Digital Chaos Control

Tag: cloud

Be Sure That Your Memories are Safe
In the above still from an episode of the TV show “The Middle”, Sue Heck had accidently deleted all the family photos. No one had taken on the responsibility of backing up the computer and keeping those memories safe. (The Hecks probably could have taken the computer to a data recovery tech, but who wants to have to do that?)

In this article in the Guardian, Amy Malloy wrote about losing the photographic record of her 20s, including all the photos of her late husband: I Lost a Decade of Photographs.

You many think that losing your memories won’t happen to you, but don’t be too sure.

Unexpected things can trip us up, such as not double-checking that your photos are there, like Amy did.

Here are some examples:
- If you’re using iCloud Photo Library, it works the same way as other cloud services. If you delete photos on your iPhone, for example, you’re deleting from your Mac as well.
- If your cloud service gets hacked, then your files could all get deleted. (Make sure that you’re using a strong password.)
If you’re sure that you’re backing up your computer and saving your memories, then make sure that you’re really sure.

Today, I had a client ask me to check her TimeMachine backup, and it was turned off! She had no idea how it had happened…

Sync your mobile devices to your computer, back up your computer regularly, and sign up for cloud backup as extra insurance.

Make sure that you read my blog post on backups here: What Everyone Ought to Know About Backups.

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May 17, 2016
3 Ways to Keep Your Digital Life Organized
Have you ever found yourself wasting time and getting frustrated because you can’t find something on your computer?

And what if you don’t have your computer with you? Can you pull up that photo on your mobile device that you’d like to show off?

Wouldn’t it be nice if you were so efficient and organized that you don’t even have to think about how to find something?

You may not be able to get to the level of efficiency that you’re working like an automaton, but there’s probably lots of room for improvement. If you’re someone who has file icons littering your desktop or hundreds of photos still on your smartphone and not organized in any way, then read on!

Start with defining your organized system.

Your operating system creates some high-level organization for you – a Documents library, a Photos library, a Videos library, and a Music library. When you save a document, import photos, or purchase music, these folders are initially used by default by your applications. (However, your applications will usually change the default to the last folder used, so if you’ve saved something to your desktop, you may be saving everything after that to the desktop without realizing it.) Use these default folders as a start for your organization system.

You have three options when organizing your documents:
1. Create file folders by function. For example, you may have a file folder for Personal, with sub-folders for Finance, Kids, etc. You may then have another top-level folder for Business, with sub-folders for Clients, Marketing, Taxes, etc.
1. Create file folders by type – for example, a folder called Marketing, with sub-folders for Presentations, Brochures, etc.
1. Use a tool that organizes by function, but that combines documents, media, emails, etc. Evernote is a good example of this and you can read about it here: User Evernote For a New Level of Organization.
Some software programs that work with media (music, photos, and videos) may use libraries (see my blog post here about libraries: What Everyone Ought to Know About Digital Music and Photos) that contain information about the media (such as keywords, album, genre, etc.) as well as the media file itself. It’s best to work within those programs to organize the media. For example, if you use the Photos program on the Macintosh, you can create folders and albums for your photos. You can also assign keywords to help you search for those photos later.

Once you have a good organization in place, make sure that you use that system whenever you download or save a new document and whenever you add new media. If you use a cloud service like Dropbox or iCloud Drive, then you’ll also be able to pull up whatever you need on your mobile device as well – just create your organization system in the Dropbox folder or iCloud Drive folder. (You can find your Dropbox folder listed under “Favorites” in a Windows Explorer window, and your Dropbox or iCloud Drive folder under “Favorites” in a Macintosh Finder window.)

