SECURITY - ANTI-MALWARE - 16.03.2018

Protect your data in the cloud

Weaknesses

To protect your online data, you should pay specific attention to two potential weak spots - your data traffic, e.g. from your computer to a cloud server and the actual data storage.

Data traffic

Public Wi-Fi. For security reasons, it’s best to avoid using public hotspots. If you have no other option, make as much use as possible of HTTPS connections and configure your mobile device so that it doesn’t automatically reconnect to a previously used Wi-Fi network.

The safest solution is a VPN connection, and preferably one which doesn’t save your details. You can find a free VPN solution with TunnelBear ( https://www.tunnelbear.com ), but don’t forget that free services are generally slower.

HTTPS. Even on a desktop computer it’s best to surf the web through a secure HTTPS connection. Many well-known services automatically ensure that your browser switches to HTTPS, but to be on the safe side you can install the free plug-in HTTPS Everywhere ( https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere - for Chrome, Firefox and Opera.

E-mail. To send encrypted e-mail messages safely you can use a digital certificate, but both you and the recipient should have one. Plus, the implementation of such a certificate isn’t always simple. For encrypting individual messages, it’s a better idea to use an e-mail service such as the Swiss ProtonMail ( https://protonmail.com ) or the German Tutanota ( https://tutanota.com ).

Chat. The most popular chat services (such as WhatsApp and Snapchat) encrypt your messages by default. Note. Facebook Messenger does not apply encryption from sender to recipient by default. To configure manually open a conversation, tap the “I” button in the top right of the conversation and select Go to Secret Conversation .

Data storage

Cloud storage. Most online storage services encrypt your data but store the encryption key themselves. The free Cryptomator ( https://cryptomator.org - for Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android) encrypts the data locally, in the synchronisation folder of your cloud storage service, while you store the encryption key yourself. You create digital vaults in the synchronisation folder and they will appear as virtual drives in Windows Explorer.

Cloud services. It’s a good idea to regularly inspect which cloud services you’ve linked to your Google account ( https://myaccount.google.com/permissions ) or your Facebook account (go to Facebook and choose Settings ; Apps ). It’s best to delete all superfluous accounts. A site such as Justdelete.me ( http://backgroundchecks.org/justdeleteme ) can be very helpful in this regard - it gives instructions and links to sign out of a wide variety of web services.

2-Factor Authentication (2FA). To prevent unwanted access to your online accounts, use a strong password. An even safer solution is to enable 2FA or 2-Factor Authentication. As well as a password, this type of access requires an additional code received via text message. Most popular web services now already support 2FA.