The backup in MS365 backs up everything to the cloud whenever you save a file, and usually you are prompted to save when you close a program, so it’s fairly seamless..

I am not very computer literate, so if somebody could explain things to me in words of one syllable I would very much appreciate it, but I was under the impression that One Drive that seems to be integral to Windows 11 and Google Drive, which appears to be connected to Chrome, were cloud storage facilities. Am I incorrect in this assumption? I try not to use these facilities personally because I do not fully understand their function.

Personally I worry about putting data on “cloud” based storage. What happens if he provide gets hacked. Or decides to start charging (remember Freeserve and Photobucket)?
I use Network Attached Storage (NAS) so It’s on my hardware. I fairly reguarly take a copy of this and keep it off site in case of complete disaster like a serious fire.
Even this is not 100% I used to use a Western Digital (WD) NAS. Unknown to me this unit actually renamed all your files and used a “secret” index to access them. This means that if the hardare failed you could not read the files directly off the disk. Even worse, for you to gain access to your data the NAS had to communicate with WD servers. So when WD were hacked I lost access to my data. Fortunatly I had other copies of critical data. I eventually got access after several weeks.
WD then stopped supporting lots of models of their NAS’s reducing them to external drive functionality. They were stil listing affeced NAS units on their online shop and Amazon after they had dropped support.
I now use a Synology NAS without any issues.

Robert.

To echo and amplify Robert Atkinson’s and SOD’s wise words of caution, be careful! I suppose it depends on just what you want from ‘the cloud’ and how particular you are about controlling your own data and keeping it private – even if you think you’ve nothing to hide.

Years ago, when cloud storage was young, I read the terms and conditions of one outfit’s service. Have you? You know the stuff, pages of arse-covering waffle interspersed with arcane legalese (whether that applied to the provider’s or user’s territory wasn’t immediately clear). It was no great surprise to learn that the provider took no responsibility for the safe curation of users’ data, and gave itself the right to use stored data as it pleased. Thus, for instance, it could sell pretty pictures to calendar manufacturers, etc., without paying or crediting their originator. Presumably, the originator would have little chance of claiming copyright. I suppose intellectual property rights would be compromised too. It seemed that the balance of benefit was firmly on the side of the provider. Phooey to that!

Nowadays, it’s pretty safe to assume that everything not securely encrypted in the cloud will be used to ‘train’ AI. As a control freak, I store stuff on multiple USB disks, accepting the slowness, but glad to keep my data to myself. And it probably uses less electricity.

According to MS’s website, Micro$oft 365 costs £84.99 per year. And MEGA is free for 20GB, not 50GB.

The main advantages of cloud storage, in my opinion, is that it can be accessed from any registered device, and it is automatically backed up. I like the free 15GB that comes with Gmail.

Personally, I don’t trust Micro$oft – it is far to greedy for my liking.

On 6 October 2025 at 10:14 Gary Wooding Said:

According to MS’s website, Micro$oft 365 costs £84.99 per year. And MEGA is free for 20GB, not 50GB.

 

Maybe MEGA have reduced it for new accounts but my account still is for up to 50GB

Russell

Thanks for all the replies. I think I’ll stick to backing up to an external hard disc. NAS sounds too clever for me. I just need to remember to do it more frequently.

I have to agree. I take the view that ANYTHING I upload to the internet is either potentially vulnerable or actually expensive! The ‘free’ cloud storage offered by various internet services is usually inadequate for substantial backups and you have to pay by subscription for what you actually need.

Unless you have an imperative need to access the same data from several devices then the Cloud is best avoided.

All my vital data is kept on my home PC which is accessed by a PIN.  I make regular backups to several external hard disks in rotation which are stored in a physically different location from the PC (in case the house burns down!) plus another hard disk which is stored in a fireproof box, again well away from the PC.

That way I am not dependent on some third party organisation to store my data, least of all the nightmare that is Microsoft One Drive where you have no idea where your data is actually stored.

I don’t store anything important on my smartphone either! Digital wallets may be wonderful but you are stuffed if you want to make a critical payment or show your boarding card at the airport only to find the battery has died or the device has glitched! The underlying problem is that everything works fine until it suddenly doesn’t and then you are stopped dead in your tracks, often at a critical point.

My phone email connection works fine at home but if I take it to Greece my major internet provider doesn’t like it and won’t connect. Get off the plane back home and all is hunky dory. A security feature apparently. Fortunately I had a tablet with me and was able to reconnect by an alternative method. Still a pain the backside though.