Here’s how to check that you have enough storage space in your cloud service:
- Windows: Click on the Dropbox icon in the far right of your taskbar and then click on the arrow to the right of the gear icon.
- Macintosh:
  - Dropbox – click on the Dropbox icon in the menu bar at the top and then click on the arrow to the right of the gear icon.
  - iCloud Drive – you can check your iCloud storage space by going to System Preferences and iCloud, then view your available storage at the bottom.
Remember that your cloud storage ALSO takes up the same amount of space on your computer because it’s a cloud synchronization service, not a backup service. Also remember that deleting a file on one device will delete it from the cloud and from all of your other devices. (iCloud Photo Library works the same way.)

You should also be keeping an eye on your storage space. You can read my blog post here: 6 Tips for Managing Your Computer Storage.

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May 11, 2016
Here are 3 ways that I use Evernote for a productive digital life
Have you heard of Evernote?

It’s a note-taking application, but it’s got many uses:
- Create notes that can be shared between your devices
- Create to-do lists
- Organize files into notebooks
- Scan documents and make them searchable
- “Clip” and save webpages
The list goes on and on…

There are tons of articles on how to use Evernote for productivity. There are even Evernote “ambassadors” who hold seminars on how to use it for your business.

So I’ll jump in with my two cents. Here are the 3 ways that I use Evernote:

Note-taking: I use Evernote to take notes on my smartphone

If you’re comfortable typing on your smartphone keyboard, or if you’re using a tablet, then Evernote would work great for you too. It’s similar in use to Apple Notes, but Evernote supports not just iOS, but also Android. I do suggest using a Swype keyboard instead of typing.

Evernote syncs with the cloud so that your notes are available on all of your devices. I have Evernote installed on my desktop PC, my notebook PC, my MacBook, and my smartphone. Notes that I take on my smartphone are synced with all of those devices.

Client Management: I use Evernote to organize my client information.

I create a notebook for each client. Into that notebook goes the notes, files, and emails related to that client.

Webpages: I use Evernote to save interesting web pages that I come across.

I tag these pages when I save them so that I can find them later. This is a great way to do research on the web, save your research, and organize it. You can also target notebooks for your web pages so that research is organized in the right place.

If you want to know more about using Evernote to help your productivity, Digital Chaos Control can help!
November 26, 2013
How Do I Know if my Cloud Storage is Secure?

I am a big fan of cloud storage services. It’s magic to me, the way that the photos that I take with my cell phone appear on my PC when I get home, without having to plug anything in. And to have all of my work from my desktop PC available to me on my laptop.

My data is available to me alone unless I choose to share it with someone. Most cloud services encrypt the data during transfer to/from the Internet (“SSL” encryption – you’ll know it’s encrypted because of the “s” in “https”), and then again when it’s stored on their servers. So if a hacker gets into their servers, unless they can crack the encryption, my data is still private.

The main risk is if my password gets compromised. Then anyone with my user id and password could access all of my data. If you’re concerned about cloud security, then it’s important to have a strong password, and to change it often.

You’ve probably heard that term before, but what does “strong” password mean? How long does it need to be? Do you need special characters? Numbers? How many? Do you need a different password for every cloud service? How do you remember all of those passwords?

It’s a complex subject. And unfortunately, the recommendations for “strong” passwords keep changing, as the hackers become more sophisticated.

I recommend using a password manager. Let the experts worry about it. A password manager is a plug-in for your web browser. You can use it to generate a password and it will indicate how “strong” that password is. Once you use that password to log into your cloud service through your web browser, then you can store that password in your “password vault” that the plug-in supplies.

The password manager is itself a cloud service, so you need a password for it. But it’s the only password that you really need to remember for all of your cloud services. I start with a word that has some personal meaning to me, add a character between syllables, a few numbers at the end (that I’m sure that I’ll remember), and then use the word in a complete phrase.

Password managers use a extra level of security for their cloud service. Your password vault gets encrypted locally, on your own computer, and then transferred and stored on the cloud server. When you log into the service through your web browser plugin, the reverse process happens – the password vault is transferred from the cloud down to your PC, and then decrypted.

I use LastPass as my password manager. Other people that I know have recommended OnePassword, which works similarly.

