Just to fire up this discussion again ... an alternative to Dropbox is SpiderOak (https://spideroak.com). Crucially, the URL has a little 's' in it which means that data is encrypted between users. Even SpiderOak can't see it. Other missionaries who had security concerns about Dropbox are saying good things about SpiderOak. I've just installed it and will be testing it out over the next few days/weeks. You get 2GB of free storage, but if you use 'hurricanesafe' as a promo code you get 5GB! Let us know what you think if you switch over.
SpiderOak Secure Software | SpiderOak
SpiderOak provides collaboration tools with unparalleled security to protect your data. Fundamentally better solutions for keeping your information s…
This sounds like an interesting service. The "True Privacy" section on this page suggests that your data is encrypted on your local machine, and the encryption keys are not available to SpiderOak, which certainly would be a better setup.
Take care, though, because the "s" in "https" is something different altogether. That means that the connection between your computer and the server that runs their website is encrypted, nothing more. This doesn't on its own guarantee that your data is safe from their own employees. There would need to be some additional encryption, so that the data they see when it arrives is still encrypted. It sounds like the desktop client would do this, but I'm not so sure what would happen if you want to upload something directly from your browser.
It's clearly a very useful service for many people, but personally I avoid it because I'm really not fond of the idea of my data being stored somewhere on someone else's server, where I have no control over it. (It's easy to lose sight of that.) I'm particularly uneasy about the fact that the software is proprietary; I might consider a service based on open-source software and standards, as the processes involved would be more transparent.
Having said that, assuming that the data isn't sensitive, I'd be happy to use a service like Dropbox as a convenient way to copy data from A to B (or as a backup), but not as a central "master" store. But then I have the luxury of alternatives, as I'm a geek and have a computer at home that acts as a server for me :)
Thank you for your reply Graham. I downloaded for the first time yesterday to try and see if it would work for OSCAR - so it's encouraging to hear that it delivers what it promises.
Use it for syncing files between my desktop and PC which share same dropbox.
Use the public folder for leaving files in, then make links to them in church related emails
My daughter uses it for school work. She works on lap top downstairs. Puts her work in drop box and then prints out her work from desktop attached to printer.
Still finding ways to use it in personnel, family and ministry life
I have a shared folder with one of our pastors where we leave work that we are both working on
Replies
This sounds like an interesting service. The "True Privacy" section on this page suggests that your data is encrypted on your local machine, and the encryption keys are not available to SpiderOak, which certainly would be a better setup.
Take care, though, because the "s" in "https" is something different altogether. That means that the connection between your computer and the server that runs their website is encrypted, nothing more. This doesn't on its own guarantee that your data is safe from their own employees. There would need to be some additional encryption, so that the data they see when it arrives is still encrypted. It sounds like the desktop client would do this, but I'm not so sure what would happen if you want to upload something directly from your browser.
It's clearly a very useful service for many people, but personally I avoid it because I'm really not fond of the idea of my data being stored somewhere on someone else's server, where I have no control over it. (It's easy to lose sight of that.) I'm particularly uneasy about the fact that the software is proprietary; I might consider a service based on open-source software and standards, as the processes involved would be more transparent.
Having said that, assuming that the data isn't sensitive, I'd be happy to use a service like Dropbox as a convenient way to copy data from A to B (or as a backup), but not as a central "master" store. But then I have the luxury of alternatives, as I'm a geek and have a computer at home that acts as a server for me :)
Yes. Found it helpful in a number of ways.
Use it for syncing files between my desktop and PC which share same dropbox.
Use the public folder for leaving files in, then make links to them in church related emails
My daughter uses it for school work. She works on lap top downstairs. Puts her work in drop box and then prints out her work from desktop attached to printer.
Still finding ways to use it in personnel, family and ministry life
I have a shared folder with one of our pastors where we leave work that we are both working on