7 Steps to Safe Cloud Storage

Cloud computing has been popular ever since the late 1990s, but nowadays, it’s changing how we access entertainment, use our devices’ storage space, and soon enough, how we play video games.

Data is moving to the cloud at record speeds, but cloud security isn’t always keeping the pace. Sure, a lot of services use encryption, firewalls, and event detection. But did you know that compromised cloud accounts are often because of user error?

To make sure you know how to keep your cloud storage account safe, I’ve prepared this handy guide for you.

Let’s dive right in.

Learn to keep your cloud storage safe

Cloud storage features are now integrated into lots of devices. And people are all syncing more data than ever before. From private photos and videos to work-related documents, the cloud is the safe keeper of a lot of information.

And while the cloud makes everything easier to reach, it also opens the door to someone else accessing your files from a different device.

Here’s how to keep that from happening.

1. Have strong passwords

It all starts with a good defense, and your password is there to shield you from account intruders.

Having a strong, hard-to-guess, unique password is essential for your privacy, and it can make hacking almost impossible. For example, each character you add exponentially increases the time needed to brute-force crack it:

Password length
Time it takes to crack it
9-character long
Up to 5 days
10-character long
Up to 4 months
11-character long
Up to 10 years
12-character long
Up to 200 years

If you feel your credentials game isn’t that strong, check out these 5 tips for creating a secure password.

And if you want to take it to the next level, the CyberGhost Password Manager is what you need. This security tool lets you:

      • Generate strong passwords
      • Store all your credentials in complete safety
      • Log into accounts instantly with the autofill feature

2. Use two-factor authentication

To get into your cloud accounts, you rely on an authentication method.

This can be single or multi-factor and, as the name suggests, two-factor authentication (2FA) uses a secondary piece of information like a code sent to your phone to make sure you really are who you say you are.

You should activate 2FA whenever possible. This way, if your credentials ever end up in a data breach, your accounts stay uncompromised.

3. Remember to sign out

You’re probably not in the habit of logging out of your accounts when you’re not using them, but this is another thing you could do to stay safe online.

Logging out lets you prevent unauthorized access to your account in case an evildoer gets their hands on your device.

4. Don’t be generous with permissions

Pro tip: if you want to keep your racy pictures safe, use the CyberGhost Secret Photo Vault.

Lots of apps require permissions for various things. Some make perfect sense, like your map wanting to know your location or a photo editing app requiring access to your media gallery. But others might be too intrusive. For example, a cookbook app should work just fine, even without accessing your contact list.

So, make sure your cloud storage is only accessible to those apps that really need it.

5. Turn on your alerts

Some cloud services notify you when unusual events happen with your account, so activate this option whenever possible.

After all, the sooner you know about unauthorized login attempts, successful logins from unusual locations for you, or password changes, the faster you can take action.

6. Unpair old devices

Whenever your new gadgets become your old gadgets, make a mental note to unpair them from your cloud accounts and other services you use.

If you skip this step, you might be offering free entry to an unauthorized user.

7. Spot threats

A lot of malicious parties rely on social engineering to get what they want. This means they’ll often try to trick you into giving out your login credentials.

So, you must keep an eye out for their scams and learn how to spot a phishing scam and how to stay safe online. Luckily for you, we have plenty of educational articles on the Privacy Hub.

 

Do you use cloud storage? What do you do to keep your accounts secure? Let me know in the comments below.

Until next time, stay safe and secure!

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knowledge sourcing

Posted on 08/09/2021 at 13:21

Thank you for sharing such nice content. Cloud storage is is a next-generation system that interacts with human language and helps experts to make better decisions by understanding the complexity of unstructured data.

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Glad to hear you enjoyed reading. 🙂

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