I believe that you can relax about your cloud security if you use a password manager and if you change your passwords regularly. The convenience of using a cloud service far surpassing the slight risk of having your privacy compromised. However I do not use cloud services for financial data, nor do I store my passwords for financial sites in my password manager. I suspect that it would be fine to do so, but I’m just not quite willing to risk it…

If you need help setting up your cloud service or password manager, Digital Chaos Control can help! Contact us today.

October 29, 2013
What Everyone Ought to Know About Automatic Local and Cloud Backups
Your digital data is crucially important to the quality of your life. Imagine losing all of the photos of your children, or your client information, or your financial information.

Most of us know about backups and that we should be doing them regularly. Did you know that there continues to be new and easier ways to automate the process?

I recommend three copies of your data:
1. On your computer storage
2. On external storage media
3. In the cloud
Use software to automate your backups.

Software also allows you to restore your data to your computer should you ever need to. You can use “Time Machine” on the Mac, “Windows Backup and Restore” on Windows 7, “File History” on Windows 8/10, or the software that comes with your backup device. You should have external media, such as an external hard drive, connected to your computer at the times of your scheduled backups.

You can archive your important memories to save space on your computer. Move your photo library to external storage or cloud storage. Make a second copy in a different location for backup. Then create a new photo library on your computer that you’re updating with your recent photos.

If you use a cloud sync service such as iCloud Drive or Dropbox, keep in mind that if you delete files from one device, then you are also deleting them from your other devices.

There are backup services that specialize in scheduled, automated backups to the cloud.

These services tend to be more reasonably priced than the cloud sync services mentioned above for large amounts of data. Also, if you have data stored only on external media, then a cloud backup service can support automatic backups of those devices.

Here are some cloud backup services:

Price: $72/year for unlimited storage for one computer, including attached thumb drives, $112/year if you’re including an external hard drive.

Price depends on the amount of storage space. Supports external hard drives at an additional cost.

Price: $60/year for unlimited storage. Supports external hard drives and thumb drives.

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September 24, 2013
How to Stream Music That You’ve Ripped to Your Mobile Device

If you have a collection of CDs that you’ve ripped into digital form, then you’re probably enjoying the music on your PC. But do you know how to also stream music that you’ve ripped on your smartphone or MP3 player?

You may be using Windows Media Player or iTunes to manually sync some playlists to your portable device. There is a way to stream music from your entire library anywhere that you are, as long as you’re connected to a wireless network.

iTunes Match and Google Music are cloud storage services that allow you to stream music. (I’ve summarized these services below.)

After you sign up for a service and install the application on your PC, you start by “matching” your music library with the available tracks offered by the service. The application will upload only the tracks that don’t match to the cloud storage.

The next step is to install the mobile app on your device and log into the service. Now you’ll be able to “stream” music from your entire library to your device!

Here are some details on the services:

iTunes Match: $25/year; no storage limit; up to 100,000 songs can be matched

Google Music: free; 50,000 song maximum

If you need help managing your music library, Digital Chaos Control can help!

September 10, 2013
Photo Sharing

In this age of digital photography, we generate tons of photos – our families, pets, vacations, school field trips, concerts, parties; the list goes on and on. The old days of getting our photos printed and into binders and scrapbooks are largely gone. It used to be fun to pull out the old photo albums and sit down with family and friends to laugh at crazy poses and faces, and to experience a shared emotion and memory of those who have passed on.

We still have our photo albums, but they’re on our computers. And fortunately, there’s lot of ways to share our digital photo albums.

The closest things that we have to our old binders that we can sit down and share are our portable devices – our smart phones, tablets, and laptops. It is possible to duplicate your entire photo library on a portable device if you have enough storage, but for most of us, there are just too many photos to fit. We have to manage our photo albums on our devices.

