Many of us are taking advantage of Cloud Services Storage, such as Apple iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive. It is low cost if not free, convenient and a great way to share content with friends. As some female celebrities, including Jennifer Lawrence and Kate Upton found out on the weekend, there are however security risks. Note that Apple says this leak was not due to any flaw in iCloud or Find My iPhone, but rather the result of "a targeted attack on user names, passwords and security questions."
This first article stresses the importance of having strong passwords for sites containing private information and provides a useful tip on creating strong, easy to use passwords plus references some Password Managers that will help you manage your passwords. It then shows how to secure your personal cloud by using two factor authentication - i.e. what you alone have (e.g. your mobile phone) and what you alone know (your password).
After alleged iCloud breach, here's how to secure your personal cloud; Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols on ZDNet:
zdnet.com/after-alleged-icl...
You can Just skip the technical intro and check out the instructions on how to set up two factor authentication for Apple iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive at the end of the article.
This second article is perhaps more controversial...
Who is to blame when iCloud is ‘hacked’ – you or Apple? Grant Bollmer, Lecturer of Digital Cultures at University of Sydney
theconversation.com/who-is-...
As Owl:Net says, the best advice is "Do not store or post anything private in cloud or social sites, period". If you do appreciate the advantages of using cloud or social sites, then you can do much to reduce your risk. For example, there's nothing to stop you protecting documents, photographs, etc, by encrypting them before uploading them. There are many excellent and freely available programs that will enable you to password protect one or more files.
More on security:
Online Security Starts with YOU!
healthunlocked.com/cllsuppo...
Personally I've never really liked the marketing terms cloud services/storage and this just furthers my feelings on the terminology. After all, everyone knows that physical clouds leak - it's called rain!
Neil
Photo: There are bugs everywhere. Some can prove quite painful. These rather large ants succeeded in dragging my comb (added for scale) towards their nest. It was very gingerly recovered...
I wonder why they wanted it in their nest? 
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