Since the recent celebrity photo leak / Apple iCloud incident, many users have become more wary of the cloud and the cloud storage. The cloud can be safe a place for your data providing you take the necessary precautions to ensure that your cloud account is harder to breach.

We will start with the cloud option, local cloud. Local cloud might be an option that you might not be aware of. The cloud is normally described as banks of computers in data centres that can be anywhere in the world which are accessible 24×7. Local cloud systems are slightly different in that you can actually see and touch where your data is stored.

Local cloud solutions can be used one of the 3 following scenarios outlined below:

Scenario one
One or more portable hard disks are connected to your private network. These portable hard disks are housed in NAS enclosures which are linked into your network through network cable or wireless communication.

Scenario two
An older computer could be attached to the network and this is where you keep all your shared files, shared folders, your network printer attached and perhaps even your email server.

Scenario three
If you are a small business, you may not have a private network and the printer you use might be a WiFi one.  You back up your data to an external hard disk each and every evening.

In the first two scenarios, your local cloud is not really portable and there is a chance that if someone manages to get into your network, they can access your local cloud and all your information. If you have security software that blocks any unauthorised access and warns you of any attempted intrusions then you will be just fine, providing you act on the security alerts!

In the third scenario your local cloud is portable and your main worry is damage, misplacement and theft. There are various options that are available for the third scenario but there is one that will be of interest to people who are worried about damage.

The Sentry Safe QA 0121 is the world’s first and only fire resistant and waterproof multi-purpose data protection chest. You put your 2.5 inch hard disk into the chest which is then locked with a secure tubular key-lock, offering maximum protection. At the back of the chest is a USB cable which you can plug into your computer and then you can back up your files.

You can also store up to 60 CDs/DVDs.  A4 size documents, folders and binders can also be stored in the chest. The chest can be stored anywhere for safe keeping and as it is fire and water proof you don’t have to worry about damage or theft. The Sentry Safe QA 0121 can be purchased on Amazon.

As you can see the local cloud can offer you so much, heavily reducing damage and or theft. Also if you have an Apple device any photos stored in the iCloud are all also stored on your computer in a folder called iCloud Photos so you can save them to your Local Cloud too.