CompuClever Blog

InPrivate Browsing

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Synopsis: In this article we focus on a recent technology that is available with most browser types – web browsing in Private mode. The concept is straightforward: you select a private session so that certain items are not stored on the PC. We will cover a description of this as well as describe how you can easily begin a session. Also, we point out the difference between privacy and security –an important distinction to make so that you do not rely on a technology that can still leave you vulnerable to certain malicious threats when surfing the web.

Have you ever wondered if it was safe to use a computer that was not your home PC – like the one in a library, hotel lobby, or Internet café?  You may not have anything to hide but do you want to inadvertently share your browsing information?  We are continuing the theme of privacy – one that relates to browsing the web using Internet Explorer. While there are many other good browsers, the majority of people at this time are using IE.  The functionality of this feature – InPrivate browsing and filtering – is available with other browsers.  Without dismissing these, we do want to say that the techvnology in IE is well crafted.

  • Google Chrome uses something called “incognito window”[1]
  • FireFox uses Private Browsing[2]
  • Safari also uses Private Browsing[3]

Privacy has become a growing concern in recent years as the amount of data and the options for mobility of communication and the proliferation of data expands.  The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has been involved in an effort to balance out the innovation focused on new products and services with the privacy interests of consumers.  In their report[4] they state:

Technological and business ingenuity have spawned a whole new online culture and vocabulary – email, IMs, apps and blogs – that consumers have come to expect and enjoy. The FTC wants to help ensure that the growing, changing, thriving information marketplace is built on a framework that promotes privacy, transparency, business innovation, and consumer choice.

The report goes on to say that efforts by industry to address privacy via self-regulation have been slow and have in the past failed to provide adequate and meaningful protection.  Private Browsing is one response to providing a technology that offers you a greater choice with respect to privacy.

The Technology

Let’s begin.  InPrivate browsing is a fairly recent option available to Internet web surfing.  For IE version 8 and up, you can easily begin a session.  Let’s first get an idea of what this technology is and how you can use it.

What is InPrivate Browsing? InPrivate Browsing prevents the web browser from storing data while you surf the net. By doing so you prevent anyone else from accessing information on your computer related to what you were looking at and the sites visited.  This protection is only in effect during the time that you use that window. Ultimately it means that you are keeping your browsing information to yourself so as to not leave a trace of your web browsing activity on your PC.   As Microsoft states: “Whether it’s shopping for a gift on a shared PC or checking an account at an Internet café, you don’t want to leave any evidence of your browsing or search history for others to see.”[5]

Microsoft goes on to say that InPrivate Browsing prevents certain information from being retained by the browser including: your browsing history, temporary Internet files, form data, cookies, and user names and passwords.

What is InPrivate Filtering?  Many sites use additional content (for example, advertisements, maps, or web analysis tools), from other web sources.  These sources are called content providers or “third-party websites”.  Surfing sites that include third-party content can result in personal information about you being sent to the content provider.   The content provider attempts to come up with a profile of your browsing preferences which can be used for analysis and for targeting specific advertisements.  Internet Explorer offers InPrivate Filtering so that you can prevent website content providers from collecting information about the sites you visit.  InPrivate Filtering analyzes the web content of the sites you visit.  If the same content is used on several sites it will give you the option to allow or block that content.  There is also an option to have InPrivate Filtering automatically block content providers and third-party website.

Certainly if you are annoyed with advertisements and are suspicious of these content providers, we would recommend that you use InPrivate Filtering.  For the purposes of this article we will focus more directly on inPrivate Browsing.

The Rundown:

From a Microsoft site[6] we have based the following information in this table to give an idea of what kind of coverage you can expect from InPrivate Browsing:

Browsing Content InPrivate Browsing action
Cookies From our previous article on Security we identified a web cookie as a little programming device that is downloaded to your PC and can identify you so that a web page can be proactively customized for you. A third party can also track your activities using cookies. With InPrivate Browsing, cookies are kept in temporary memory so web pages work correctly. When you close your browser these items are cleared.
Temporary Internet Files These items are stored temporarily so web pages continue to work correctly. They become deleted when you close the browser.
Webpage history This information is not stored.
Form data and passwords This information is not stored.
Anti-phishing cache Internet Explorer uses an anti-phishing cache which works by checking the sites you are visiting and comparing them to a Microsoft database of malicious sites.  You are then warned in the event that there is a match.  With InPrivate Browsing temporary information is encrypted and stored so pages work correctly.
Address bar and search AutoComplete This information is not stored.
Automatic Crash Restore (ACR) With InPrivate Browsing, when a single browser tab crashes during your browsing session, ACR can restore the tab and the content.  However, if the whole window crashes, data is deleted and the window cannot be restored.
Document Object Model
(DOM) storage		 The DOM storage is a kind of “super cookie” web developers can use to retain information.  Like cookies mentioned above, they are cleared after the window is closed.

Why and When Would You Use This?

There are two main reasons for using this technology.  For one, data left on a computer can be used by other parties including advertisers or those with malicious intentions.  Cookies for example, can reveal account information that could be used for hacking into your online financial or banking credentials.  Secondly, not having items stored on your computer, like temporary files from your browsing session, is good computing practice.  We’re talking about less clutter.  Having the browser automatically delete files from browsing sessions is a positive step to a “lean and mean” PC.  The other option is to do this manually or with software solutions that can provide schedules (such as… PC Clean Maestro).

