Cloud storage

[duncan webster 1Participant @duncanwebster1]

I’m thinking about storing stuff on ‘the cloud’. Saves having to dig out my backup hard drive. Seems like there are loads of options out there. #2 son reckons just pay £20/year to Mr Gates for Microsoft 365, which seems to give me 100 Gb. currently in the users/duncan directory I have 30Gb, and a lot of that is so historical it could just stay on the external HD. Anyone got a better idea?

What would be really good is a program which took note of anything I created/modified/deleted during the day and matched up the cloud at some time in the early hours, then I wouldn’t be able to forget to do it.

[David AmbroseParticipant @davidambrose86182]

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..

 

[Russell EberhardtParticipant @russelleberhardt48058]

Have a look at MEGA and MEGASYNC.  50 GB free account.  Apps for Windows, Mac, Android, and Linux allow syncing any directories to the cloud.  I have it set up on my phone so that any photos I have taken are automatically sent to the cloud when the phone is on charge.

Russell

[Chris CrewParticipant @chriscrew66644]

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.

[John HaineParticipant @johnhaine32865]

Yes they are.  Onedrive needs you to have a MS account which I think is free, Drive a Google account, also free.  I think OneDrive gives you 30GB inclusive, Drive is 15GB.  Onedrive easily maps as a Windows drive, you can map Drive but it seems to be a pain to do so I haven’t bothered.  I mainly use Drive but just yesterday got OneDrive to take advantage of Microsoft’s offer of free Win10 security updates for 12 months on the workshop PC.

[Robert Atkinson 2Participant @robertatkinson2]

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.

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

[Kiwi BlokeParticipant @kiwibloke62605]

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.

[duncan webster 1Participant @duncanwebster1]

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.

[Gary WoodingParticipant @garywooding25363]

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.

[TrickyParticipant @tricky]

Microsoft 365 subscription gives you 1 TB of cloud storage and also the facility to have a “personal vault” for personal or important files and which requires a 2-factor authentication to access it and then automatically locks after use.

As Gary said the ability to access your data anywhere is a good advantage.  In addition to installing 365 on all my devices I also use Edge on them linked to my Microsoft account, so all my Favourites are replicated on all my devices, including mobile phone.

[Russell EberhardtParticipant @russelleberhardt48058]

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

The 20/50 thing is a cautionary note. Remember about 10 years ago when BT were advertising with a couple in bed and the vital photo was fortunately backed up on the free storage you got with their broadband. Then very suddenly they made it paypay and little time to extract your data.
So if you use a fee site double up – use a second one too and don’t fill either to capacity because they WILL be aiming to fleece you when the time is right for them.
Shades of certain CAD packages withdrawing features?

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

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 SimpsonParticipant @richardsimpson88330]

Interestingly I usually feel like I am the odd one out but, with this, I seem to be in synch with most.  I store everything on a removeable SSD hard drive.  It sits on my desk and when I want a file I plug it in.  Then I unplug it again.

I don’t feel manipulated or at the mercy of someone charging me and who has the ability to suddenly charge me more and I feel far happier being in charge of my own security than relying on anyone else.  I back up to another drive every few months.  I don’t use One Dive as I find it irritatingly intrusive and 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.  That is only around three years old.  I am livid that Microsoft have been allowed to come up with an operating system that requires huge numbers of users to go out and buy a new machine.  In this day and age of being environmentally aware and trying to avoid waste, that is unacceptable.

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

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

[Grindstone CowboyParticipant @grindstonecowboy]

Might be worth mentioning that, just because support for Win 10 is being withdrawn, it doesn’t mean you can’t carry on using your computers.

Rob

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

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

[Grindstone CowboyParticipant @grindstonecowboy]

However, Microsoft Defender Antivirus definitions will (allegedly) continue to be updated and freely available until 2028 – I still get them for my Win 7 installations – so unless you are likely to fall victim to some, as yet undiscovered, system vulnerability I wouldn’t worry too much for a while.

Rob

[Robert Atkinson 2Participant @robertatkinson2]

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.

[Richard SimpsonParticipant @richardsimpson88330]

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

I have Norton and have been using it for some years. Reviews suggest that it is a good product but there are too many irritating upselling notifications. I have always cancelled the automatic subscription and take advantage of whatever offers are available which usually halves the price or more. Last year I was enticed by an offer to renew early at the discount price.

I have done a bit of research which suggests that the built in Windows Defender is up there with the best of the paid for security programs.

Autosave saves to the Cloud in real time but you can cancel that and rely ob Autorecover which saves your file to a local disk at whatever interval you specify. The default is every 10 minutes. That’s pretty useful as you will only lose a few minutes work at worst. I have always been in the habit of doing a manual save every time I have made a significant change to a MS office document – especially spreadsheets!

Colin

[Robert Atkinson 2Participant @robertatkinson2]

[MacolmParticipant @macolm]

Incidentally, many broadband routers allow a USB drive to be plugged into the back to form a low capacity NAS. Hardly ideal for major storage, but makes a useful quickly accessible transfer store for notes and files.

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