Hi,
some time ago I decided to back up my files in the Google cloud. I'm running WIN10 Professional. Since then nearly anything on my SDD has been mirrored to the cloud automatically. By now Google has shut down my gmail account, 'cause my 50 GB data space has been exceeded.
What do I have to do now to get gmail access again, but don't want to pay for additional memory space? How can I prevent random upload to the cloud?
Best regards!
some time ago I decided to back up my files in the Google cloud. I'm running WIN10 Professional. Since then nearly anything on my SDD has been mirrored to the cloud automatically. By now Google has shut down my gmail account, 'cause my 50 GB data space has been exceeded.
What do I have to do now to get gmail access again, but don't want to pay for additional memory space? How can I prevent random upload to the cloud?
Best regards!
Personally, I've avoided like the plague such internet storage places like "the cloud".
You don't know really how secure those things are, except what is told to you.
In reality, it's a computer data base somewhere, maintained by someone you don't know.
So the bottom line is, you're at the mercy of whoever, putting your trust and documents in the hands of strangers.
To me, that's kind of dumb.
You don't know really how secure those things are, except what is told to you.
In reality, it's a computer data base somewhere, maintained by someone you don't know.
So the bottom line is, you're at the mercy of whoever, putting your trust and documents in the hands of strangers.
To me, that's kind of dumb.
One can "rent" their own server and use it for a cloud for under $100 a year.
You have total control of your software. I've been using one since 1995, they maintain the server, I upload and download all the files I want plus I have multiple websites and unlimited emails.
My whole family uses it. (wife 4 kids, grandparents ect)
You have total control of your software. I've been using one since 1995, they maintain the server, I upload and download all the files I want plus I have multiple websites and unlimited emails.
My whole family uses it. (wife 4 kids, grandparents ect)
Renting a server instance is a great idea. Automatic sync from a home NAS could be best of both worlds: highest speed availability at home with complete offsite backup. Does $100 include domain name registry?
Kay,
The solutions being offered are worth considering for sure, but none of them address your primary issue.
If you know your local data is safe and don't care what happens to the backup data in the Google Cloud, then figure out how to delete that data from the Google Cloud (or at least some of it) so your data storage usage drops below the 50GB limit. This should allow you to access your email again. Next, uninstall whatever application is backing up your data to Google Cloud.
After this, you can consider other data backup options (and other email options!)
I am sorry that I cannot be more specific about how to do what I have suggested. I boycotted google a long, long time ago. There has to be information available on how to do it. Even youtube videos, I would bet.
Good luck.
The solutions being offered are worth considering for sure, but none of them address your primary issue.
If you know your local data is safe and don't care what happens to the backup data in the Google Cloud, then figure out how to delete that data from the Google Cloud (or at least some of it) so your data storage usage drops below the 50GB limit. This should allow you to access your email again. Next, uninstall whatever application is backing up your data to Google Cloud.
After this, you can consider other data backup options (and other email options!)
I am sorry that I cannot be more specific about how to do what I have suggested. I boycotted google a long, long time ago. There has to be information available on how to do it. Even youtube videos, I would bet.
Good luck.
Renting a bare metal server instance is very expensive. What you are renting as a "server" is a virtual machine running on a metal server somewhere in a data center, together with many other virtual machines. Maintaining this virtual machine is transparent to the end user, it is moving around, since metal servers are periodically retired for hardware maintenance or replacing.
So don't fool yourself thinking that renting a server is anywhere more secure or safe than any other service running in the cloud. To add insult to injury, unless you can afford an enterprise level solution (like HDFS storage in the Amazon AWS) all cheap media storage solutions are using your uploaded content to mine data about your habits and preferences, this offsets your cost, just read the fine print. Me, I keep all my music on a NAS, I hate the idea of anybody mining my music preferences, call me paranoic.
Quite literally, the only benefit that cloud-based backups offer over local backups is that the data is "off-site" and therefore offers protection against home disasters or theft.
If you have data that is important enough that no risk is acceptable, it is easy enough to back up the data to portable media and store it off site. It is far less convenient, but just as effective and you maintain 100% control over your data.
There is virtually no reason whatsoever to store your data in "the cloud", other than convenience. The cost of that convenience is that your data can be mined and can be held for ransom just as google is trying to do to Kay. Just my opinion as a 25-year InfoSec professional.
If you have data that is important enough that no risk is acceptable, it is easy enough to back up the data to portable media and store it off site. It is far less convenient, but just as effective and you maintain 100% control over your data.
There is virtually no reason whatsoever to store your data in "the cloud", other than convenience. The cost of that convenience is that your data can be mined and can be held for ransom just as google is trying to do to Kay. Just my opinion as a 25-year InfoSec professional.
Thank you very much! Your's indeed is the only answer here that may help me.
Best regards!
Glad to help.
I would suggest "googling" the answer but that would make me a hypocrite. 🙂
There is always how to delete data from google cloud at DuckDuckGo
I would suggest "googling" the answer but that would make me a hypocrite. 🙂
There is always how to delete data from google cloud at DuckDuckGo
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I would love to see what the algorithms profile you as though with your particular tastes in music 🙂.
Ask Scott, we are pretty much aligned, although I consider my music collection (by now about 600Gb digital, ~400 vinyls are extra) slightly more outrageous, according to the SWMBO taste. While still digging in the oldies, Daisy Chainsaw and Queenadreena are the latest acquired taste.
They can have more idea about security than most if it's one of the main cloud vendors.