Caution

InPrivate Browsing is a useful feature for being stealthy but it does not provide complete security.  In other words – there is a difference here between secrecy and security.  While you are able to browse online in a more private fashion, you are still susceptible to other threats.  Some things to be wary of include:

  • Key loggers: the recording of key strokes on your keyboard (sometimes used in an attempt to gain account and password credentials).
  • Tracking software:  Programs that can track and record your computer activities.
  • Malware, spyware, and viruses:  malicious software designed to collect sensitive data, gain access to PC systems, bombard a user with ads (ad-ware) or disrupt PC operations.  You can still become infected with malware when using private browsing techniques.
  • Survelliance programs:  software that monitors your activity and collects data (as described in our previous article)

When you do use private browsing you are not in disguise when visiting sites.  The websites you browse to can record your IP address and record information about the searches and information you enter.[7] You need to keep in mind that if you have private and confidential data on your PC it is still susceptible to data theft.

How To Use InPrivate Browsing:

There are many ways you can initiate InPrivate Browsing.

Option 1:

  1. Open a new tab.
  2. In the page that is displayed click the blue link as seen here:

Option 2:

  1. In the toolbar area, locate and click the Safety button.
  2. Select the InPrivate Browsing option.

Option 3:

With your Internet Explorer browser open, click the Ctrl+Shift+P keyboard combination.

During InPrivate Browsing:

When InPrivate Browsing is turned on, you will see this indicator:

To turn it off:

To turn off your InPrivate Browsing session, you can simply close the entire browser window.  The next time you open the browser it is returned to the regular mode of browsing.

In Summary:

While InPrivate Browsing is not a completely secure method of browsing but it can provide you with a more private experience when browsing the internet.  There are even more private solutions available and if you are interested you can check out the free program: Tor[8] although be prepared that you may experience a loss in browsing performance.

We hope the information presented here will help increase your confidence in browsing online and inspire you to explore the possibilities of what is offered in our computer age.  We will continue to introduce and research available technologies explained in a manner that is not beyond the reach of average, everyday computer users.

[1]https://support.google.com/chrome
[2]https://support.mozilla.org
[3]http://support.apple.com/kb/ph5000
[4]http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2010/12/privacyreport.shtm
[5]http://windows.microsoft.com/en-ca/internet-explorer/products/ie-9/features/in-private
[6]http://windows.microsoft.com/en-ca/windows-vista/what-is-inprivate-browsing
[7]http://www.pcworld.com/article/152966/private_browsing.html
[8]https://www.torproject.org/

Privacy – Don’t Give It Away

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Synopsis:  We have founded a nation established on individual freedoms and rights.  Our right to privacy is fundamental.  But what about data that we make available in some manner such as with social media services like Facebook or Twitter?  Are we entering into a fuzzy area when we submit and share our content?  What is at risk when we open ourselves to digital communications?  We’re going to take a look at these questions and attempt some solutions for keeping our digital information from being used in ways we do not intend.  In part, we have to take responsibility for making good choices with data that is available to others and can be used for unethical or malicious purpose.

Privacy:

We begin with answering the question: What is privacy?  David Banisar of the Electronic Privacy Information Center and Simon Davies of Privacy International authored a report on privacy.  They begin with:

Privacy is a fundamental human right recognized in the UN Declaration of Human Rights, the International (Covenant) on Civil and Political Rights and in many other international and regional treaties.  Privacy underpins human dignity and other key values such as freedom of association and freedom of speech. It has become one of the most important human rights issues of the modern age.

If you are unfamiliar with your human rights we implore you to take a moment to read the Universal Declaration of Human Rights[1].  From the start it is stated that the “inherent dignity” and “equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.”  It is written in article 12: “No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.”

At Risk:

With the age of information technology (IT), we have seen greater technological capabilities with respect to collection of data.  There are numerous devices that are mobile to meet our needs which can record video, audio, and image with ease.  We can communicate across the world using email, text messages, video chatting, and of course telecommunications.  The level of information generated by each of us has dramatically increased.  And yet, the findings of the fifth annual IDC Digital Universe study as reported by ComputerWorld[2] states that: “the amount of data people create by writing email messages, taking photos, and downloading music and movies is minuscule compared to the amount of data being created about them…”.

So what’s the harm?  What do any of us stand to lose?  Good questions!  We need to look at two very important factors in this new age of data creation:

  1. How is this data being used without my knowledge in ways that impact me and,
  2. How safe is my personal and private information.

Here, in part, are the answers:

Computers linked together by high speed networks with advanced processing systems can create comprehensive dossiers on any person without the need for a single central computer system. New technologies developed by the defense industry are spreading into law enforcement, civilian agencies, and private companies.[3]

…though 75% of data today is generated by individuals, enterprises will have some liability for 80% of it at some point in its digital life. And less than one-third of all stored data today has even minimal security or protection; only about half the information that should be protected is protected at all…[4]

Giving It Away:

In recent news we have seen considerable attention placed on Edward Snowden, a 29-year-old former technical assistant for the CIA, and his leaking information on data collection by the US government.  A CNN report[5] clearly lays out many examples of data mining that go on without our knowledge or consent.  Let’s take a closer look at some of the 10 ways you give up data without knowing it; how data is being used in ways we are seldom aware.

