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Google Drive

6K views 30 replies 15 participants last post by  michelkenny 
#1 ·
I've recently been trying Google Drive. This is "cloud storage" available to anyone and 5 GB of space is free. It's similar to Dropbox, where you can share files with others. When you install the software, it creates a folder on your desktop, but you can also access it with a browser. You also use a browser to set up shares. You can even set permissions on what others are allowed to do. The software is available for PCs and Android phones.
 
#3 ·
I tried signing up last week after all the fanfare and but it was NOT available for me. Still waiting.

Edit: Just checked and now can get it ! I see my Google Docs are in my Google Drive so is this really anything new or is it the syncing aspect that is new?
 
#4 ·
^^^^
For some reason, it takes a couple of days to get your account set up for it. I requested it on Saturday and received an email yesterday advising it was available. I don't know how it compares with Docs, as I didn't use that feature with it. The reason I looked into Drive was because a friend was looking for an easy way to share family pictures and videos with his mother. It seems to do the trick.
 
#5 ·
FYI, Skydrive is now offering 25GB of storage, don't know for how long. I have both and plan on using them for online storage
 
#7 ·
The SkyDrive 25GB offer is only for previous SkyDrive users. I had a couple files on there so I was able to "upgrade" to 25GB but my wife and son had not used it before so they didn't get the offer and had their accounts reduced to 7GB. Some people have said simply having an old Windows Live/Hotmail account will be enough but it is not. Apparently if you ran the Windows 8 previews and linked your account you will get the offer as well even if you did not specifically use SkyDrive yourself.
 
#8 ·
I see my Google Docs are in my Google Drive so is this really anything new
According to an article I read, Google Docs are included in Drive. Google Docs are being discontinued as a separate product.

For anyone concerned about privacy issues, anything stored on Google Drive may be scanned by Google. The results may be used to target individuals for ads or used for other revenue generating purposes. When combined with information from other services, that are also scanned, Google could know more about you than your partner. :eek:
 
#15 ·
According to an article I read, Google Docs are included in Drive. Google Docs are being discontinued as a separate product.
Sort of. Docs still exist, just as they did before, they're just being stored in your Google Drive.

I believe Microsoft also scans your files for their purposes.
 
#12 ·
Thanks - I found this info as well:
Also notable in that change is that Microsoft raised the size limit per file from just 50MB to 2GB, which is great for uploading video. But Microsoft still compresses media files copied over to SkyDrive, so they won’t be of original size and quality, which is not the case with Google Drive or Dropbox.
I wonder how MS knows that it is a media file and will it compress media files stored in ZIPs or other containers?
 
#17 ·
After what happened to Mega I would think they are all scanning your files regardless of what they say.
It goes without saying that they would check for illegal activities that may implicate Google legally. Mega was targeted because it allowed unrestricted sharing of copyrighted material, not just because it hosted the files. In this case, Google is scanning contents of documents and other files and then using the information for their own purposes. I wouldn't store things like medical records, business or financial documents and other possibly sensitive information on Google Drive.
 
#18 ·
That's not right at all. The key is that most of the Mega upload copyright stuff was public and generally available for download. That's what caused their problems.

The google drive or dropbox or skydrive services are all very secure. Think about what would happen if they shared just one person's sensitive or confidential file. If it got out that a single medical record or bank statement or business document was disclosed then they'd be completely sunk.

Yes they do scan your content but they do it so they can provide services to you. Most specifically "search"!!! The scanning they do is really no different in how it works than the virus scanning software on your computer. If you don't want any companies scanning your content then you better not use a virus scanning tool either.

There's way too much paranoia over the security of these services. People like scarybob wouldn't save anything sensitive there yet many will post personal info about themselves on Facebook or twitter daily. (Not meaning to imply that you use Facebook or Twitter ScaryBob - I have no idea if you do or you don't - but you did make the comment about sensitive docs and Google Drive.)

Bottom line is that the risk of anything undesirable happening to your documents on Google Drive is extremely low. And if you are security conscience then don't even sign into Facebook. And if you do make sure to clear out all of your browser cookies immediately after logging out. What they're tracking about you is what is truly frightening.

