How to Keep Drive, OneDrive and Dropbox Safe and Private

Cloud storage has become very important for the daily lives of private users and companies. There are many options that we have at our disposal, although three of the most popular and used are Google Drive, Dropbox and OneDrive . In this article we are going to see how we can improve security and privacy in these services. These are very important factors to avoid problems.

Security and privacy in the cloud, something fundamental

When we talk about the cloud, we refer to storage services where we can save all kinds of documents and files. There we can store information and personal data, content of our work, share tools with other users and, ultimately, use it as a virtual disk.

Keep Drive, OneDrive and Dropbox Safe and Private

All of this makes it essential that security is present. We cannot make mistakes and that possible intruders access the content or may in some way infect our systems. Likewise, privacy is a factor that must be present and not compromise our data and information.

There are certain aspects that we must take into account when we are going to use Drive, Dropbox and OneDrive, although we can also apply it to other similar services.

How to improve security on Google Drive, Dropbox and OneDrive

First of all we are going to start talking about security on Google Drive, Dropbox and OneDrive. All three are services widely used today and have tools for mobiles and computers, as well as a web version. They have a great integration and that means that we can use very varied programs in our day to day.

Strong password

Something essential in any type of service that we use on the Internet is to protect it correctly with a good password . In this sense, when we are going to use Google Drive, Dropbox and OneDrive we must create a key that is unique in each case, that is strong and complex. It must contain letters (uppercase and lowercase), numbers, and other special symbols. All this at random and with an acceptable length.

This password will represent the first security barrier that will prevent the entry of intruders.

Activate 2FA

Additionally, beyond the password that we use, we will also be able to activate two-step authentication . This is something that is increasingly present in more Internet services and how could it be otherwise we can also use it in these popular cloud storage platforms.

In the case of Google Drive we have to open our Google account , enter the Security section, Sign in to Google and there we will see Verification in two steps. We must activate it. We follow the steps and configure it as we want.

Verificación en dos pasos en Google

As for Dropbox it is very similar. This time we log in to the official website , we click on the avatar or icon at the top right, Settings, Security and Two-step verification, we activate it and follow the steps.

Activar 2FA en Dropbox

Finally we have the option of OneDrive. Here we will have to log in to our Microsoft account , we go to the security section and there we click Activate two-step verification, which appears on the right and above.

2FA en OneDrive

Download from official sources

Of course another very important point to keep Drive, Dropbox and OneDrive safe is to use only official applications . We need to download from the legitimate page to avoid third party sites that may not be safe.

It is an interesting way to avoid malware and malfunction. It is true that we can find third-party applications with functions that can serve in our day to day, but we could also put security at risk.

Therefore, our advice is always to download this type of program from official sources, but it must also be applied to possible add-ons that they may have.

Encrypt files

The possibility of encrypting files before uploading them to the Internet is very important for our security. Let’s say we need to share documents with other users and we are going to upload them to one of these platforms. We can previously use tools to encrypt them and in this way gain security.

Falsa herramienta para descifrar ransomware

Apply permissions

These services allow us to easily share documents and files between users. For example we can upload a folder with text files and documents of all kinds. If we don’t want other users to be able to edit them, delete information or copy content, we can apply read-only permissions , for example.

It is important to apply the permissions correctly to avoid problems that affect our security. We don’t want any intruder to delete our work, for example.

Do not access public links without contrast

On many occasions we find links placed on any web page or that even reach us by email. Those links could contain insecure files that could be a security problem for our systems.

It is important not to access those links. We must avoid errors such as downloading documents without contrast and without knowing if they are really safe. The security tools that we have installed to protect ourselves also come into play here.

How to improve privacy in Drive, Dropbox and OneDrive

Security is very important, but so is privacy . Preventing our data and files from being free on the net, accessible to anyone, is something fundamental.

Make files private

The three options allow us to configure the permissions of these files . We can make them visible to anyone or only those to whom we give permissions. A way to protect our documents and files that we have stored in Drive, Dropbox and OneDrive.

Privacy is an important factor and having documents available on the web can cause our personal information to be leaked. Therefore, it is always advisable to make these documents private and only share them with those who we really want.

Delete documents when they are not needed

Another way to improve privacy is to delete files when we are no longer going to use them. For example, if we have shared a folder full of photos from a trip, once the other person has downloaded them we can delete the content.

With this we avoid that in the future, in the event of a leak, our files are in danger. It is interesting to always maintain privacy.

Take care of the permissions with third applications

It is common for this type of platform to link the services with others from third parties. A way to be able to read documents with other tools or view images, for example.

Now these third party programs may not be safe. They could affect our privacy. We should always grant permissions only to apps we trust.