  • Earlier this year, Facebook purchased information on 70 million US households from a data mining company called Datalogix.  Facebook went public with a statement that confirmed what many users were noticing: they were tracking user’s behaviours for advertising purposes.  The creators of adverts have been given the opportunity to select their audience targeting options.”
  • Twitter is partnering with WPP, a leading advertising firm, to analyze Twitter data so as to better monitor consumer behaviour in real-time.  This will enable advertisement to better market to you.
  • Amazon was one of the first companies to start using cookie trackers.  Cookies are downloaded to your device or computer to track and analyze where you are browsing and what you are looking at online.  The Amazon advertisements then are matched accordingly.  Fortunately, there are methods of turning cookie tracking off.
  • Target made use of a mailer system to track purchases – a system that would send coupons by mail based on analyzing what purchases are made.  The system was so accurate that in one case it predicted a teenage girl was pregnant based on the purchase of toiletries and groceries. Unfortunately the teenager and her family did not know of the pregnancy prior to receiving the coupons.
  • Law enforcement agencies across the country are constructing DNA databases under the radar.  Previously this was in the domain of FBI agencies.  These local agencies however, operate with considerable more leeway and police are able in some cases to collect samples from innocent victims of crimes.  In some case these people do not realize their DNA will be saved for future searches.

We pay the price for taking advantage of what we consider “free” services such as email, social networking, and other digital services including simply browsing online.  In the latter case we are exposed to tracker cookies, advertisements, and a host of files that are downloaded to our systems without knowledge or consent.  As we have clearly pointed out in this month’s articles, there are those that can access our information including the data we simply volunteer from regular use and the items that may be more personal or confidential.  If the government can access our data, you can bet that cyber criminals can.  Next, we point out how to guard your information.

How To Be PC Secure:

We are going to look at closing some security holes ranging from web browsers to encryption and back again to cleaning up what private information you unknowingly make available.

Step 1 – The Web Browser:

There are many websites that offer you the option of using a secure connection when you browse on their site.  Security experts agree that this is a good decision when the option is available.  The technology for this is referred to as “Transport Layer Security” (TLS), its predecessor is “Secure Sockets Layer” (SSL).  Here is what you can do:

  1. When you are browsing (try it with Wikipedia for example), change the URL in the address bar from “http:// “ to: “https://”.
  2. You can with some browsers such as Google Chrome, see an icon at the left side (it may appear as a padlock) or on the right side with Internet Explorer.  You can click this and get all sorts of information and options including permissions about using cookies.  You can also view certificate information and configure certificates.

Note:

  • You may have to type “https://” when no preface appears.
  • A certificate is a digitally signed statement that binds the value of a public key to the a person, device, or service with the corresponding private key.

Further to this:  For some browsers you can check the options or settings to configure the Security or Privacy settings.

For an advanced option:  you can try HTTPS Everywhere[6] an extension that works with Firefox and Chrome browsers to encrypt your communications when connecting to many major websites.

Search Engine:  All of Google’s data is aggregated and used to customize and target advertising (among other things) aimed at you the user.  To use a search engine that does not use tracking you can try the following suggestions.  You can disable all your Google, YouTube, Chat (and more) history tracking.  However, we find it is sometimes useful to use your history to find something you viewed in your recent past.  We recommend trying out Duckduckgo which uses:

…several mechanisms to try to ensure user privacy: It keeps cookies only if a user wants to change settings on the site, such as turning off ads; it saves searches but does not link them to a user’s IP address or with any unique numbers, and the search engine says it has no way of figuring out what queries came from where. For advertising, the site may put its own code into ads to get credit for the clicks, but it doesn’t track who clicks what…[7]

Step 2 – Email:

Most major email services (including Outlook and Gmail), offer encryption of some kind.  You can open your settings and review the security settings and options.  Unfortunately with some (like Google mail), you have to dig deep and you may end up with statements of how they may share aggregated information that is non-personally identifiable to their partners including advertisers.

For an advanced option:  Read more about how to encrypt your email connection, content, and stored copies.

Step 3 – Data Encryption:

You can also encrypt the entire data content of your system or a portion thereof.  This would be useful in the event that someone steals your laptop or you risk losing it.  All content you choose to encrypt is scrambled and would require a password.  With some data encryption tools you can encrypt a USB key, an entire hard drive, or the partition where Windows is installed so that you have to use a password to pre-boot the system.

We recommend checking out TrueCrypt a free open-source disk encryption software for Windows 7/Vista/XP, Mac OS X, and Linux.

Note:  As with any of our recommendations we suggest checking out the online reviews for it – see what other customers and reputable websites say about the vendor and what they offer.

Step 4 – VPN:

Now if you want to get serious – try out a VPN, a Virtual Private Network.  You can group a number of computers over a public network so as to encrypt data being sent back and forth.  Many businesses use this to connect remote datacenters and to get access to resources.  For more information on this and for a list of reputable VPN providers follow this link.

Step 5 – Clean Up:

The reality is… if you have something worth stealing or to warrant surveillance, if you have information that is confidential and available in digital form, you put yourself in a place of being vulnerable to data capturing and potential abuse of information.  The greatest measure you can take is to take what is valuable out of harm’s way when possible.

Take action: Refer to our previous article on “Security”.  Once you have read information on backing up data, go the section “The Personal Security and Privacy Scan”.  You get good instruction and information on how PC Clean Maestro can detect personal data items that are automatically stored on your PC and “clean” these to keep your computing practices safe and private.

You can keep your digital information secure and away from the wrong hands – or just “other” hands entirely.  We hope you are well on your way to taking full advantage of current technologies without the loss of privacy and confidentiality.

 
[1] www.un.org
[2] www.computerworld.com
[3] www.gilc.org
[4] www.computerworld.com
[5] www.cnn.com
[6] www.eff.org
[7] www.washingtonpost.com

Digital Security – What can you do?

