If you are going to use the cloud to share files with other people, it is important that you take into account a few factors. It is essential to maintain security and prevent information from leaking or files ending up in the wrong hands. Therefore, it is convenient to review the permissions, for example. Also check that you have everything ready for it to work well and avoid having files that could be dangerous for those who download them.
Cloud platforms there are many. We can name some like Google Drive, OneDrive or Dropbox. But choosing one of guarantees is always important, since there are times when we use a page that seems reliable, but in reality it is not and that can compromise our privacy.
What to check when sharing files online
One of the possibilities offered by the cloud is to share files with friends or family in a simple way. It is enough to host the content that we want to share and send the link or give access to the account. Quickly, the other person will be able to download that content to her device.
Check access permissions
Something fundamental is to review the access permissions well. You can upload a file to share it with someone and mistakenly make it public to anyone. That means that anyone, simply by having the link, could download, edit or delete that document that you have uploaded.
Ideally, you should grant permissions only to the person with whom you are going to share the content. Sometimes you can even set it to only download once. This will reduce the risk as much as possible.
Check that you have everything updated
Another point to keep in mind is to check that you have everything correctly updated. We can mention the cloud application, but also the operating system you use. This will help you make everything work properly and fix possible vulnerabilities that may be in the system.
This is key to maintaining security. Never use programs or systems that may be outdated and obsolete. That can lead to both short-term and long-term problems.
Make sure you don’t share viruses
Of course, you should check that what you are going to share does not have a virus. If you are going to upload a text document, for example, you can always scan it with an antivirus beforehand. With this you will avoid sharing a file that could be dangerous for the other person, in case your computer is infected.
Some cloud platforms, such as Google Drive, will track the files you upload to the platform. To some extent, they act as if it were an antivirus. This is useful to reduce the risk of sharing something that could be malicious.
Beware of limits
You should also look at the possible limits of the cloud platform you are using to share files. Maybe you can only share a maximum number of files or a maximum size and it crashes from there. Sometimes free platforms are going to have limits like this.
Therefore, check the limits well. Using the cloud has positive and negative points, and one of them is having certain limits when sharing files.
As you can see, using the cloud is something that is widespread. If you are going to share files with another person, it is important that you review what we have explained. In this way you will avoid problems, in addition to ensuring that the documents reach the recipient correctly. Choosing the service you are going to use well is also something to take into account.