The cloud services have penetrated so deep in our daily life that days are gone when people used to debate on their effectiveness and relevance. Now the debate has been shifted to the comparison amongst public and private or personal cloud storage services. Those whose data needs are quite general and the existing companies are considered to be fine for them, they opt for public cloud storage. They argue that whatever security and privacy they offer, they are quite satisfied with them. Furthermore, the option to use cloud storage services on their Android and iOS mobile devices also gives them a reason to stay there. However, those who want to go the extra mile on data privacy and security, the personal cloud seems quite favorable to them. They argue that recent cyberattacks do not give them enough courage to trust public cloud service providers. Hence, they are more interested in the personal cloud. Moreover, there are plenty of companies like Western Digital and Seagate Personal Cloud that assist customers in setting up their personal cloud storage.
Apart from this, there is a very legitimate question that needs to be answered profoundly. Is it true that personal cloud storage is private and secure? If you want to end this quest and looking for some credible answer, stay with us and read the below sections.
What makes Personal Cloud Storage Private?
Personal cloud storage is generally based on the NAS devices (Network Attached Storage Devices). However, if someone wants to establish a personal cloud on the drive HDD, then it can also be done. The user will be the one who will be the administrator as well as the client of this cloud storage network. There is no truth in the myth that personal cloud storages are not as effective as public cloud storage. In reality, there could be some shortcomings since it is not so well developed and managed like that of Google Drive or iCloud, but it still serves the purpose quite rightly. An access account is required to use the cloud services, and it can also be configured on the mobile app. Above all, since usage and access mode are on the individual level, so there is no doubt in considering personal cloud storage to be highly private.
What makes Personal Cloud Storage Secure?
This is the second most sought question about personal cloud storage. Since we all are very skeptical about the security of data, this question makes sense. As personal cloud storage is a sort of personalized cloud storage, so there is no doubt on it being the secured source of data storage. But nothing in this cyber world is 100% secure. Therefore, the same goes for the personal cloud. Critics say that once you are connected to the internet via WiFi or any other internet connection, don’t be so concerned about security. Furthermore, the question is also relative. It depends on the nature of security. If someone is concerned about the security of data in terms of sharing, then indeed, personal cloud storage is extremely secure. It is because of its personalized nature, unlike public cloud storage, it does not let anyone share files in the personal cloud. However, if someone is concerned about the data encryption and the overall security of the cloud network, then he/she might face a little bit of a problem. But still, that won’t be so much that the efficacy of personal cloud gets hampered.
Having said this, for anyone who is looking forward to saving some important documents, media files from the last country-wide trip, or some good family memories, personal cloud storage is quite secure.
Rules to Enhance the Security and Privacy of Personal Cloud Storage
Not everyone is technologically literate, but this deficiency should not become an excuse to compromise the privacy and security of personal cloud storage. Following are some of the key rules that are important to follow if someone is really into making his/her cloud storage, secure and private:
Encryption
While encryption may seem so technical to embed. In reality, everything is exposed to the internet, and appropriate measures should be taken to encrypt data. There are certain encryption algorithms which you must try to embed in your personal cloud storage so that if something unfortunate happens to your data, intruders couldn’t get much.
Strong Password
One may argue that if it is a personal cloud, then how I am supposed to keep my password in a safe zone or keep it strong enough. Well! The answer is quite simple. Since it is your data, it is highly possible that it may contain some of your sensitive information. So, it would be very wise of you to consider putting up a strong password. However, if you are a person who always forgets the password, then consider using a password manager.
Always Log Off
Whenever you are done with working on the cloud data, remember logging out of remote access of your cloud portal. Develop a keen habit of logging out of all social media accounts and emails. In this way, even if your device gets stolen or malfunctioned, data in the cloud remains safe. Furthermore, configure the browser in a way that history, along with the password, is automatically deleted.
Avoid Public Networks
If you want to make sure that your personal cloud storage remains safe from any sort of menace, then avoid accessing cloud data on the public WiFi networks, such as airports or restaurants. This rule is very much important to follow since no one knows that from where some kind of malware will be installed on your system.
Secure WiFi Network
Since personal cloud storage will be set up on your WiFi network, it is important to make sure that the WiFi network is extremely secure. For this, try to strengthen the WiFi security by choosing a strong WiFi password.