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Synopsis:  If we are living in and exposed to a digital universe, and if this “universe” can be accessible through surveillance and by other parties, the real question is not “Are You Ready?” but “What Can You Do?” We take a look here at the first step – being informed. Edward Snowden has recently become an informant and has effectively unveiled mass government surveillance programs that have taken place without public consent or knowledge. The intent of this article is to avoid political comment and instead shine light on digital communication and what this means in terms of maintaining our privacy – what this means in terms of keeping our private information secure.

Trends

In a report by IDC[1], this current decade is declared as the “Digital Universe Decade” and asks: “Are You Ready?”  In this decade:

…the amount of digital information created and replicated in the world will grow to an almost inconceivable 35 trillion gigabytes as all major forms of media – voice, TV, radio, print – complete the journey from analog to digital. At the same time, the influx of consumer technologies into the workplace will create stresses and strains on the organizations [and individuals] that must manage, store, protect, and dispose of all this electronic content.

Despite a time of global recession, the “Digital Universe” expanded by 62% and by 2020 it will be 44 times as big.  We will have amassed digital information that can be described in zettabytes – that is to say, one zettabyte being a million, million gigabytes.  This would be the equivalent of a stack of DVD’s going halfway to Mars.

Up in the Air:
Are these current trends “inflated” and will they level off or come crashing back to Earth? How is it possible to support these communications? Just how far can service providers extend their range of communication and continue to pave the way for the information highway? Not many would say: “To infinity and beyond!” Actually… take a look at Google’s “Project Loon” as provided by CNET.[2]

We believe that it might actually be possible to build a ring of balloons, flying around the globe on the stratospheric winds, that provides Internet access to the earth below. It’s very early days, but we’ve built a system that uses balloons, carried by the wind at altitudes twice as high as commercial planes, to beam Internet access to the ground at speeds similar to today’s 3G networks or faster.

It sounds like it may be a bit crazy and Google acknowledges this as a bit “loony” but a pilot program is being tested in New Zealand.

Up in the Cloud:
The IDC report referenced earlier states that by “…2020, a significant portion of the Digital Universe will be centrally hosted, managed, or stored in public or private repositories that today we call “cloud services.” No one solution is completely safe and we recommend overlapping your important files in two storage areas – an external hard drive and with a cloud service provider such as Dropbox. You can refer to our previous newsletter for more information about this.

Surveillance

In the face of this massive amount of information you may say to yourself: “My data is but a drop of water in a vast ocean.”  You would be right.  But consider this… with the Edward Snowden news story that has surfaced, we can be sure that mass surveillance is occurring.  This means the surveillance of the majority if not an entire population.

Billions of dollars per year are spent by agencies such as the Information Awareness Office, National Security Agency, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, to develop, purchase, implement, and operate systems such as Carnivore, ECHELON, and NarusInsight to intercept and analyze the immense amount of data that traverses the Internet and telephone system every day.[3]

What are we talking about when speaking of surveillance?  This includes: public transport tracking; workplace surveillance, examination of communications (collecting data on all phone calls, emails, chat room discussions and web-browsing habits); mobile phone tracking; vehicle tracking; DNA database sampling; overseas travel; collecting data on political and environmental protestors; and using unmanned aircraft systems (drones) for purposes of security.

Just one example:  According to a report on Privacy and Human Rights:[4] “Employees in nearly every country are vulnerable to comprehensive surveillance by managers. Legal protections are generally more lax in such circumstances because surveillance is frequently imposed as a condition of employment. In many countries employers can tap phones, read email and monitor computer screens. They can bug conversations, analyze computer and keyboard work, peer through CCTV (Closed Circuit Television) cameras, use tracking technology to monitor personal movements, analyze urine to detect drug use, and demand the disclosure of intimate personal data.

The report goes on to describe “how technology works to the advantage of employers:

  • Recent technology can analyze “keystrokes” on a terminal to determine whether employees are making efficient use of their time between telephone conversations.  (This is referred to as “performance monitoring.”)
  • Modern networked systems can interrogate computers to determine which software in being run, how often, and in what manner.
  • A comprehensive audit trail gives managers a profile of each user, and a panorama of how the workers are interacting with their machines.
  • The software also gives managers total central control over the software on each individual PC. A manager can now remotely modify or suspend programs on any machine.

Impact: Not all of this can be thought of as simply having a negative impact on our freedoms.  Some people indeed feel safer in the knowledge that surveillance cameras are being installed in public places.  There is of course a tradeoff between what we consider safe and what can be considered invasive to the point of exposing our personal rights and freedoms without our knowledge and feeling as though we are subject to scrutiny and examination.

Matthew M. Aid, an intelligence historian in Washington, said disclosures linked to Snowden have “confirmed longstanding suspicions that NSA’s surveillance in this country is far more intrusive than we knew.”

What is the motive?
In a CNN article[5] we are able to get a good indication of how data collection is expanding to Internet and credit card data.  The U.S. officials say that the information helps to stop terror plots.  Here is a subset of what is presented in that article: 

  • Internet monitoring data.  James Clapper, director of National Intelligence, states that this is “used to protect our nation from a wide variety of threats.”
  • Overseas monitoring: internet data collected overseas “is among the most important and valuable foreign intelligence information we collect, and is used to protect our nation from a wide variety of threats,”
  • Telephone records:  Clapper states these “allow analysts to “make connections related to terrorist activities over time.”

Where is this Going?

