May 22, 2020 
16 Comments 
Many Australians without sound technological knowledge are concerned about storing their files and data through the internet, but the truth is they could be more at risk if they don’t.
Unless you are one of the few who regularly back up their files, you are only a computer malfunction away from losing most of your important files.
Storing your information on the cloud allows you to make sure all your important files avert a hardware failure or file.
What is the cloud?
Put simply, the cloud is a storage system that uses an online server, rather than a phone or computer hard drive. This means that your files are stored on a remote database, instead of being kept solely on your device. The biggest benefit of cloud storage is that photos, documents and other files won’t disappear if you lose your phone, or if your computer stops working.
Is it safe?
The level of security depends on which system you’re using, as different companies (i.e. Google or Apple, etc.) will have different ways of protecting the privacy of your files. Essentially, as long as your password is unique and secure (as is the case for all things tech-related), then cloud storage is extremely safe. So, don’t be afraid to embrace it as a digital storage option. Certain products, such as Google Drive, allow users to set up mobile login verification, where the user receives a code via SMS, which is entered as an additional security tool, to help ensure the information is not accessed by an unauthorised user.
Another advantage
As well as making sure your files are safe from malfunction and misadventure, storing files in the cloud also comes with one other significant advantage: sharing files with loved ones quickly. We store all images on Google Photos, and both my wife and I can access these images instantly no matter where we are. We also share the login details with my parents and they are able to see all the latest pictures of the grandkids, without trawling through the mess of social media.
Do you use cloud storage for your files? What would it take for you to try it?
Liv Gardiner
The Conversation
Ben Hocking
Will Brodie
YourLifeChoices Writers
I wont use anything with such a ridiculous name that clouds the reality of where the data is actually stored.
When I first got into computers (ie ones that had a memory) in the 1980s the first 3 rules were Save, Save and Save. Prior to that data was stored on punched tape. I still Save Save Save, nowadays these 32Gb memory sticks are so handy until I get out my two 2Tb external hard drives and save everything twice (I only save the data and photos not the programs). Had a friend who had his computer fatality crash, only took a technician a couple of days to retrieve all his data from the dead hard drive.
He was lucky but often the HD isn’t the first part that breaks down first. Well, not all of it.
I keep all my HDs and extract the data from them to put on to my next computer.
I’m with you Eddy, i am a fan of backing up to an external drive as a safety precaution. You can buy 2Tb drives from Officeworks etc for $99, that’s an awful lot of protection for a small price.
Back when I was a bookkeeper I had a client who always had 2 backups of his hard drive and backed his info up every day before he left his office. He believed he was safe until there was a fire in the building and both backups and his computer were destroyed. If you aren’t comfortable with your data backed up to the ‘cloud’ at least make sure you back up regularly to 2 sources and keep one off-site.
Ridiculous names…try the Honda Smash motorbike.
You’re confusing computers with commuters
As they say in Asia, ‘Same same, but different’.
Wow this article certainly brings the Luddites out from their caves. I hasten to say that the “cloud” is really only for people who computer/internet literate. The first computer I used was a Vax that filled large room with the equivalent RAM you would now find on a cheap mobile.That was about 1980.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VAX
Thankfully we have progressed a lot since then but I see not everyone posting here has.
Nothing is 100% secure! Hackers can and will get into everything eventually if they have mind to, Thats leaving out any disgruntled employees who give out info to hackers.
How many systems have been hacked in the last few years? Save your pics or other innocous stuff on the cloud if you want to but not any personal or financial stuff. There is no guarantee whatso ever.
I agree. Passwords and financial data only goes into my password manager “vault”.
Especially Password managers are a dangerous tool to use.
In one go a hackers gets it all
So guess you write all your passwords on a piece of paper? You’re entitled to an opinion but dogmatic assertions such as this only just your opinion.
I fully accept that everyone has a right to their own opinion. But.
I find the connection between the Luddites and a distrust of intentionally vague internet systems invisible. That must include a discussion about internet security, privacy, and trust.
I use an external HDD for backups, and a few other backup options.
ONLY IDIOTS STORE VITAL DATA SOLELY IN THE CLOUD!
Always have a local backup in 2 places and in 2 media formats
You have been warned
Any particular idiots here you feel the need to warn or do you just feel the need to warn everyone?
I’m not aware that anyone here or anywhere else store vital data solely in the cloud but obviously you make that assumption anyway.
Before you suggest I may be one of the idiots to which you refer. I use four back up HDs, two for each of my Macs, also a backup on my office computer and I use the Apple cloud and Google Drive. I also sandbox my vital data on my primary computer and I use an excellent password manager. I also have a Master’s in Computer Science from Flinders Uni.