# Babes in the woods....



## HermitJohn (May 10, 2002)

On another website somebody got an email from Microsoft explaining the terms of their account were being updated and if they objected..... This person wasnt aware they had an M$ account.

Most people that either installed win10 or even let their win7/8 accounts update were asked to create one. You could opt out and use a local user account, but M$ really, really pushed people to create a web account and hid as much as possible that a local user account could be created on your computer as an alternative for signing in via a web account.

Anyway for anybody interested, here is how to get rid of a M$ account. Yea it was lot easier to sign up than get rid of it.... And you will need it if you are using any of the M$ cloud apps. So be prepared that you will give up access to cloud apps if you delete your account. I personally cant see why anybody would use cloud apps, but each to their own.

http://www.howtogeek.com/227763/how-to-completely-delete-your-microsoft-account/


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## Darren (May 10, 2002)

HermitJohn said:


> On another website somebody got an email from Microsoft explaining the terms of their account were being updated and if they objected..... This person wasnt aware they had an M$ account.
> 
> Most people that either installed win10 or even let their win7/8 accounts update were asked to create one. You could opt out and use a local user account, but M$ really, really pushed people to create a web account and hid as much as possible that a local account only on your computer could be created as an alternative for signing in.
> 
> ...


A blow for freedom!


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## Murby (May 24, 2016)

HermitJohn said:


> Anyway for anybody interested, here is how to get rid of a M$ account. Yea it was lot easier to sign up than get rid of it.... And you will need it if you are using any of the M$ cloud apps. So be prepared that you will give up access to cloud apps if you delete your account. I personally cant see why anybody would use cloud apps, but each to their own.


Cloud = Anything you say, do, photo, video, post, or download will be used against you in some way.

I still can't figure out why people put their personal information up on Facebook..


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

Murby said:


> Cloud = Anything you say, do, photo, video, post, or download will be used against you in some way.


You're confusing cloud computing with social media. While social media applications such as Facebook are certainly in the cloud, cloud computing is usually considered to be using remote server and storage resources rather than local resources.

Small & medium businesses are learning that they can forego the cost of a file server and take advantage of remote virtual servers instead. Remote servers are very inexpensive and are suitable for hosting files, database resources, and even applications. They are even useful for remote voip PBX systems (company IT professionals normally manage corporate phone systems today).

Individuals usually use cloud computing to store important files through services like One Drive, Dropbox, and Google Drive. Normally that's done with a folder that's automatically duplicated at a cloud server in real time. Any time you add, modify, or delete a file in that folder, the same changes are made in the cloud server immediately. There are a number of advantages to having a cloud drive.

* If you lose your hard drive then any file that was stored in the shared cloud drive can be retrieved.
* You can share links to files in the cloud drive, making those files available to others to view or download 24/7, even when your computer is turned off.
* If you have more than one computer you can install the cloud drive on all of your computers, making those files available on all of your computers.
* Sharing a folder from your cloud drive with others is a handy way to share files with family or project collaborators.

In short, if you have high speed Internet (DSL or cable) and aren't using cloud computing, you're missing the boat. You need to get with the program!


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## Murby (May 24, 2016)

Nevada said:


> You're confusing cloud computing with social media. While social media applications such as Facebook are certainly in the cloud, cloud computing is usually considered to be using remote server and storage resources rather than local resources.
> 
> Small & medium businesses are learning that they can forego the cost of a file server and take advantage of remote virtual servers instead. Remote servers are very inexpensive and are suitable for hosting files, database resources, and even applications. They are even useful for remote voip PBX systems (company IT professionals normally manage corporate phone systems today).
> 
> ...


All good and valid points.... 

The problem is that when you upload information to the cloud, anyone from the owners of the server to law enforcement will have easy access to it.

Yes, I understand how it works as I'm a computer geek myself.. and while its not as public as social media, you are still giving up privacy.