When I travel to visit family, I go through my computer photo albums, and I pick which albums I want to bring with me. The next step to to sync those albums with my device. There are several ways to do this:

1. Copy files – You can copy the files from the albums that you choose to your devices through USB, or to a memory card or flash drive that you move to the portable device. This is an easy option if you’re comfortable with computers and peripheral devices.

2. USB Sync – You can use software to sync specific albums to your device. If you connect your iPhone or ipad, for example, through USB, you can use iTunes to select and sync albums. This is a great option if you use Apple devices and you’re familiar with iTunes.

3. Cloud Sync – You can use a cloud sync service such as Dropbox or Sugar Sync to select and sync specific photo albums. These cloud services are very easy to use. You’ll have to have the software installed on both your computer and your portable device.

4. Cloud Photo Sharing – You can use a cloud photo sharing service such as Flickr or Shutterfly to upload and share specific photo albums. Once you’ve created an account on Flickr, you can connect with it through iPhoto or Windows Live Photo Gallery and easily upload photos. You can install a Flickr app on your portable device and you’ll be able to view your albums and display slide shows whenever you have internet connectivity. You can also share the link with friends and family.

5. Social Networks – You can use a social network such as Facebook or Google+ to upload and share specific photo albums. Your photos on Facebook won’t be full resolution, but this is a great option to show photos if you’re comfortable with Facebook and want to share only with your Facebook friends. You can also tag people in your photos.

If you need help organizing and tagging photos, syncing with your devices, and/or setting up cloud services, Digital Chaos Control can help! Contact us today.

July 23, 2013
Do You Need a Cloud Service?

You may have heard of “The Cloud”. It’s a term that basically just means Internet storage.

Your email, for example, is a cloud service. Your email is stored on an email server, and delivered to your device(s) over the Internet. If your PC dies, or you lose your laptop, your email goes on accumulating on the server, and you can download all of the new email as well as all of the previous email, when you get back on-line.

So that’s pretty convenient, right? Why not offer a service that does that for all of your documents, and your photos too? That way you get backup and easy retrieval when you need it. Hey, maybe you can even sync all of that data on your desktop, your laptop, and your iPad too. Wouldn’t that be cool?

Happily, there are many cloud back-up services available that will do just that. They will automatically backup your designated data and sync that data with your other devices.

So which cloud service to use?

The first step in choosing a cloud service is to determine is how much storage you need. If you only want to store your important documents then a free service will be fine for you, but if you have tons of music files that you ripped from your CDs and also thousands of digital photos, then you may need a good deal of storage.

You also want a service with the right features for you. For example, you may want to put everything in one designated folder and have it automatically backed up, or you may want a service that can sync your existing folder structure. And the software needs to be compatible with all of your devices.

Here’s a summary of some of the cloud services. All of these services support Mac, PC, and iOS, and all except iCloud support Android.

iCloud:

Storage: 5GB free; $9.99/month for 1TB

Features: automatic backup of iPhone and iPad; automatic sync of calendars, notes, and contacts; automatic sync of all content stored on iCloud Drive; automatic sync of all photos stored in iCloud Photo Library

Google Drive:

Storage: 15GB free; $9.99/month for 1TB

Features: Automatic sync of all content stored on Google Drive; automatic upload for mobile photos

Microsoft OneDrive:

Storage: 5GB free, $1.99/month for 50GB; $6.99/month for 1TB of personal storage when subscribing to Office 365

Features: Automatic sync of all content stored on OneDrive; automatic upload for mobile photos

Dropbox:

Storage: 2GB free; $9.99/month for 1TB

Features: Automatic sync of all content stored in the Dropbox folder; automatic upload for mobile photos

SugarSync:

Storage: 5GB free; $9.99/month for 250GB

Features: Automatic sync of all content in designated folders; automatic upload for mobile photos

There are also dedicated services for music and photos if you don’t want to pay for an all-in-one service. I’ll be writing about those services in an upcoming post, so check back soon!

Need help with cloud services? Contact me.

May 21, 2013