Then the appropriate response is to use it for things that are shocking but legal to have.

That's why I only store pictures of myself masturbating on it.

/no, really, I masturbate on it, then take a picture of it to upload

sethstorm: Then the appropriate response is to use it for things that are shocking but legal to have.



Personal taser tampons.

My prediction when this whole cloud thing started was that it would be a great way to backup valuable data and everyone would love it because of how portable it made their computing experience... Right on up until some guys child porn got hand delivered to the Feds by the guys running the system.

At that point every Lawyer, Bureaucrat, Business owner and Customer with sense would realize what a bad idea it is to put your information on the internet.

Yes in theory I would easily pay $50 a year to never have to worry about backing up stuff again. But in practice I'm not comfortable with keeping my information on someone elses drive. Not without some guarantee that they wont read, send, Fark with or otherwise exploit that data for their own benefit.

/Also not confident in Google since they have a habit of shutting things down when its not an instant success.
/People who like to share information and can't be trusted for the long haul are probably not the ones to turn to for storage.

RoyBatty: sethstorm: Then the appropriate response is to use it for things that are shocking but legal to have.

[www.product-reviews.net image 498x445]

Personal taser tampons.

I wasn't expecting that kind of product to show up, much less knowing that such a product even existed.

/Hats off to you

RoyBatty: sethstorm: Then the appropriate response is to use it for things that are shocking but legal to have.

[www.product-reviews.net image 498x445]

Personal taser tampons.

lol
People will still use this service and act shocked when their privacy is violated.

It sounds like the data isn't actually encrypted, otherwise how would they have any access to it? You could just create a TrueCrypt partition file and put that in the cloud.

way south: My prediction when this whole cloud thing started was that it would be a great way to backup valuable data and everyone would love it because of how portable it made their computing experience... Right on up until some guys child porn got hand delivered to the Feds by the guys running the system.

At that point every Lawyer, Bureaucrat, Business owner and Customer with sense would realize what a bad idea it is to put your information on the internet.

Yes in theory I would easily pay $50 a year to never have to worry about backing up stuff again. But in practice I'm not comfortable with keeping my information on someone elses drive. Not without some guarantee that they wont read, send, Fark with or otherwise exploit that data for their own benefit.

/Also not confident in Google since they have a habit of shutting things down when its not an instant success.
/People who like to share information and can't be trusted for the long haul are probably not the ones to turn to for storage.

Use it for encrypted storage?

When the world does truly end, I think Google will have some part to play in it.

way south: Yes in theory I would easily pay $50 a year to never have to worry about backing up stuff again. But in practice I'm not comfortable with keeping my information on someone elses drive. Not without some guarantee that they wont read, send, Fark with or otherwise exploit that data for their own benefit.

Where's your email stored?

Or all your financial information?

This is pretty shocking, but following facebook etc what did people expect? Gmail already reads your emails and sends you adverts according to the content. Click on the opt out and for the life of me I cannot find how to do so.

People should just not use these services. Especially pedos...

I'm de-googling myself more and more every day. Screw it, I don't like people looking at my stuff. If google wants my info, they're going to have to send me a check, not just give me an email account and some storage.

Hey, cut them some slack. Google isn't used to running a service that actually respects your privacy, so they're still getting the hang of it.

taurusowner: When the world does truly end, I think Google will have some part to play in it.

The Mayans predicted it.

taurusowner: When the world does truly end, I think Google will have some part to play in it.

How's that whole "Don't be evil" thing working out for you, Google?

Seriously, for farks sake, how do they think this is acceptable?

Hand Banana: Let's see, buy a cheap external hard drive and have instant and secure access to all of your files anywhere, or pay for some stupid "cloud" service and put up with long upload and download times as well as letting who the hell knows access/steal/lose your files. ]

Tough choice.

I work for an Internet Service Providor, we were reselling Carbonite, an Online Backup Solution. I never understood why people would pay a monthly fee to store their data online, the backup never worked as intended because after a hard drive failure or reboot/reinstall, you have to get back online first, then download the software, hope you remembered your password for the service, (we deal mostly with older people).

Someone asked me once we stopped carrying it for alternatives, I reccomended a USB HDD, 1 Time fee, no online required, no drivers, and it's only passworded if you think you need that.

Apple has a Photostream where every picture you take gets uploaded and stored on Apple servers, then supposedly deleted at certain points (monthly/1,000 picture limit at any time). Until recently the user could not delete any of those photos.

taurusowner: When the world does truly end, I think Google will have some part to play in it.

New from Google, SkyNet^®

So, if one were to work for a company that offers cloud services to business customers, a unique selling point would be "we DON'T read your shiat"? Good thing to bear in mind.

/board meeting today.

fatkidinabeenie: New from Google, SkyNet®

Nah, SkyDrive is Microsoft.

