Dropbox was started off by a MIT student, Drew Houston after he felt the need for a service that would allow him to easily access & share files. Ever since, Dropbox’s pace of growth has been magnificent. With over 500 million users around the world, it has come a long way from the time it was first launched in 2007.
People can easily store their files online and can access it from anywhere & on any device which has Dropbox installed in it. However, there are certain security concerns that the users must pay a heed to.
What Are The Possible Issues?
- Data Retention – Users must be extra careful about the data they provide as when they sign up, they are required to fill information like username, password, phone number etc. which are then retained by the company. The data is retained by Dropbox even if you delete your account. This is done to comply with legal obligations.
- 3rd Party Logins – If you are using your Google account or other 3rd party portals for logging in Dropbox, people with access to your Google login can also gain access to your Dropbox files.
- Data Sync: Improper syncing of data on multiple devices can increase chances of data being accessed by other people. Let alone personal security, it has brought about serious security threat to employees and organizations following BYOD culture as IT department has little control over files that their employees sync with their Dropbox account.
How To Make Using Dropbox Safer
- Enable Two-Step Verification – Normally a person fills in a password to login. However, passwords may be weak & easy to hack. Thus to overcome this lag, two factor authentication is a great alternative. It ensures that a code is sent on your mobile phone every time you log into your Dropbox account. This makes it secure as it requires you to add the one time password sent on your device.
- Unlink Old Devices – The primary benefit of Dropbox is that you can access your files from any device & from any part of the world, as they are saved online. With time, we change our devices but our Dropbox account stays linked with our old devices too. This poses a serious security threat. So, it is important to keep a tab over the devices it is linked to. If there are some devices which are no longer in use, then delink your account from them.
- Set Up Email Notification – You can make necessary setting onto your email account and it shall notify you of any activity in your Dropbox.
- Manage App Access – For better Dropbox experience, you may allow third party apps or device data storage to grant access or “sync” to your Dropbox account. Overtime, one often forgets which apps were granted permission to access your account. If there is an app which is no longer being used by you then it is best to rescind access to such an app.
- Encrypt Your Files – You can use third party solutions to encrypt your files before uploading them on Dropbox for an additional layer of security.
- Use Strong Passwords – The most common way to protect your data stored on Dropbox is to use strong passwords that are difficult to guess and hack by cyber- criminals. This way you move a step forward in ensuring security of your private & confidential data.
To get more information on IT Security, call Centex Technologies at (254) 213-4740.