This is just like the airport security where they do body searches on 6 year olds kids and 80 year old grandmas while the Christmas underware guy who bought his ticket last minute, had no plans for when he got to Detroit, knew no one in America, had no return plans, had no luggage, and not even a jacket wth him wasn't even questioned. In other words it's misdirected security concerns and actions.
 
#19 ·
The google drive or dropbox or skydrive services are all very secure. Think about what would happen if they shared just one person's sensitive or confidential file. If it got out that a single medical record or bank statement or business document was disclosed then they'd be completely sunk.
Are you sure? Do you remember this security breach that happened 10 months ago?

June 20, 2011 - Web-based storage firm Dropbox confirmed this afternoon that a programmer's error caused a temporary security breach that allowed any password to be used to access any user account.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-2...onfirms-security-glitch-no-password-required/

Who's to say that can't happen again?
 
#20 ·
The key is that most of the Mega upload copyright stuff was public and generally available for download. That's what caused their problems.
That's basically what I said. Users allowed unrestricted sharing of copyrighted files by making them publicly available for download.

Yes they do scan your content but they do it so they can provide services to you. Most specifically "search"!!! The scanning they do is really no different in how it works than the virus scanning software on your computer. If you don't want any companies scanning your content then you better not use a virus scanning tool either.
Not quite. Google uses file scanning and data collection to provide ad services for their paying customers. That may modify search results but Googles main "product" and revenue source is ad services. The scanning of email, file sharing, searches and other public input are the way Google collects data for increasing the value of its targeted ads.

Virus scanning is completely different. It simply searches for virus signatures and other threats in files. Most A/V products scan specific file types for very specific threats, not to collect personal data. Nothing is done to collect personal data for company use, at least not by most A/V companies. There is always the possibility of Google AV in future though.

I don't use Facebook or Twitter. I tried Facebook but the noise to useful content ratio was way too high. I suspect that many people who use these services will regret it at some point. There have been instances of people being arrested or otherwise targeted due to personal information or comments posted on these and other "social" media. Remember that employers, schools, law enforcement agencies, governments and criminals may gain access to those accounts some day. They may even trick you into granting access or use pressure such requesting access as a condition of employment.
 
#27 ·
^ Well in that case, that just makes my points to ScaryBob and Wayne that much stronger.

The statistics are what they are. And the analogy of the people who are scared to fly is just about perfect as I'm sure that almost 100% of the people who are afraid to fly travel in a car or are on a road in one way or another (i.e. on a bus, as a pedestrian, or on a bike) almost every single day. And back to the topic at hand, 10's of thousands of computers stolen every single day in N.A. yet < 100 people effected by an online storage data breach ever.

The numbers are what they are. The history is what it is. Everyone just has the "it will never happen to me" mentality when they save a file on their computer or hop into the car for a quick trip to the store. And the fear of "oh it would be an absolutely terrible & horrible disaster that I certainly wouldn't want to be part of" fear of being in a major plane crash or online security breach.

This is simply another case of fear over-riding probability. It's been said many times that if you want to minimize your chances of being killed by traveling you should stay on a plane for your entire life. And similarly I'll say the same that I've said before that if you want to minimize your chances of your sensitive documents being compromised you should store them only online and never on your local computer.

The reality is that no-one stays on a plane their entire life and no-one stores 100% of their docs only online. But we shouldn't be afraid of perception in place of facts.

Wayne/Scary, further thoughts?
 
#28 ·
I am not particularly paranoid about security but I am somewhat careful about what I upload to the cloud or Social Networking sights. I do use Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn but not extensively - my HTPC Tweets far more than I do.

I use Dropbox (and Box and SkyDrive and now GoogleDrive) a bit but I am careful what I upload there. My point about the Dropbox breach was that oftentimes these companies may not take secuirty as seriously as they should.

My bigger worry is about how lax many organizations are about security, including customers. How many times have you been asked for your date of birth, address and postal code to verify your identity? This info is pretty easy to get, especially if you have a listed phone num. And if you are on Facebook then people can see when it is your birthday when you get greetings from your friends.
 
#31 ·
Yes but you need to type in your password to mount your TrueCrypt volume every time you reboot your computer, unless you use key files. You also probably can't have your TrueCrypt volume open with write access on more than one computer. Also your TrueCrypt volume will appear as one large file which may get uploaded over and over again for the slightest change, as opposed to at least Cloudfogger stores each file individually.
 
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