important enough to make it work effectively.

I have way too many documents now that I keep in Dropbox for my mobile use, but then later have to reconcile elsewhere to ensure multiple people can see/use them. We have been comfortable with a server-based share drive for a long time -- seems to me doing pretty much the same things via a drive we can all access easily from anywhere online makes a ton of sense.

[MacroGuru]

No here is some M$ spin on the cloud.

Google's cloud, once files are uploaded are sent to their data centers globally, which does make it more of a serious issue for security.

M$, if your based in the US, your files are stored in the US data centers..they also have data centers in EMEA and APAC for the regionals.

[Marc Vaughan]

Clouds are blooming useful imho, but keep a local data backup as well.

(with regards to security - if its valuable enough that you're worrying about someone getting hold of it - don't put it online at all or at the very least encrypt it)

[Autumn]

Our business has been using a cloud system for years now, Egnyte.com. There's always security concerns, with any system. But I agree with the general idea, that your home computer isn't any safer than these servers. You have to trust the company itself, but I don't think there's anything intrinsically unsafe about uploading it. If you ever connect your computer to the Internet, you're already part of a cloud.

[Subby]

I couldn't get much done without Dropbox. Plus it acts as our families data drive so I don't ever have to mess with backups.

[JediKooter]

I have zero use for 'the cloud'. Nothing about it appeals to me. If I lose network connectivity, I can't access it. Sorry, keeping all my stuff right where I can physically touch it and not need an internet connection for it.

[Desnudo]

your mattress must be uncomfortable with all those gold bars stuffed into it.

[CraigSca]

I have zero use for 'the cloud'. Nothing about it appeals to me. If I lose network connectivity, I can't access it. Sorry, keeping all my stuff right where I can physically touch it and not need an internet connection for it.

How often do you lose network connectivity? Back in the day it used to be an issue, but now it seems almost as reliable as a POTS line.

[jeff061]

Don't most cloud solutions sync local anyways for offline access?

[Subby]

I have zero use for 'the cloud'. Nothing about it appeals to me. If I lose network connectivity, I can't access it. Sorry, keeping all my stuff right where I can physically touch it and not need an internet connection for it.
Your willful ignorance is a little shocking. That's not how it works.

[JediKooter]

your mattress must be uncomfortable with all those gold bars stuffed into it.

If I had gold bars under my mattress, I'd buy the cloud.


How often do you lose network connectivity? Back in the day it used to be an issue, but now it seems almost as reliable as a POTS line.

With Comcrap? More often than I'd like to think imaginable in the second decade of the 21st century. at&t was worse and I have no other options where I live.

Your willful ignorance is a little shocking. That's not how it works.

If it's ignorance, then the marketing for the cloud has been pretty shoddy in my opinion. I haven't heard one thing that has made me say, "I need to get in on that".

All I'm basically saying is, besides its possible shortcomings, I see no use for it for me personally. Others, it may be a great solution for them and that's cool.

[gstelmack]

If it's ignorance, then the marketing for the cloud has been pretty shoddy in my opinion. I haven't heard one thing that has made me say, "I need to get in on that".

There is "everything is ONLY on the cloud so it can be accessed everywhere" that you are thinking of, then there is "keep backup in the cloud but also local client copies so that when the cloud goes down, I still have access and stuff will synch back up when I'm done".

E-mail can work either way, for example.

Trying to do the cloud the first way about 15 years ago is what killed thin clients. Now that folks are finally doing it the second way, it's got more success and momentum.

[JediKooter]

There is "everything is ONLY on the cloud so it can be accessed everywhere" that you are thinking of, then there is "keep backup in the cloud but also local client copies so that when the cloud goes down, I still have access and stuff will synch back up when I'm done".

E-mail can work either way, for example.

Trying to do the cloud the first way about 15 years ago is what killed thin clients. Now that folks are finally doing it the second way, it's got more success and momentum.

Yes, the first one is exactly what I have in my head. The second one, I have not heard at all being mentioned in any marketing that I've seen. Admittedly, I don't seek it out, so only I hear or read what I accidentally run into.

We kind of have a combination of both here at work. The only thing we can't get on our local drives is the applications we use. Files and other things created are stored locally and remotely depending on what it is.

[QuikSand]

My IT vendor says that MS SharePoint is the best solution... Any thoughts on this from the gang here?

[Autumn]

Don't most cloud solutions sync local anyways for offline access?

Yes, this is exactly why I love our cloud solution for our home business. I work on local files and the second I save them they get synced with the cloud. So my clients and subcontractors have immediate access through the cloud to the work I'm doing, but I don't have to deal with uploading and downloading. If our connection went down, I've still got everything here. But more importantly, if our connection goes down, my customers still have access to everything in the cloud. The sync also makes for an automatic backup. The cloud saves several versions of the files, so while I have a local backup system also, I'm also replicating it at a distance.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Yes, the first one is exactly what I have in my head. The second one, I have not heard at all being mentioned in any marketing that I've seen. Admittedly, I don't seek it out, so only I hear or read what I accidentally run into.

+1

[MacroGuru]

My IT vendor says that MS SharePoint is the best solution... Any thoughts on this from the gang here?

What do you want to know? We sell it and I use it consistently

[Desnudo]

My IT vendor says that MS SharePoint is the best solution... Any thoughts on this from the gang here?

What do you need to use it for? SharePoint is probably the most well known product in this space. Best is a hard adjective to quantify.

Saying a product like SharePoint is the best would be similar to telling you a certain brand of car is the best when there are a number of comparable, or potentially superior, options. It really depends on how you plan to use it and the factors that drive that use.

Off the top of my head I would also think about Google Docs, Box, Jive, Salesforce.com, Alfresco...

[QuikSand]

What I mainly want right now is to relocate the "shared file" system that is housed on a local server and only accessible through being physically connected to an alternative filing system that is readily accessible for me (and colleagues) from home computers, remote laptops, and our various iOS and Android devices.

[Desnudo]

I would expect to primarily access SharePoint via web on those devices v. native apps unless you want to pay for a 3rd party app.

My high level advice would be to pilot a few options before you commit to anything. SharePoint transitioned from on-premises to Cloud so you would want to investigate how well that transition has gone v. apps built for the cloud.

[MacroGuru]

Quick,

I can probably get you set up with a 30 day trial for 25 users on MS 365 with Sharepoint. PM me if you are interested in it and I can see what I can do.

[QuikSand]

Anyone here tried Cubby?

https://www.cubby.com/help/faq/default.aspx

[Marc Vaughan]

I'd recommend 'fileden' for file sharing, its cheap and gives you direct URL's to your files if you need that sort of thing (I do).

[QuikSand]

It seems like Cubby might be really handy for FOFers like me who need to access stuff from more than one computer. if I understand it correctly, I could just designate my /leagues and /universe folders as cubbies to auto-sync with one another. That could have a lot of personal value to me - I'm a catch-as-catch-can guy with FOF these days, and hate mucking up my depth charts and gameplans because I'm in the wrong station when I get my 10 minute window.

[QuikSand]

It seems like Cubby might be really handy for FOFers like me who need to access stuff from more than one computer. if I understand it correctly, I could just designate my /leagues and /universe folders as cubbies to auto-sync with one another. That could have a lot of personal value to me - I'm a catch-as-catch-can guy with FOF these days, and hate mucking up my depth charts and gameplans because I'm in the wrong station when I get my 10 minute window.

Just set this up to sync my two FOF 7 computers' universe folders...seems to work seamlessly. Could be a really nice time saver, as I use both fairly regularly.

[Draft Dodger]

sounds interesting, although I refuse to use anything that rhymes with "Subby"