Colin

Richard, I don’t think you really need to plug and unplug an external SSD to access your files. The chances of them being compromised are vanishingly low. The built in Windows Defender or another reputable antivirus program should keep you safe.

It is obviously important to keep regular data backups and store them away from your PC. I use several external drives in rotation which means that if the PC one fails then there should be a fairly recent backup for my important data. I also have an external hard disk attached to the PC which keeps an incremental backup of recently changed files.

Microsoft’s treatment of Windows 10 is typical of these corporations. They want people to upgrade to Windows 11 so they effectively disable Windows 10 despite it apparently still accounting for 40% of Windows operating systems. It is apparently possible to continue with Windows 10 but there are questionable strings attached. They have an effective monopoly.

With a lot of software now, providers are pushing the subscription model which guarantees them ongoing income. They don’t want to sell you one off versions which might work perfectly well for years. They want to plug you into their revenue stream even if the much vaunted updates only offer minimal improvements on the package you already have.

Basically they are all very greedy.

Colin

Yes but you won’t get the security updates which is a worry.

Note that with most NAS systems you can set up remote access and multiple users. This means you can have a shared folder or user which can be accessed anywhere from any machine and private ones with restricted access. Set up is not as hard as it used to be.

I also not that (with some systems at least) Microsoft365 only lets you autosave your work as you type (MS applications) to their Cloud. If you want to save locally you have to remember to do it manually. Another example of forcing users onto their systems.

Robert.

On 6 October 2025 at 18:56 Richard Simpson Said:

…

I currently have a BIG downer against Microsoft as I have two computers running Windows 10, which will no longer be supported after this month.  One is a very high spec gaming laptop, that is still fast today despite being nine years old and the other is my wife’s desktop, which again meets the speed requirement but it isn’t dual core. …

I’m not pleased with Microsoft either, but have to acknowledge their right to make a fair profit.  Unfortunately, Microsoft have a long history of unfair business practice, some of which cost them billions in fines.   However, they can’t be expected to support aging computers forever.  Be aware businesses typically plan to replace laptops after 3 years, desktops after 5, and servers after 7.

The problem with older computers and Windows 11 isn’t speed.  It’s security and functional shortcomings in the boot process.    When power is applied the computer doesn’t jump straight into the operating system.  It starts by executing a built-in program, the “Basic Input-Output System”, or BIOS.  The BIOS identifies what peripherals are available and passes all necessary technical details information to the operating system.  The O/S also “bootstraps” by loading a sequence of short programs, each of which builds to the point, much later, where a login prompt appears.

As the BIOS has issues, it’s being replaced by the “Unified Extensible Firmware Interface” (UEFI).   And, because the security of the operating system depends on the firmware, Microsoft decided that Windows 11 would only work with UEFI.   Therefore Windows 11 won’t launch on a computer that doesn’t have UEFI.   (There may be ways to hack Windows so it does.  Are they secure?)

As transition from BIOS to UEFI will take years, recent computers often support both.   Worth checking your computer’s  firmware settings to see if UEFI is available.   If so, the machine may be Windows 11 compatible after all.

UEFI is not simple.

In a domestic installation, BIOS is good enough because we run on a local network protected by the router & ISP from the evils of the internet: we can keep it simple.  Corporates have a much bigger problem: their large scale deployments are exposed to much more serious risks.  They need UEFI, and because they spend big money, Microsoft, Intel and others respond to their needs. The rest of us are carried along with the tide.

Dave

On 7 October 2025 at 09:18 Richard Simpson Said:

On 7 October 2025 at 08:02 Robert Atkinson 2 Said:

Note that with most NAS systems you can set up remote access and multiple users. <SNIP>

Robert.

What does NAS mean please?

<SNIP>

I did spell it out when I first used it in a earlier post. It’s Network Attached Storage Efffectively a external HDD (or SSD) that sits on your local network. It can be configured with different “drives” with different access permissions so maybe a privte one for each member or the household and a general one eveyone can use. Any device on the network can access it so you could do CAD in the house  and access the sme file from your CNC machine in the workshop. Cna be set up for access from anywhere. Basically a small Linux PC with one or more drives. Can offer extra features like spreading your data ove two or ore drives to povide redunancy in case of drive failure or improved performance. Mine will also work as a digital video recorder for network CCTV cameras.

Robert.