Wow, this service is going to fail and its going to fail spectacularly. I already knew I wouldn't trust google for a task like this but I didn't realize they'd just come out and confirm it for me.

fatkidinabeenie: Hand Banana: Let's see, buy a cheap external hard drive and have instant and secure access to all of your files anywhere, or pay for some stupid "cloud" service and put up with long upload and download times as well as letting who the hell knows access/steal/lose your files. ]

Tough choice.

I work for an Internet Service Providor, we were reselling Carbonite, an Online Backup Solution. I never understood why people would pay a monthly fee to store their data online, the backup never worked as intended because after a hard drive failure or reboot/reinstall, you have to get back online first, then download the software, hope you remembered your password for the service, (we deal mostly with older people).

Someone asked me once we stopped carrying it for alternatives, I reccomended a USB HDD, 1 Time fee, no online required, no drivers, and it's only passworded if you think you need that.

But your USB HDD can be lost or damaged. Tough choice indeed.

fatkidinabeenie: I work for an Internet Service Providor, we were reselling Carbonite, an Online Backup Solution. I never understood why people would pay a monthly fee to store their data online, the backup never worked as intended because after a hard drive failure or reboot/reinstall, you have to get back online first, then download the software, hope you remembered your password for the service, (we deal mostly with older people).

Someone asked me once we stopped carrying it for alternatives, I reccomended a USB HDD, 1 Time fee, no online required, no drivers, and it's only passworded if you think you need that.

If you're using a program or even the Windows Backup, then if your computer crashes...you still need to reinstall stuff and go through the restore process to get it back. Yes, you could copy stuff to the HD and not worry about another program to do it, but that removes the auto-backup ability.

Not to mention things like compliance issues regarding offsite backup.

Hell, if we are just talking about how old people use stuff, then I don't see why people drive in cars. They are dangerous and old people forget how to use them all the time.

Also, I'm impressed that people confidently state that USB external HDs are good enough for backup.

That is incredibly secure and safe...what with it being right next to the computer that you are attempting to back up.

serial_crusher: What idiot would store their incriminating data on any cloud service without encrypting it first?

A large percentage of cloud backup services make a point to encrypt the data first before transmitting it. And, for HIPAA compliance, data needs to be encrypted in motion and at rest.

For passive backups like Dropbox/Drive/SkyDrive, I couldn't imagine just putting it up there in standard form.

serial_crusher: Doctor Jan Itor: It sounds like the data isn't actually encrypted, otherwise how would they have any access to it? You could just create a TrueCrypt partition file and put that in the cloud.

This. What idiot would store their incriminating data on any cloud service without encrypting it first?

Also, my non-lawyer interpretation of their license is that they need that kind of permission to enable the extra features that other services don't offer. create derivative works (such as those resulting from translations, adaptations or other changes we make so that your content works better with our Services)
So I'm reading that as translating text, resizing photos, maybe transcoding audio and video? None of that really sounds problematic to me. But, not being a lawyer, I don't know if the clause in parenthesis actually limits anything, or if it's just fluff and really they do have the right to create any derivative work?

I pretty much agree, but there is that line in there about "promoting"...

"The rights you grant in this license are for the limited purpose of operating, promoting, and improving our Services, and to develop new ones. "

I find it difficult to believe that actual earth humans would turn down a free service because the company might use one of their pictures in an ad. It's good to be concerned about privacy, but raging about Google Drive is much less productive than, say, raising awareness of CISPA on the grand scheme of things

djemonk: It's good to be concerned about privacy, but raging about Google Drive is much less productive than, say, raising awareness of CISPA on the grand scheme of things

We're going to need wikipedia to shut down for a day before people get really mad.

ghare: Screw it, I don't like people looking at my stuff.

To be fair it doesn't sound like Google has a team of interns going through your emails and hotlinking words for a content-based advertisement system.

way south: My prediction when this whole cloud thing started was that it would be a great way to backup valuable data and everyone would love it because of how portable it made their computing experience... Right on up until some guys child porn got hand delivered to the Feds by the guys running the system.


The child porn situation never actually crossed my mind, but you raise a good point. With current laws, wouldn't the hosting company be liable if they were hosting it? Theoretically, it would almost be a legal necessity for them to inspect the files for illegal content...

BumpInTheNight: Wow, this service is going to fail and its going to fail spectacularly. I already knew I wouldn't trust google for a task like this but I didn't realize they'd just come out and confirm it for me.

This is their universal Terms of Service. It states that specific service terms can override these terms. So far they don't have specific Drive terms of service. These were already known about, it shouldn't be such a surprise.

Also Google Apps (the paid version) has different terms of service that doesn't grant the rights to your content.

You know, for the princely sum of $130, you can buy a 2 TB external HDD (USB 3.0). That's pretty sufficient for my backup purposes.

serial_crusher: Doctor Jan Itor: It sounds like the data isn't actually encrypted, otherwise how would they have any access to it? You could just create a TrueCrypt partition file and put that in the cloud.

This. What idiot would store their incriminating data on any cloud service without encrypting it first?