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

Murby said:


> All good and valid points....
> 
> The problem is that when you upload information to the cloud, anyone from the owners of the server to law enforcement will have easy access to it.


Actually, they don't have access to it. People who store sensitive information in files on cloud drives should encrypt them. I encrypt my sensitive files with axcrypt.

http://www.axcrypt.net/

It's free!


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## HermitJohn (May 10, 2002)

Even encrypted, its still there for anybody having time and resources to crack the encryption to have a go. On a local drive, control is by whoever has possession. Second, if you read the disclosure when you sign up, the company providing the storage denies all responsibility should the server go down and take your data with it. So yes you still need backups, most likely on a local hard drive.

Now the real objection isnt that cloud storage exists, hey go for it, whatever floats your boat. The problem is trickery M$ is using to get people signed up for something they have no idea what is, including non-optional cloud apps. YOU CANT UNINSTALL THEM without extraordinary means. The operating system is riddled with spyware that phones home early and often. Its been proven just unchecking privacy boxes that exist doesnt stop the phoning home.

So yea, use whatever cloud storage and apps you want, but the key here is what YOU want, not forced down your throat or signing you up with trickery. Anybody using a super duper hard sell like some sleazy used car salesman, probably doesnt have your best interests at heart.


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## Heritagefarm (Feb 21, 2010)

I try not to use cloud because there's absolutely no way to be 100% in charge of your data protection. I realize viruses can get your info, but you can throw a mallet at your modem if you need to stop a serious leak. However cloud services also use a ---- ton of energy, so Eco freindly is a good reason not to use them...


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

Heritagefarm said:


> I try not to use cloud because there's absolutely no way to be 100% in charge of your data protection. I realize viruses can get your info, but you can throw a mallet at your modem if you need to stop a serious leak. However cloud services also use a ---- ton of energy, so Eco freindly is a good reason not to use them...


Maybe so, but I'm having less sympathy for people losing data from hard drive failure now that free cloud storage is available. I feel in control of security by encrypting files that contain sensitive information.


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## Heritagefarm (Feb 21, 2010)

Nevada said:


> Maybe so, but I'm having less sympathy for people losing data from hard drive failure now that free cloud storage is available. I feel in control of security by encrypting files that contain sensitive information.


Maybe. All someone has to do, though, is intercept my Applie password and they have access to my iCloud files, phone locations (my locations), number of devices, and a credit card.


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

Heritagefarm said:


> Maybe. All someone has to do, though, is intercept my Applie password and they have access to my iCloud files, phone locations (my locations), number of devices, and a credit card.


The same could be said about my server passwords, but strong encryption is more difficult to crack than many people think.


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## mnn2501 (Apr 2, 2008)

I work for a regional bank chain and after hearing horror stories from security experts about data in the cloud (even encrypted data) being hacked, would never put anything the least bit sensitive there.
Our bank does not use the cloud at all. We have multiple real time redundancies in house and 2 remote data centers(1 in state, one not)


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

mnn2501 said:


> We have multiple real time redundancies in house and 2 remote data centers(1 in state, one not)


In other words, they use cloud storage, but they own the cloud storage servers. I did that for awhile using ownCloud on one of my CentOS boxes, but Google Drive was too good to turn down. I've since removed ownCloud from my machine.

https://owncloud.com/


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## Heritagefarm (Feb 21, 2010)

Nevada said:


> In other words, they use cloud storage, but they own the cloud storage servers. I did that for awhile using ownCloud on one of my CentOS boxes, but Google Drive was too good to turn down. I've since removed ownCloud from my machine.
> 
> https://owncloud.com/


I feel like the nature of keeping your data in your own building offers at least that much more control. The definition of "cloud" would seem to be having it somewhere else. Further, the company itself could crash.


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

Heritagefarm said:


> I feel like the nature of keeping your data in your own building offers at least that much more control. The definition of "cloud" would seem to be having it somewhere else. Further, the company itself could crash.


I was referring to the two remote data centers.


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