Why shouldn't you trust Gmail and the "cloud computing"?

radtux · 14 Oct 2011, 12:54 AM

There is an excellent account of a journalist whose wife lost the access to Gmail, her contacts spammed and all her data was lost. He was lucky to know the top dogs in Google and managed to get the data back.

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/...ngle_page=true

Not everyone is as lucky as this dude is. I lost 5 years worth of my emails, stored data and what not. Although, it could not be recovered, what broke my trust in Google was the lack of support; beyond their automated emails. The damned company, hell bent on keeping every bit of your online signature, cannot respond properly to the genuine concerns.

Nevertheless, the message outlined here is to stay away from Google's properties. There is never a guarantee that your data would be safe for ever, but I store my mail in multiple back ups, both offline and elsewhere.

It's worth the hassle.

FMRocks · 18 Oct 2011, 05:55 AM

Well, there is no such thing as absolute security for your data, contacts, emails, documents or anything else. Doing what you are doing now, making multiple backups, online and offline, is the best idea, of course. But remember that most people will never do it. Most people do not have the time to, or the technical know-how, etc. When it comes to the average consumer, cloud computing and online storage does seem to have worked well. It is far more safe than cost effective than having to keep a separate hard drive backup. You can fry your external hard drive, the multiple layers of Google servers, not so much.

radtux · 18 Oct 2011, 09:31 PM

When cars were made, people had to go out to learn them. Howsoever a car may be technically advanced, if one has to drive, one has to learn it. Ditto for the "technical aspect". Being computer illiterate myself couple of years ago, I had to re-learn the ropes.

The huge article also lists the lack to technical support by Google; it is simply not geared for that.

King Of Email · 19 Oct 2011, 07:57 PM

If you want adequate security and freedom from theft and misuse, I'd suggest storing important info and emails offline instead of trusting it to the cloud, ie: online storage. For non-essential data and casual use, "cloud computing" is acceptable and convenient. However, what bothers me about "the cloud" is the same thing that bothers me about social networks: I don't trust strangers with my personal data or trust them to not copy it, sell it, pass it along to others, drop a dime on me to the government, or simply delete or lose it. Also since the price of memory has fallen drastically and shrunk in size, a high density thumb drive can hold a lot of information, pictures, music, videos, etc. Even if I did have to resort to online storage for important data and files, I'd prefer a straight up, bona fide online storage service that stores files in their complete, native format but such services are not cheap and the free side is limited.

14 Oct 2011, 12:54 AM	#1
radtux Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Posts: 145	Why shouldn't you trust Gmail and the "cloud computing"? There is an excellent account of a journalist whose wife lost the access to Gmail, her contacts spammed and all her data was lost. He was lucky to know the top dogs in Google and managed to get the data back. http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/...ngle_page=true Not everyone is as lucky as this dude is. I lost 5 years worth of my emails, stored data and what not. Although, it could not be recovered, what broke my trust in Google was the lack of support; beyond their automated emails. The damned company, hell bent on keeping every bit of your online signature, cannot respond properly to the genuine concerns. Nevertheless, the message outlined here is to stay away from Google's properties. There is never a guarantee that your data would be safe for ever, but I store my mail in multiple back ups, both offline and elsewhere. It's worth the hassle.

19 Oct 2011, 07:57 PM	#4
King Of Email Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 622	The cloud vs. the ground If you want adequate security and freedom from theft and misuse, I'd suggest storing important info and emails offline instead of trusting it to the cloud, ie: online storage. For non-essential data and casual use, "cloud computing" is acceptable and convenient. However, what bothers me about "the cloud" is the same thing that bothers me about social networks: I don't trust strangers with my personal data or trust them to not copy it, sell it, pass it along to others, drop a dime on me to the government, or simply delete or lose it. Also since the price of memory has fallen drastically and shrunk in size, a high density thumb drive can hold a lot of information, pictures, music, videos, etc. Even if I did have to resort to online storage for important data and files, I'd prefer a straight up, bona fide online storage service that stores files in their complete, native format but such services are not cheap and the free side is limited.

18 Oct 2011, 05:55 AM	#2
FMRocks The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: FM does NOT refer to Fastmail (anymore). Posts: 4,034	Well, there is no such thing as absolute security for your data, contacts, emails, documents or anything else. Doing what you are doing now, making multiple backups, online and offline, is the best idea, of course. But remember that most people will never do it. Most people do not have the time to, or the technical know-how, etc. When it comes to the average consumer, cloud computing and online storage does seem to have worked well. It is far more safe than cost effective than having to keep a separate hard drive backup. You can fry your external hard drive, the multiple layers of Google servers, not so much.

18 Oct 2011, 09:31 PM	#3
radtux Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Posts: 145	When cars were made, people had to go out to learn them. Howsoever a car may be technically advanced, if one has to drive, one has to learn it. Ditto for the "technical aspect". Being computer illiterate myself couple of years ago, I had to re-learn the ropes. The huge article also lists the lack to technical support by Google; it is simply not geared for that.