How Safe is Google Drive?

These days, most of us store at least some of our information on a cloud service, either because we want to share those files with others or because we want to make sure that those files are safe if our computers are stolen or break. Cloud services are a wonderful tool, but they’re not always the safest. Have you heard about the 2014 iCloud leak in which many celebrities had nude photos of themselves stolen from their accounts? And many of us have even more personal information stored about us on cloud services—things such as passport copies, banking information, passwords, and more. So how safe is Google Drive really, and what can you do to make your cloud service even safer?

Linked Accounts

One of the biggest risks with using Google Drive is the fact that it's linked to all your other Google accounts, including Gmail, Google Calendar, and all other Google services. This means that if you're logged on to your Google account to access your email and accidentally leave that open on a computer, anyone could switch over to your Google Drive account and see what you have stored there. What's more, Google scans your emails and links files and information between different Google services. If you've ever booked a flight, hotel, or other service and had the confirmation sent to your Gmail account, you might've seen Google ask if you want to add the event to your Google Calendar. So you can assume that anything you've uploaded to your Google Drive account is being scanned just the same. 

Shared Folders

Google Drive also gives you the ability to share folders and files with others, either by sending those people an invitation email or by allowing you to share a specific link to grant access to anyone who receives that link. This may seem harmless; after all, they only get access to a certain set of files, right? But if you change the settings to allow others to edit your files, you never know what changes they might make, and if someone untrustworthy manages to get access to that file, they could do anything to it. Make sure that if you're sharing folders, you never share parent folders and instead share only sub-folders: this gives you better control over which files are shared with whom. And of course, you should only ever share files with people you trust! 

Use a Strong Password

Because all of your Google accounts are linked together, you need to make sure you're using a strong password, which should contain uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. The best passwords are totally random. This could make it a bit difficult to remember, but it's worth it. You might be surprised at how popular the most common, basic passwords are, but when we're trying to create passwords, usually we're looking for something that's going to be easy to remember and easy to type in each time we need it. Instead, try one of these methods to create a unique password that you can actually remember. 

Protect Your Password

Once you've created a great password, you'll want to do everything within your power to make sure it isn't compromised. Don't leave it sitting on a scrap of paper next to your computer, and don't share it with anyone. If you're worried about forgetting it, try using a password manager to help you. 

And if you're using public WiFi, know that it's at risk for being hacked. The thing is, every time your computer accesses a site, it sends across information, such as your passwords, via cookies so that you don't have input your password every time, but this means your information is just floating out there for anyone to steal. In fact, identity theft is alarmingly rampant nowadays. Instead of leaving things open, you should be using a Virtual Private Network (VPN), which will seal your information within an encrypted tunnel as it's shared with the site. This will give you a much safer browsing experience that will help you keep your password private to you. 

Encrypted Emails

If you're really worried about the information you need to share using your Google Drive account, it may be in your best interest to share that information via email; although it may take you a little more time. Again, Google and other service providers are often scanning your emails for keywords to help them target ads at you, and it's not always the safest method. But you can use software to encrypt your emails and ensure that they're only readable by you and their intended audience. 

Although a cloud service is a great privilege that we have in our modern day, there's no denying that there are some potential security flaws. It's easy enough to vow to be careful about what information you store on the cloud, but sometimes you might find you need to save or share documents that could be harmful in the hands of hackers. You'll want to do everything in your power to make sure your Google Drive account is as safe as it can be, so that you can focus on the benefits of this technology rather than having to constantly worry about its possible negative aspects.