Founded in 2007, the file hosting service Dropbox has taken the cloud storage world by storm. Competing against companies like Box and Google Drive, continual growth and development of the company has pushed it into the spotlight of the industry. With more than 200 million users worldwide, the Dropbox app can be integrated with other services seamlessly, which makes it a standout service. In fact, there are more than 300,000 applications that can be downloaded and incorporated with the cloud storage service.
From productivity to organization to increased security, there is an app for everything that can sync with Dropbox. However, NSA spying, iCloud hacks and many other data breaches in recent history have shed particular light on the security of cloud storage. Current and potential customers are more skeptical than ever before about how safe their stored content actually is. As a result, they are specifically looking for ways to ensure content like this remains safe in the cloud:
- Photos
- Videos
- Documents
- Forms
- Sensitive Information
Past the standard security that Dropbox provides, subscribers can also use secondary apps to make the service more secure. Individuals that store personal or sensitive information in the cloud can only benefit from addition security when it comes to protecting against a hack, breach or simply theft of digital data. Business that keep private information or crucial day-to-day files in the cloud can also take advantage of these apps and improve the confidence of their employees and clients.
BoxCryptor
There are three apps specifically that can link to Dropbox and be used easily for peace of mind. BoxCryptor encrypts content before it is uploaded to the cloud service. No matter if the customer is using:
- Windows
- Mac
- iOS
- Windows Phone
- Android
- Google Chrome
- Blackberry
Data can be quickly encrypted. For anyone storing sensitive data or a company that keep critical business records in the cloud, BoxCryptor is a great addition to Dropbox because encrypted data can only be accessed and deciphered by the original owner.
The service creates a digital drive on a computer that lets users encrypt files locally. Each file is individually encrypted using AES-256 and RSA encryption algorithms. Doing this before uploading them to the cloud ensures that the content can’t be downloaded, read or distributed by anyone other than the intended subscriber. BoxCryptor is free for personal use and has special pricing for businesses that want to safely store content through Dropbox.
Even though content stored in the cloud is seemingly secure, a majority of lost information is the result of user error. Hitting the wrong button or selecting the wrong file can delete a document forever. Luckily, there’s LockBox and Mover, two apps that work with Dropbox to make sure that information is never lost.
LockBox
LockBox is an independent backup system that protects against all forms of data loss including the more frequent subscriber error, but also hacking and deliberate deletion by an unauthorized user. After installing this app and syncing it with Dropbox, the user picks a destination folder that becomes locked. A password must be correctly entered to access the data that has been moved into this folder.
Mover
Mover transfers and copies files from Dropbox to its internal cloud-based servers for an extra layer of backup protection. Even if a file is accidentally deleted from the original cloud app, it can still exist in Mover for recovery. Mover can also backup:
- WordPress
- Joomla
- Drupal
Along with a few other websites. This app works across almost every platform and device for seamless integration. A basic account is free of charge, with a more complex and in-depth version available for $15 per month. A corporate backup service for 5 to 5,000 Dropbox subscribers can be purchased for a higher rate.
In The End…
Encryption and additional backup are two great ways to make a Dropbox account more secure. BoxCryptor, LockBox and Mover can all be downloaded for Apple or Android and linked to a Dropbox account, so stored data is more secure but still easily accessible. Each service has its own perks and extra offerings. Exploring security options is never a bad idea, especially in today’s world of data hacks and accidental, permanent deletion.