We’re not passing judgment here as to the tradeoff between national security and individual freedoms and rights.  Instead, we emphasize that today’s methods of communication are digitized whether for personal matters or for business.  Where the world once had vast outreaches and unexplored frontiers, we are now a global community and only our thoughts are in fact private.  In some situations this requires us to make adjustments where necessary.

With the onslaught of digital data we have to deal with information in new ways:

  • In order to locate digital data without painstakingly exhaustive measures we need effective search and discovery tools.  Most of the information we have is unstructured data.  The fastest-growing category in the Digital Universe is metadata, which is data about data.
  • In order to know what information we need to keep we will need technical solutions tied to storage and effective methods to manage our information.   We’ll need to know when it is alright to delete it.
  • In order to protect our information we need the right tools. We need to feel assured that proper methods of encryption are employed.  This is vital in considering that vast amounts of unprotected, sensitive data is available and can be accessed despite our wishes to have this data shared or scrutinized for whatever purpose or gain.

In essence we need: effective tools to analyze data, weed out the information that can be safely deleted, remove personal information that can cause us harm if it falls into the wrong hands (including hackers or unethical online businesses), and we need secure storage.

Moving forward

In our How To article we are going to identify where we as individuals give up data without knowing it.  We will also explore how to hide data from Internet snooping, and finally we will revisit a recommendation on how to clean up your data and protect the bits that are private and confidential.  We hope these strategies will help you as an individual increase your confidence in using computing technologies safely rather than taking extreme measures like living in a cave.

Choosing an Online Storage Solution

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Synopsis: All this talk about “cloud” and sharing files in the cloud. It seems we just got our heads wrapped around the idea of surfing the web. In our most recent article “Cloud Storage” we go into detail about online cloud storage and the reasons for using it. In this article we will shine some light on making the choice to use online storage and what to look for with cloud storage providers. We will give our recommendation once again and provide a clear outline of how to use a cloud storage system so you can get up and running. It is our intent that you take full advantage of this technology by using it for free and having fun with it.

Making a Decision That Works for You:

Before you begin using a cloud storage provider, it is best to consider the determining factors.  Here are a few of the items to consider.

Cost:  Many storage providers will offer an entry level for free.  You can then upgrade to a larger storage package based on various levels of cost.  Some subscription levels will also get you very large amounts of storage or even unlimited storage and perhaps more functionality (as would be the case if you want an enterprise subscription).  For entry level users we suggest free.  When you compare you will want to pay close attention to whether it is a monthly or annual payment plan.

Storage Size:  If you are going to be using cloud storage for the purpose of sharing files and accessing files via mobile devices, you will not likely need a lot of space.  As most providers offer 2 to 5 GB of space for free this will likely work for you.  However, if you are considering backing up all your files or if you have a considerable amount of multi-media files to backup, you will need to take inventory of how much space you are currently using for these files.  If you have little experience about file size, we suggest you see the “Space It Out” section below to get an idea of file space needs.

Access:  Most providers will work if you are using a Windows operating system or Mac.  If you are using Linux then you will want to pay closer attention to what options are available.  This is also true if you want to access your files from a mobile device such as from Android, Blackberry, or iOS.  Dropbox for instance supports all of these platforms.

Sharing, Backup, or Both:  This factor relates to the prime reason for using online storage.  If you want to share files easily then the most basic levels of cloud storage will work for you (that is, something free with 2 to 5 GB of storage).  If you decide that this form of online storage meets your needs, then you would want more storage and begin looking for a payment plan that works for you.

Recommendations:

We do not have any affiliation to the companies we recommend nor do we benefit from our recommendations. We feel free to pass on our experiences when the use of a given solution is considerably beneficial.  Our recommendations with respect to cloud storage use:

  • We recommend that you do not rely solely on cloud storage as a means of backing up your data.  We suggest instead that you use a combination of your PC, external hard drive, and online storage.  While keeping in mind that all hard drives will eventually fail, it is a safe bet to have data on more than one device as simultaneous failure is very unlikely.  This way you will have the best of all worlds… being able to back up your important files, share any files via the cloud to others, access file on your own mobile devices, and feel secure in the knowledge that your data is safe from the most common forms of loss.
  • If you are using an external hard drive you will need to synchronize your files periodically.  We suggest trying out Microsoft’s Sync Toy.  This free tool makes synchronizing your files fast and easy.  You can avoid duplication and feel assured that you haven’t missed backing up all your files.

The Solution:

Now that we have made some recommendations on cloud storage use, we can proceed in helping you get started by by answering some basic questions and coming up with a cloud storage provider that is safe and meets the requirements.

Free:  We like free.  However it is best to check out what exactly free is.  Some companies are able to provide free services through the use of advertisements.  Most frequently the provider will charge you once you have exceeded the storage capacity.  These companies also stand to profit by converting you to a paid level of subscription usually through a monthly fee.  As we have stated in our newsletter article, free is not always free.  We see constant prompts to purchase as incurring a cost.  This is called “nagware” and is very annoying to contend with.  We advise looking closely at the storage solution and examining what they consider to be free.  You can check customer reviews for an indication of nagware as you will not see it coming beforehand.  Free should also be without any time restrictions.

