Tools I Can't Live Without (Part III)

This is part 3 in a series. Part 1 is here, and part 2 is here, if you'd like to go back and check them out.

So what do you do when you need access to your files from multiple locations? Or when you need to share files, but maybe they're too big to email?

In thinking about what the tools might be that I can't live without, I almost overlooked this one. Not because I can live without it, but because it does its job so quietly and efficiently I had nearly forgotten how much my sanity depends on it. 

Being a technical person, I like to change my computing world every six months or so. I will either:

• Completely re-install Windows to make it perform better.

• Install an entirely new version of Windows to make sure I understand it better.

• Install an entirely different operating system (Ubuntu, CentOS, RedHat, etc) to keep my feet wet in that world.

My friend - the CEO of what I consider to be the best run local hotel - thinks I'm nuts, but the process of formatting and re-installing is a bit cathartic. I even call it the "ultimate defrag". You just feel lighter after you've done it. Trouble is, you always find out what you forgot to back up prior to your data remodeling spree. For this, I use Dropbox. 

Dropbox is a web based file synchronization and storage service. You can share your folders or files, or you can simply share them among a number of your machines. It makes the whole process simple and seamless. This is important, because if there is manual intervention involved, I'll probably forget to do it. Hey, I'm human. Synchronization isn't always at the top of my list of things to do.

The service is quite secure. I will stop short of calling any cloud application "absolutely secure". Dropbox uses the same security as online banking; it uses SSL (Secured Sockets Layer) for the transaction between you and Dropbox. It then encrypts the files on disk using an algorithm called AES 256. This means that not even Dropbox employees can see the contents of any file placed there unless they have your password. They can see the presence of the file, the file name, and the size of the file. That is all. 

Security is always the balance between safety and convenience. You are always giving up some of one to get more of the other. While Dropbox has done a very good job of protecting the files in transit and the files in storage, the weakest link is still usually the end devices - the cell phones, the laptops and the computers that store the original files. However, these security problems exist with or without the presence of Dropbox. Further, no matter what Dropbox has done, there is no such thing as an invulnerable network server. The cloud is no place for very sensitive data. I would not put anything on ANY service that included credit card numbers or the data required for identity theft. If documents of that sort exist in the folder that you will be using for Dropbox synchronization, you might consider not making that file sync with the Dropbox service.

Here's some ideas for using this tool:

• Share data with your clients. Create a folder and share it in Dropbox.

• Use it as a simple backup service. The files exist both in your folder and on the Dropbox servers. 

• Share files with your coworkers.

• Link to files from your website to your public folder.

So check out Dropbox. It's free for the first 2gb of space, and $10 per month will get you 50gb. 

Enjoy!