Hotel Rooms, Clouds, Data, and You.

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As I sit here in a hotel, I can’t stop thinking about safety and security, especially when it comes to my computer and all the information on it.

Thankfully, while I haven’t heard of anyone I know having their computer stolen from a hotel room, I DO know of friends whose laptops have been stolen from their homes. In all cases, the information was backed up. Whew!

Also noticed that computers just don’t fit in hotel room safes.

But wait a minute…I don’t even see a safe in this room, though it is a swanky place. And should I feel secure just because some semi-retired person glances at me as I stroll to the elevators?  SOMETIMES they ask to see my room card. So technically, anyone can slip by and go wherever they want. Security? Ha.

But wait! You can prevent the worst from happening to you. Nowadays, there’s something called Cloud Computing. Oh, it’s been around awhile, it just didn’t have a name. Basically, it’s the ability to access your data and / or software from anywhere; think of it as being up in a cloud in a big beautiful sky. For many years, I’ve been able to access software and databases that I’m subscribed to via any computer; I just need to sign on and do what I need to do. Even your email accounts such as Hotmail and Gmail are a part of Cloud Computing.

Great! So what does this mean? It means that you can back up the data on your computer into a cloud. Now how convenient is THAT? In the near future, we won’t be lugging around laptops anymore and accessing our data from “wherever” …so why not start now?

What are the other options? An external hard drive for starters, however, if you’re someone who accumulates masses of photos like I do, you could easily run out of space in a short period of time. And yes, you could buy another hard drive, but isn’t this starting to sound complicated?

Another alternative is saving data on jump drives and discs; both very limiting. Remember when we thought that floppy disks were amazing?

Why DO we have so much information nowadays? Because we can! Take photos, for example. Used to be that you had to line up that ONE good shot because you only had 20 on the roll.  Your prints were either good or bad, but you shared them with everyone regardless. Nowadays, with digital, you can take 20, 30 or 40 of the same object from various angles, etc. and pick just one.

Do you save the remaining 39 or do you delete them? The storage space erodes very quickly if you hang on to them all.

Of course, data backups translate to data as well; spreadsheets, word docs, PowerPoint presentations. Luckily, the first two don’t take up a lot of space, but presentations can, dependent on how graphical they are.

Now you’re probably worrying about all that data on your computer. According to recent information from Kroll Ontrack, while most folks place high importance on the information in their computers, close to a quarter do absolutely NO backups and about two-thirds back up their data less than once a month.

Scary.

Now you know why I’ve written this. Perhaps getting the message out can prevent some unwanted aggravation.

In respect to cloud computing, click here for a tune about how “clouds got in my way.”

We’re on Facebook and Google+ …come say hello!

Proceed with Caution: When your Friends Post Links on your Facebook Wall

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Had a friend call the other day to say hello and catch up. It had been awhile since I had last spoken to her. Early on in our conversation I noted “Haven’t seen you on Facebook much lately.” She told me about a posting on her wall, by a friend, touting something or other; it may have been the one about “see which friends are stalking you”. She did, sadly, click on the link.

Presto chango! Her computer turned to mush as a virus quickly released and reeked swift, deadly damage through her pc. Two weeks passing and a costly servicing later, she was back in business.

This should never have happened. And it happens to intelligent people, who unfortunately are not always knowledgeable regarding safe surfing on the internet. And it’s confusing because the rule of thumb can be different depending on what social media platform you’re active on.

Now, granted, the majority know that it’s not a great idea to click on something that is posted by a stranger. You DO know that if you choose your wall to be available to everyone on Facebook, that potential spam and viruses can be posted there? Hmmm…could be a time to revisit those settings and rethink your Facebook sharing arena then.

But what if it’s a friend, someone you’ve known for years and trusted posting on your wall? And what if the subject is enticing? Admit it, who isn’t curious about who is looking at your profile? But the sad truth is there isn’t a way to see who is looking.  And heck, if they were, so what? If you’re friends with them, which means you sent a request or accepted one, thus taking some manner of action towards involvement with them, they are free to lookie-loo all they want.

But regarding our subject at hand, WHY would a friend post such a thing? And that’s what should be questioned when someone posts on your wall. It’s a bit different than having a friend post a music video by your favorite group or a cute picture for your birthday. And why are they publicly endorsing the fact that they have an interest in seeing who looking at their profile?

DO question this. If you have any about a post on your Facebook wall by a friend, send them a message and ask them about it. Chances are your friend will reply that they’ve got some manner of virus that is sending messages or posting to all their friend’s walls.

I admit that I was alarmed recently when a friend posted something about stik.com on my wall recently. Turns out it IS legit, and not a virus posting however, how many networks within a network do I need to join? I was pulled into BranchOut recently; that’s enough for now. But thankfully, no virus!

After inquiring with your friend if they actually did send it in good faith (optional of course), the next action is to delete it, then breathe a sigh of relief. The threat is gone. Goodbye. No harm done.

And this sort of happening isn’t likely to stop any time soon. Does it take away from the fun of participating on Facebook. Yeah. But unfortunately, all the policing that Facebook is currently doing isn’t enough but how to catch up to all the virus spreaders? So be prepared for future attacks on your Facebook wall. Be safe, and always question before clicking on a link.