Space it Out:  For you to determine how much space you need you will have to assess what kinds of files you want to store in the cloud.  There are several types of file types with varying sizes.  So how many files can you store with 2 Giga Bytes (GB) of space?  The answer… it depends (of course).  Here is a way of thinking about it:

File Type: Average Size: # of files (for 2 GB of storage):
Word Document: 15 KB per page 69,905 (2 page documents)
Emails: 10 KB 209,715
MP3: 3.5MB 585
Image (TIFF) 65 KB 32,263
E-Book 1-5 MB 410 – 2048

Note:  For images… the range of file size is considerably variable based on compression and quality of photo as well as the type of format used (compressed JPG format compared to lossless TIFF or GIF files).  These examples are to provide a way of wrapping your head around how much space you require. We have not included movie files here as they are typically close to 1 GB and can go upwards for high definition movies.  It is not advisable to store movies using cloud storage as upload times are slow, storage space is at a premium, and some providers place limits on file size.

Multi-platform:  We prefer to have a system whereby it does not matter if you access files via your PC, a Mac, or a mobile device.  The other consideration is some providers (like Google Docs), have a web client interface where multiple users can edit a file.  However, once you attempt to use this file with your computer software you have formatting issues.  In effect it becomes only a working file.

The Choice – Dropbox:  Given that the other options are likely similar between these providers (web interfacing and integration with Windows Explorer), we recommend Dropbox.  It offers 2 GB of free space with no time restrictions or nags, you can get more storage for free (as we outline below),  it sets up very well with Windows Explorer, and it has very good cross platform support (for example, Windows, Mac OS X, iOS, and Android) so you can synchronize between computers and devices.

Get Started with DropBox:

We are going to outline how to get started, how to get more storage space while maintain the free entry level, how to interact with Windows Explorer, uploading and downloading via your web browser, and how you can recover files that you accidentally deleted.  To begin, you will need to first set up an account. Instruction 1 – Getting Started: Here are the steps to downloading and creating Dropbox:

  1. Open a web browser and go to the Dropbox.com website.
  2. Click the Download Dropbox button.
  3. Click Run to begin the download.
  4. Once downloaded click Run.
  5. Click Install.
  6. Select “I don’t have a Dropbox account” and click Next.
  7. Fill out your account information (name, email, password) and click Next.
  8. You can now select the size of Dropbox you want to create.  Confirm the 2 GB free option is selected and click Next.
  9. Choose either the Typical or Advanced setup (to choose custom options), and click Next.
  10. You can go through the tour or skip the tour and see it later to gain more storage space for free.

When you are done, a Dropbox folder is created on your computer.

Instruction 2 – On Your Computer:
You now have Dropbox on your computer and you will be able to interact with the files there like any other folder with files.  Any time you want to interact with your Dropbox folder we suggest the following:

Right-click the Dropbox icon (the blue box shown below) located in the lower right of your system tray (bottom right area of your taskbar), and select Dropbox Folder.  Or, you can simply double-click the icon.

Your Dropbox folder opens up and you can interact with all the files there as you would if they were stored on your computer.  Simply drag and drop files to upload them.

Note: You will notice that these files are identified with a green check mark in the file or folder icon.  This will give you an indication of the synchronization as well as your original file and the Dorpbox file are now two separate items.  Also, when you single click (or right-click) the icon in the system tray you open up recently changed files and you can go to Dropbox.com.

Instruction 3 – Sharing: To share a file or folder you can simply locate it on your computer hard drive, right-click the item and select “Share Dropbox link”.  Dropbox provides you with two sub-folders to get you started: Public and Photos.  Let’s take a look at instructions on how to share photos as provided by Dropbox.   With the Dropbox photo galleries you can share photos with anyone including non-Dropbox users. These photos are available in a photo gallery that is viewable online.

  1. Make a folder inside the Photos folder, and give it a name (this will be the name of your photo gallery).
  2. Put photos inside the folder you just created (drag and drop them there).

You can easily share a folder by right-clicking and selecting “Share this folder”.  That’s it!  You can view this photo gallery online by going to: www.dropbox.com/photos.

Instruction 4 – Web Interfacing: You can go to someone else’s computer and access your files.  The way to do this is to open a web browser and go to Dropbox.com .  Log on using your account information.  You can now view your files, share them, or you can download or upload them.

Instruction 5 – Get Space: As mentioned, you begin with 2 GB of free space.  There is an incentive program available to increase your storage up to a maximum of 18 GB.  For example, if you refer a friend to Dropbox you earn 500 MB of space.  Taking a tour is a good idea.  You can learn about Dropbox and earn 250 MB of space.  For more information on this see: Dropbox.com/getspace.

Instruction 6 – Recover a file: Dropbox uses a feature called “Packrat”.  Every change made in your Dropbox folder over a 30 day period is preserved.  If you accidentally delete, lose, or erase a file you can recover it using the Packrat feature.  Here’s how:

  1. Open your web browser to the Dropbox.com website.
  2. Click the “Show deleted files” icon located at the top right of the page (it looks like a trash can with the lid off).
  3. Deleted files will show up in gray.  Select the file you want to recover and click the Restore link.

For more information on how to use Dropbox, go to: Dropbox.com/help.

Cloud storage can be useful and fun – you can keep your files safe and get the most out of new online technologies like sharing files and accessing your files on your mobile devices.  We hope you are well on your way to taking full advantage of current technologies – advanced technologies you can get for free.

Cloud Storage

by

Synopsis: Data loss can be a hardship and being an informed PC user requires knowing about backing up data as a means of prevention. We focus here on informing our readers about a new technology that is available. This new technology has become a buzz word and drawn considerable attention – cloud storage. Here we will look at what it means to be in the cloud and we will highlight some examples of cloud storage and provide our pick for a cloud service provider.

