By Malcolm and John Harding
“The cloud” is a relatively recent term for a remote location where computer files can be saved using an Internet connection. Despite the suspicion of many users that cloud storage may be insecure, expensive or vulnerable we must remember that most of us are actually using the cloud every day when we send an email, create a post on social media, access our bank account or go about our other usual daily online activities.
Generally speaking, when we refer to cloud storage, we are usually thinking of a way of saving a second copy of our important files–documents, tax files, messages, photos, music and videos–, in other words any data that we have created and would be sorry to lose to theft or any sort of breakdown of our in-home equipment. This strategy is an alternative to having an external hard disk on which to save our data, and then set aside for safekeeping. People who want to make doubly sure that their files are safe use both a cloud service and their own external hard disk.
Besides security, another advantage to cloud storage is the possibility of setting up so that files can be available from more than one location. Something saved at home can be opened and edited at the office or while you are traveling. Family and colleagues can be given passwords to have access and share files whenever and wherever it is convenient. One particularly handy feature of saving on the cloud is that files can easily be shared if they are too big to be emailed back and forth as attachments.
Cloud storage services are offered by many businesses that maintain massive secure “server farms” in multiple international locations, to allow levels of redundance so that a disaster in one site doesn’t mean data is lost because it is backed up somewhere else. In addition to Apple, Google and Microsoft (see below), some names like Dropbox, Box and Amazon Cloud Drive are also worth considering. All of these services offer a small amount of space free, followed by various levels of “premium” capacity at gradually increasing monthly fees. (By the way, we do NOT recommend using only the free level of several services to save money; all the plans are at reasonable prices and keeping track of more than one could be disastrously complicated.) CNET.com has recently published an article online comparing cost and ease of use of many of the top cloud services for 2022 and it is very helpful. There are also several YouTube videos on this subject, including “Computer Fundamentals – Cloud Storage” which is excellent, although its prices are out of date.
It probably comes as no surprise that Apple, Google and Microsoft offer their own cloud storage services, built into the Operating Systems of Macintosh (iCloud), Chromebook (Google Drive) and Windows (OneDrive) computers. Although this can be convenient it can also be a bit tricky because these giants set up computers to use their cloud storage by default and you have to take note of this when you are first setting up your computers so that you will always know where your file has been stored and be able to find it easily later.
In our opinion, the ideal setup is to have storage folders located on your computer and “mirrored” in a cloud location, making the backup instantaneous, automatic and painless. All storage services offer this arrangement as an option. Whichever service you choose and however you set it up, it is important to take the time to become very familiar with how to use and make changes to your arrangements, so that you can constantly make sure that your files are secure and accessible.
Malcolm and John Harding are the Compu-Home team. Contact Compu-Home at 613-731-5954 to discuss this column, share your opinions and suggest subjects for future columns. Our email address is info@compu-home.com and our website is www.compu-home.com.