Also, my non-lawyer interpretation of their license is that they need that kind of permission to enable the extra features that other services don't offer. create derivative works (such as those resulting from translations, adaptations or other changes we make so that your content works better with our Services)
So I'm reading that as translating text, resizing photos, maybe transcoding audio and video? None of that really sounds problematic to me. But, not being a lawyer, I don't know if the clause in parenthesis actually limits anything, or if it's just fluff and really they do have the right to create any derivative work?

Came to say this. My guess is that with 'phone' integration etc, the idea would be that you could upload movies/music to the cloud and then transcode/stream on a connected phone. They would need permission to access your files for this purpose.

Keep in mind that skydrive and dropbox have been around long enough to have people up-in-arms over their license agreements already.... Enough times that they've changed them to be clear and friendly. I seem to remember Dropbox having this exact same issue a year or two ago. I wouldn't be surprised if we see a "clarified" version from Google soon.

Nickninja: way south: My prediction when this whole cloud thing started was that it would be a great way to backup valuable data and everyone would love it because of how portable it made their computing experience... Right on up until some guys child porn got hand delivered to the Feds by the guys running the system.


The child porn situation never actually crossed my mind, but you raise a good point. With current laws, wouldn't the hosting company be liable if they were hosting it? Theoretically, it would almost be a legal necessity for them to inspect the files for illegal content...

Have their servers confiscated and the their bank accounts frozen?

chaddsfarkprefect: Apple has a Photostream where every picture you take gets uploaded and stored on Apple servers, then supposedly deleted at certain points (monthly/1,000 picture limit at any time). Until recently the user could not delete any of those photos.

1. Isn't it completely opt-in?

2. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought the user could always clear the stream... the new feature is that the user can now selectively clear it.

traylor: But your USB HDD can be lost or damaged. Tough choice indeed.



waterproof/fireproof safe with hard drive

/you can get a bigger one if you don't want people to carry it away

sno man: Then get two, keep the second one at your mom's house somewhere else, safe.
or maybe a safe... At least a fire & water proof box... $50ish bucks.

In exchange, you are risking flexibility and convenience. I mean, unless you are planning on retrieving the USB drive from your mom's house every other day to update the backup.

Burr: traylor: But your USB HDD can be lost or damaged. Tough choice indeed.

[lh5.googleusercontent.com image 90x90]

waterproof/fireproof safe with hard drive

/you can get a bigger one if you don't want people to carry it away

Or just encrypt your data and store it online. It is almost easier at that point.

sno man: I was leaning toward that being a secondary back-up...maybe weekly or bi-weekly. (with a kid of my own, grandma gets visits with that kind of regularity anyway.) I still think the fire & water box is a good idea too.

I don't know about that frequently. With clients, I usually get them to go through a multi-step process.

First, make a full company file backup of every damn thing you could possibly think of that you would need to run your company. QB files, internal documents, contracts, whatever. Everyone has heard the stories of companies that lose data and never recover, eventually going out of business. That backup gets made and put in a safety deposit box or some off-site safe that is ultra-secure. Update it once a year or once every six months.

Then, you use a combination of on-site and off-site backup that is quite a bit more flexible. External drive off the server or network drive or whatever for daily/weekly backups, a cloud service for auto-offsite backup.

There's really just no reason to firmly stand behind only ONE type of backup.

cgalant: serial_crusher: Doctor Jan Itor: It sounds like the data isn't actually encrypted, otherwise how would they have any access to it? You could just create a TrueCrypt partition file and put that in the cloud.

This. What idiot would store their incriminating data on any cloud service without encrypting it first?

Also, my non-lawyer interpretation of their license is that they need that kind of permission to enable the extra features that other services don't offer. create derivative works (such as those resulting from translations, adaptations or other changes we make so that your content works better with our Services)
So I'm reading that as translating text, resizing photos, maybe transcoding audio and video? None of that really sounds problematic to me. But, not being a lawyer, I don't know if the clause in parenthesis actually limits anything, or if it's just fluff and really they do have the right to create any derivative work?

Came to say this. My guess is that with 'phone' integration etc, the idea would be that you could upload movies/music to the cloud and then transcode/stream on a connected phone. They would need permission to access your files for this purpose.

Keep in mind that skydrive and dropbox have been around long enough to have people up-in-arms over their license agreements already.... Enough times that they've changed them to be clear and friendly. I seem to remember Dropbox having this exact same issue a year or two ago. I wouldn't be surprised if we see a "clarified" version from Google soon.

Well, they already said (gizmodo, i think) they plan to use things like your pics as embeds in ads (Facebook is already doing this).

Doctor Jan Itor: It sounds like the data isn't actually encrypted, otherwise how would they have any access to it? You could just create a TrueCrypt partition file and put that in the cloud.

You could, but kind of a pain in the ass to have to sync a huge TrueCrypt partition every time you change a 1KB document inside it.