Dropbox: 7 Apps To Add On
Dropbox backs up your important files, but that's just a start. These apps work alongside the cloud service to boost security, streamline workflow, and more.
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Dropbox can do much more than just back up files. The cloud-based storage service has more than 200 million personal users and 4 million business accounts, and it functions as a multi-faceted office (or personal) assistant. However, no technology is an island; applications that work in concert with Dropbox open up interesting new options.
Commercial cloud providers such as Dropbox provide convenient file storage, but one solution does not fit all types of data. Use of the cloud is not a good long-term storage solution for certain research data or confidential information.
"One thing many cloud users don't realize when using Dropbox is the fact that the encryption keys are stored on the server side rather than the client side, leaving a user's data vulnerable to data breaches," Rick Harvey, CTO at Lockbox an encryption expert, told us. "If you don't hold the keys on your server, the data isn't yours anymore."
A recent Forrester research paper (subscription required) noted, "Every day, enterprises send critical data to SaaS providers without any plan for how they will back up the data and restore it. Only when they experience data loss do they ask the question, 'Who is responsible for backing up my data?' It's time for [infrastructure and operations] leaders to stop leaving the door open to data loss and start proactively protecting cloud data -- before it's too late."
Another issue with storage solutions such as Dropbox is the "drop it and forgot it" syndrome. Users still need to manage all their files and remember to save updated versions consistently to the cloud. If someone makes changes to the original file but does not remember to upload it, no one will have access to the latest version. As Backblaze founder and CEO Gleb Budman told me, human nature being what it is, if you lose your computer, it is doubtful that all up-to-date, user-generated files will be saved to Dropbox.
Applications can work with Dropbox to help automate, organize, and streamline business processes. With more than 100,000 apps connected to Dropbox, you will find a wide variety: Bloggers can automate the process of archiving their posts, security-sensitive users can encrypt files, and people overwhelmed by email attachments can easily file them for later viewing.
Dropbox offers users 2 GB of space for free. Users can earn more free space in different ways, including referrals, taking a tour, or sending the company feedback. Upgrading to Pro for $9.99/month provides 100 GB of space. A plan for businesses is available, as well, at $15/month per user.
Check out the following seven apps that even the smartest Dropbox user can use to enhance productivity.
Dropbox controls everything server-side, rather than client-side. But increasingly companies are shifting from infrastructure protection to data-centric protection in the cloud. Rather than attempting to defend each and every IT component, data is encrypted, thereby practicing self-defense.
Think of it this way: Client-side encryption is analogous to putting data in a tamper-proof box. The contents will remain protected regardless of who handles it, how the box is transported, or where it is stored. The data is protected anywhere, everywhere, and for all of the time it remains individually encrypted. Products that manage data in that type of secure and private fashion include Lockbox and BoxCryptor.
Many people believe, erroneously, that cloud service providers keep copies of user data in the event of an outage or malware corruption. A majority of data loss is caused by user error. Dropbox might not lose your data, but its users may accidentally alter it beyond recovery. Consider using an independent backup system to protect against data loss due to hacking, user error, malicious deletion, and other unforeseen problems. One product to consider is Backupify, a backup and recovery solution for software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications. Last year, the company expanded beyond backups for Google Apps and Salesforce.com by making its application programming interfaces available to SaaS providers, application vendors, and enterprises aiming to add backup quickly for cloud apps.
Dropbox is a popular repository for too-big-for-my-inbox items, and that is an easy way for businesses to become disorganized quickly. Products such as FileThis keep users organized by providing an easy way to file and manage documents. FileThis is a consumer app that automatically fetches and files documents from bank accounts, utility companies, etc. and organizes them within Dropbox (or another cloud storage provider). Users get six account connections for free. Those who need more than six account connections can purchase additional connections on a monthly basis: 12 for $2/month or 30 for $5/month.
The WordPress Backup to Dropbox app automatically backs up blogs on a regular schedule. Simply set a day, time, and frequency, and choose a location within Dropbox and on your server for the backup to occur. You can also select files or directories to be excluded from the backup. The plugin uses OAuth, so Dropbox account details are not stored for the plugin to gain access.
Pancake IO works with Dropbox to create a web page from any text file. Users save those files into special Pancake folders in their Dropbox accounts, and that file is turned into a web page. (Note that Pancake IO cannot access anything outside of its specific folder.) Updating those pages is easy: Simply open the file in a text editor such as Notepad or TextEdit, make your changes, and the file is saved. The website gets updated automatically. Pancake also supports images, PDFs, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
Inundated by attachments in your email? Set up SendToDropbox and get a unique email address for your Dropbox. Emails are easily forwarded to your Dropbox account, where you can save the attachment. You can choose where SendToDropbox will place files in your Dropbox. Drag and drop items from the attributes list to the Destination list to adjust the setting -- a quick way to organize JPG, PDF, and DOC files, saving them for later in an orderly fashion.
It's worth reiterating that Dropbox can back up an Android phone via free apps such as Easy Backup. Users can easily backup and restore apps, SMS, MMS, call log, calendar, bookmarks, dictionary, and contacts, as well as create backups to SD Card, Gmail, Dropbox, or other cloud storage accounts. No more worrying about the next time your phone decides to take a swim or ride on top of the car.
It's worth reiterating that Dropbox can back up an Android phone via free apps such as Easy Backup. Users can easily backup and restore apps, SMS, MMS, call log, calendar, bookmarks, dictionary, and contacts, as well as create backups to SD Card, Gmail, Dropbox, or other cloud storage accounts. No more worrying about the next time your phone decides to take a swim or ride on top of the car.
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