WHAT IS THE CLOUD?
The cloud is a means of storing and accessing data and programs over the internet, rather than via a computer hard drive. Files such as videos, music, documents and photos are stored on faraway servers and accessed by users over a web connection. The popularity of the cloud has grown alongside the increasing availability of powerful mobile and Wi-Fi internet connections. This has driven demand for services that can be reached from any web-connected device.
WHY IS THE CLOUD USEFUL?
The cloud lets you free up space on your various computers, tablets and phones by storing files and programs elsewhere. It also lets you access your files from any device. You can, for instance, start working on a document on your phone, edit it on your tablet, then apply the finishing touches on your laptop. Also, if you happen to lose one of your devices, you won't lose all your work. It also means, though, that a photo or video deleted on a smartphone might still exist in the cloud.
WHO OFFERS THE CLOUD?
Just about every technology company has some form of cloud service, including Apple, Google and Microsoft. Some are targeted at everyday consumers, others at big businesses. In recent years, established tech companies such as IBN and Oracle have invested billions of dollars in cloud computing infrastructure.
HOW SECURE IS THE CLOUD?
Companies put a lot of effort into protecting customer privacy, generally requiring at least a username and a password to gain entry. Yet as this week's celebrity photo-hacking revelations show, the systems are far from infallible. Blame has focused largely on Apple's iCloud system, with the company confirming in a statement that hackers gained access to some celebrity accounts. The company denied system-wide breaches, saying the photos were stolen in "very targeted" attacks involving the acquisition of user names, passwords, and the answers to security questions. Security experts say they might have used trial-and-error software to guess at passwords millions of times before striking the right one.
HOW CAN YOU PROTECT YOUR FILES?
Strong passwords are essential. Security experts say you should use a combination of letters, capitals, numbers and symbols. Another trick is to create a "passphrase" from the first letters of a sentence. For example, "Tqbfjotld" for "the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog". These are much harder to guess than proper words. Users should also vary their passwords and usernames across different services, so that a breach in one doesn't mean a breach in all. Most services also offer "two-step" authentication - an opt-in measure that adds another layer of security on top of usernames and passwords. It generally involves a temporary code that is texted to a user's smartphone when they want to log-in on a new device. A hacker who knows your password would need physical possession of your phone to get the text.
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