What is the Cloud?

December 31, 2015 10:42 pm

I’m sure that if you clicked on this blog it’s because you are trying to figure out exactly what this “cloud” thing is when it comes to the internet. Sure, you may know it exists through Apple and Google, but what is it exactly and how does it even work?

Well, according to CNN Money, the cloud is software and services that run on the Internet instead of your computer. With it you have access to any files stored on it no matter where you are. Essentially, the cloud is a network hard drive. There are many services you are probably familiar with that are cloud services. Some of the more well-known entities being iCloud, Google Drive, and Amazon Drive, but did you know that DropBox, Netflix, Flickr, and similar services are also cloud services? Well, they are.

With the cloud you can have access to many other things, like movies and shows. If your laptop was dying and you needed to continue your movie/show on a different device, without missing the spot you were left on, this can be possible through the cloud. How awesome is that?

“So, where is the cloud? Is it even an actual place?”

Yes! The cloud is a physical place. Whenever you are saving a file to the mysterious cloud, the file transfers through wires into various servers—like Apple or Google—in distant places.

“Wait, multiple servers have access to my files?”

Yes, and this is where it gets a little tricky. Because the files are sent to various servers, there are many copies being made for each one. If you wanted to delete a file forever, sometimes you can’t get all the copies deleted. In other words, they could still exist in another company’s server. That’s not all. Depending on the company’s terms and conditions, you may or may not actually own or control the data you send out.

“Does this mean hackers can get into my files through a cloud company?”

Essentially, yes they can. This is a scary thing to think about especially since many health care providers and insurance companies, among other businesses, store your personal information on the cloud. This is how celebrity pictures get hacked—through their Smartphone’s cloud, usually.

“So how do I protect my data being saved in the cloud?”

Sure enough, there is a solution for everything. Before storing your data to the cloud make sure to use encryptions for each one, this way your files’ information will be kept safe while still being able to access them.

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