Data Loss:

As the creation of data on PC’s increases so too does the need for storage and for the chance of loss of data.  In a recent article we introduced basic information about your PC Hard Drive.  Having your PC turn off or crash can result in data loss.  This usually results in data loss from the time you last saved a document or an email that was open – not a great loss overall.  However, the most common cause of data loss is hardware failure.  According to one study [1] 40% of data loss incidents occur from hardware failure including power surges and hard drive failure. Human error accounts for 30% of data loss (accidental deletion of data and accidental hardware damage). Software corruption accounts for 13% of data loss incidents and computer viruses account for 6% of data loss occurrences.  Then there is theft of hardware which is especially prevalent with laptops accounting for 9% of data loss and hardware destruction (damage caused by floods, lightning and fire) account for 3% of all data loss.

One thing is for certain – all hard drives will eventually fail.  Data loss from hard drive failure is more common than expected.  Here are some related statistics:

Hard Drive Failure

  • It is estimated that 15,000 hard drives fail every day.
  • The odds of a hard drive failure are 1:118.
  • While hard drive manufacturers claim less than a 1% failure rate, research shows that a 2%-4% failure rate is more common and under some conditions the failure rate may reach as high as 13%.
  • Drive quality has diminished over time as the result of price competition in the industry.

Sources: [2][3][4]

Reasons for PC hard drive failure are varied.  Not only can it occur from manufacturer defects but the cause of failure can be exasperated as a result of how you operate your PC.  Examples include exposure to detrimental environmental conditions such as adverse temperature and humidity as well as workloads and powered-on patterns.  There are technologies available to keep your data safe.

The Technology:

Cloud storage is also known as “file hosting”, “online file storage”, and “cyberlocker”.  These terms refer to an Internet hosting service designed to host your data files.  The service includes enabling users to upload files to “the cloud” that can then be accessed over the internet from a different computer, tablet, smart phone or other networked device.  This data can be accessed by the same user or by other users once the required password or authentication is provided.  The reasons for using this kind of service are primarily for backup purposes, to share files with others, or to access the files from a range of devices.  An example would be to have online storage that you can view and interact with multimedia files without having to store the data on a device that has limited storage.

Cost:

As can be seen from a Wikipedia[5] description, there are a variety of storage charge options with cloud service providers.  Including the following:

  • Some online file storage services offer space on a per-gigabyte basis, and sometimes include a bandwidth cost
  • Some companies offer the service for free, relying on advertising revenue.
  • Some hosting services do not place any limit on how much space your account can consume.
  • Some services require a software download which makes files only available on computers which have that software installed; others allow users to retrieve files through any web browser.
  • Some sites offer free unlimited file storage but have a limit on the file size.

See the section on “Free” below for what we consider “free” and what service offers you need to beware of.  Taking into consideration the value gained from using cloud storage with respect to the cost of the service is a crucial factor in making the decision to use cloud storage and to choose a provider that is right for you.

Security and Reliability:

Another equally critical factor in determining if the service provider is right for you is whether the data you are storing is safe.  You need to determine if the data is secure and if the provider is reliable.

Security:  This deals with the aspects of being able to access your data on a continual basis while only allowing others with the proper credentials to access the data.  Being certain that your provider uses some form of encryption is vital to the decision of cloud storage.  This means that your data encoded in some manner and digital signatures are required so that hackers cannot access the data.

Reliability:  You need to rely on having someone store your data and make it available for you.  Continual access of your data will depend on several factors including how good the storage providers physical systems are (they also use hard disk drives), as well as the stability of your provider as a company (a financially stable company that will continue operations).  In this way you need to feel assured that the organization you are choosing will stay around and not go “belly-up” any time soon.

The Downside:

There are some disadvantages to using cloud storage which need to be identified.  This includes the following:

  1. You do not have direct control of your data.  While a cloud storage provider may even be more reliable and secure than your home PC system, you still have to rely on a third party to interact with your data.
  2. You are at the mercy of the Internet and have to deal with connectivity, bandwidth, and potential outages.  This can have an impact on performance.
  3. When you save your files online you transfer them to the storage service.  This involves uploading data and it is slower than downloading files.  Large files and numerous files can result in slowing down your computer.

However, despite these disadvantages, if you are interested in the benefits of cloud storage including sharing your files with others, accessing your files from many different devices, and benefiting from having your files stored on a system that is less vulnerable than what your home PC system in terms of theft, damage, or loss… then you will want to know the top contenders.

The Contenders:

There are numerous storage providers available and making an informed choice is not easy.  In this article we examine four “top contenders” – the providers what we deem reputable and provide a good service.  We will examine: Box, Google Drive, Microsoft SkyDrive,  and Dropbox.  Each of these has web browser interfacing.

Box:

While Box looks similar to other services (such as Dropbox), and while it has some of the same basic features it lacks a desktop client in the free version.   The mobile client displays a list of files and folders and a history of changes.  After uploading multimedia from your cell phone you can send them to box.com and share to email or Skype.

Cost and Storage:  They provide 5 GB of space free but they limit the size of the files you can upload to 250 MB.  It then goes up to $9.99 per month for 25 GB and $19.99 for 50 GB.  Business and Enterprise packages are also available. Visit Box.com for more information.

Google Drive:

Google Drive is offered by Google.  Google has multiple redundant storage facilities to ensure reliability.  There are applications that are native to Google – such as Google Docs – for Windows and Mac but there is no Linux native client but this is expected to be supported.  It does have Insync and native clients for Apple iOS, Android, and a web based interface for universal access.  There are those that consider the Google online suite to be advantageous as you can view a Google doc in the browser and share and collaborate on it with a group of people.  It also has some good revision features and editing functionality including the ability to instant message others working on the file.  However, there are disadvantages.  The downside to using an online application in this manner is that formatting differences exist.  For example, you can create and share a Google document and then attempt to put the file into a Word doc.  The formatting will not line up and you are left doing a lot of work formatting.

