BBT Webmasters

As a child you might have been told by an adult that you should get your head out of the clouds but now we are storing our data there. Is this a good thing or a bad thing?

Security has to be the biggest issue so just how secure is it? A lot has to depend on the user, if you use a password that can be guessed then you may well have left the door open for someone passing by to have a look at what you have stored. Don’t use as your user name admin and password as password for your particular cloud of data. Use a good user name that is not run of the mill and a password length of around 12 characters made up of letters and numbers with a few keyboard characters for good measure.

You also have to consider that your data is probably safer than it is at home. The concerns raised recently in the US have hardly made me think twice. Google cloud usage at the moment is free -you can use GMail, Google docs, calendar, instant messenger and even Google Sites without parting with a penny. You can of course upgrade and part with a small fortune. I’m more concerned about how Google and other service providers like Yahoo and MSN might use the data to feed me advertising. I have already noticed adsence in the GMail application that is targeted specifically to topics that are picked up from my email.

Back to the security issue - the cloud that is provided by respectable service providers is safer than my desktop and my laptop. The people that are moving our data around in Government could even learn a thing or too. This is a much safer way to transfer sensitive data rather than sticking it on a laptop or a USB pen that then gets left on a train or in a park.

How can you access cloud computing? You have several ways that you can try out the cloud - with Google or Eyeos.

Google

You need to set up an account/GMail account and you then get options to add all the other goodies available.

Eyeos

Is a desk top application in the cloud. eyeOS is the Cloud Computing Operating System. Work online -personally or collaboratively- with your files, office, calendar, contacts and much more. eyeOS is Free Software! The idea of eyeOS is to create a free, open source (AGPLv3) product easy to install on a web server so you will have your own cloud system under your control. Try it out on their free offering to see whether you like what you see and then perhaps put the application on a web server so that secure it the way you want/need. BBT can assist with both web hosting and installing the software and basic set up for you. Email: enquires@bbtwebmasters.co.uk