Cost and Storage:  They provide 5 GB of space when you sign up for free and further storage can be purchased as required.  There are a variety of monthly plans with varying storage options. Visit Google Drive for more information

Microsoft SkyDrive:

With respect to access, SkyDrive includes Windows, Mac, web, and remote access.  Mobile options include iPhone, iPad, Windows Phone, Android, and Mobile web.  You can collaborate with others on files as it includes online editing and version tracking.  There are also a variety of image showcase options such as online slide shows, posting to Facebook and Twitter, captions, and geotags.

Cost and Storage:  There is 7 GB of space offered for free and you can add 20 GB for $10, 50 GB for $25, or 100 GB for $50 per year.  As a per year cost this is better than the others that offer monthly costs. Visit Microsoft SkyDrive for more information.

Dropbox:

Drop Box supports web interfacing as well as having generic clients for Windows, Mac, and Linux operating systems and includes native client support for Android, Blackberry, and iOS.  This integration across platforms has given Dropbox a considerable competitive advantage over other providers.  The dropbox.com mobile app is fun to use as it has a modern look and fancy graphics.  Dropbox also has a very good recovery feature in case you need to recover accidentally deleted files. In terms of security, Dropbox uses modern encryption methods for transfer and storage of data – Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and AES-256 bit encryption.  They also use a two-step verification process at login.

Cost and Storage: Free storage starting at 2 GB of space. You can get 500 MB of additional space for each friend that you refer as well as using other methods of promotion such as taking a tour, providing feedback, or connecting to Facebook and Twitter.  You can earn free storage space up to a limit of 18 GB.  You can upgrade to 100 GB for $9.99 / month, or you can save money by paying the yearly fee of $99. Visit DropBox.com for more information.

 

In Common:  All four provides examined here have web interface functionality meaning you can upload and download files through your web browser.  To the best of our knowledge, all four also provide a client side application that integrates with the operating system.  For example, you can access the file using Windows Explorer as if they were local to your computer or device.

Free:

Free is free.  Free software is not “nagware” – nag the user with popup messages until their will is broken and they reluctantly buy the product.  Let’s look at the levels of free software as we experience them:

Freeware: Software that is completely free with full functionality.  There may be a way for users of the product to donate to the creators of the program.  There are no time constraints and upgrades and offers are available and free as well.

Free with add-ons included: Some software vendors generate profit by including add-ons that are downloaded and become a part of your computing experience.  These can be toolbars, ActiveX controls, or Browser Help Objects.  (See our “How to Reset IE” article for more information on removal of add-ons.)

Free Trial version: This is software that enables the user to try the product to see if they want to buy the full version.  There can be some functionality disabled or partially in place (such as using watermarks on images).  These can be for a limited time and then you can choose to no longer run the trial version or you can buy the full version.

Nagware: Software that makes the claim that it is free and it is true there is no initial cost.  However, popup messages appear every time you use the software, messages for upgrading appear and do not provide you the option to configure to not bother you again.

Our recommendation:

To begin, we feel that as a user first entering into the cloud storage world, baby steps are in order. Trying one or more of these services for free is a good way to start.  We also recommend that you do not rely solely on cloud storage as a means of backing up your data.  We would suggest instead that you use a combination of your PC, external hard drive, and online storage.  While it is true that all hard drives will eventually fail, it is a safe bet to have data on more than one device as simultaneous failure is very unlikely.  This way you will have the best of all worlds… being able to back up your important files, share any files via the cloud to others, access file on your own mobile devices, and feel secure in the knowledge that your data is safe from the most common forms of loss.

We do not recommend that all your data be backed up online until you feel more assured that this is the solution for you.  In which case, you will need to look at a whole new set of features such as how well the service interacts with Internet Explorer and how well it synchronizes your files.

For a free online cloud storage that offers good storage, has multi-platform support, offers a variety of access to devices, and is easy to use… we give Dropbox the nod.  The reasons include:

  • It offers 2 GB of free space with no time restrictions or nags and you can get more storage using their incentive promotions.  This leaves the choice up to you as to whether you want to get more space if you feel you need it.
  • It sets up very well with Windows Explorer in that you get the sense that the files are local to your computer and you can easily upload and download them.
  • It has very good cross platform support so you can synchronize between computers and devices.
  • It is easy to use, secure, reliable, and one of the least intrusive programs of its kind.

One More Recommendation:

Don’t just take our word for it – do some due diligence.  You need to feel that the service and the company you are dealing with can be trusted.  We suggest examining their website and finding out where they are located, what contact information they have, what support they offer.  These factors indicate stability and actual proof of existence.  We are of the opinion that it is still possible to have a relationship to vendors even if they are part of our digital world.  While there are many scam artists out there, we feel that the best way to profit in any industry is through long term established and trusting relations.

We hope this information has been helpful to you, our readers.  In our blog article we will provide some instruction on how begin using an online cloud storage such as Dropbox.  We have no affiliation with the vendors we recommend and do not profit in any way through our recommendation.  Our views here are based primarily on our experiences and we hope to pass these views forward.

Reference

[1] http://gbr.pepperdine.edu
[2] http://channelnomics.com
[3] http://www.deepspar.com
[4] http://www.pcworld.com
[5] http://en.wikipedia.org