Don't worry virtually every web-browser converses with Google/Microsoft/Apple when you search or attempt to access a URL anyway..
Not necessary the browser, but the Windows/OSX/Android underlying operating system, nevertheless this is a very sad truth, and the "secret" behind "free" software. Either live with it, or switch to PC Linux and throw away all your network connected smart gadgets, including TVs, and move to a cave.
Or simply educate yourself and take appropriate measures that you are comfortable with. I switched all PCs in the house to Linux 18 years ago and never looked back. I run my own Cisco firewall, my own mail server, web server, etc. Plenty of tools available to maintain privacy. VPN, TOR, PGP, etc. etc. if one really wants/needs to.
I realize that not everyone can do this, but switching to Linux, using a non-tracking browser and duckduckgo search engine is childs-play and goes a very long way to gaining some semblance of privacy and control over your data. It really helps if you aren't a Facebook/twitter/whatever user, too.
If you want to go hardcore then use Tails or Qubes, + TOR and/or VPN like Snowden does.
I realize that not everyone can do this, but switching to Linux, using a non-tracking browser and duckduckgo search engine is childs-play and goes a very long way to gaining some semblance of privacy and control over your data. It really helps if you aren't a Facebook/twitter/whatever user, too.
If you want to go hardcore then use Tails or Qubes, + TOR and/or VPN like Snowden does.
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Being blunt for a moment - those are all layers of a onion built on assumptions and a trust model that isn't quite as secure as you'd hope.
I won't tell you don't however there is nothing 'secure' just a little more convoluted.
Going forward in 2024 when NIST ratifies it's quantum-resistant algorithms, you may want to get patching that hardware. Google/AWS/MS et al all are pursuing that along with OpenSSL/TLS 1.3 starting to support lattice based security for key exchange and signatures.
My favourite snippet from RSA in San Fran this year was "we don't need quantum - we have triple DES" (the NSA has already deprecated Triple DES).
Knowledge is a dangerous thing.. gaps in that knowledge even more so.
I would argue it is worse to do nothing at all. You'll notice I wrote "some semblance of...".
Also, gaps only matter if I am actually hiding something 🙂 I'm merely not interested in being a willing participant in this fiasco.
Also, gaps only matter if I am actually hiding something 🙂 I'm merely not interested in being a willing participant in this fiasco.
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Might want to look at Western Digital's inexpensive line of cloud servers, they start at under $400 and provide both local back up and "cloud" like services for your phone and portable devices. You can also tie them to external cloud back up services if you want to. (I have a 2TB raid WD cloud server here at home, works very well.)
I´d say, NOT being an IT anything to begin with:
1) backup on your own.
Maybe you buy some plug-in HDD/SSD and , say, once a week (or when you want to) backup what you wish (not necessarily *everything*, by any means) or setup some old computer as a backup server.
You don´t really need speed there, backing up can be made at a leisurely speed, in any case comparable or better to Wi Fi speed.
2) get into your general purpose google account manager, there is a section where you set up your backup routine. I set mine to "never" , period.
Anyway they nag me about once a month to "be safe" ... FY!
3) try to get into your cloud backup and start plain ERASING files.
Do not even downlod them, anything there is already on your own computer.
If it´s choke full and bursting at the seams, buy more storage devices NOT cloud storage space).
4) every now and then GET into your Cloud and check they are not uploading your data anyway, without asking, they might do it anyway "to do you a favour" .
Some favour.
5) cloud mining is the least of your problems.
I got deeper into my Google account and found they keep track of everything anyway, even my whereabouts and where had I been thanks to my friendly smartphone spy, etc.
When I tried to erase that very personal data they had been compiling without even asking, **I can only erase data 3 months or more older** , NO WAY I can erase the last 3 months.
That is completely unacceptable, but here is no way to stop it.
1) backup on your own.
Maybe you buy some plug-in HDD/SSD and , say, once a week (or when you want to) backup what you wish (not necessarily *everything*, by any means) or setup some old computer as a backup server.
You don´t really need speed there, backing up can be made at a leisurely speed, in any case comparable or better to Wi Fi speed.
2) get into your general purpose google account manager, there is a section where you set up your backup routine. I set mine to "never" , period.
Anyway they nag me about once a month to "be safe" ... FY!
3) try to get into your cloud backup and start plain ERASING files.
Do not even downlod them, anything there is already on your own computer.
If it´s choke full and bursting at the seams, buy more storage devices NOT cloud storage space).
4) every now and then GET into your Cloud and check they are not uploading your data anyway, without asking, they might do it anyway "to do you a favour" .
Some favour.
5) cloud mining is the least of your problems.
I got deeper into my Google account and found they keep track of everything anyway, even my whereabouts and where had I been thanks to my friendly smartphone spy, etc.
When I tried to erase that very personal data they had been compiling without even asking, **I can only erase data 3 months or more older** , NO WAY I can erase the last 3 months.
That is completely unacceptable, but here is no way to stop it.
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Kevin,
A very similar option is to build your own, with Nextcloud. I have Nextcloud running in a virtual machine on my home server, specifically to provide "cloud"-like backups of photos/videos from the wife and kids' phones. To them, it works just like iCloud or Amazon Photos, but it is local, free and virtually unlimited.
And no, it is not NATed through my FW. 🙂
A very similar option is to build your own, with Nextcloud. I have Nextcloud running in a virtual machine on my home server, specifically to provide "cloud"-like backups of photos/videos from the wife and kids' phones. To them, it works just like iCloud or Amazon Photos, but it is local, free and virtually unlimited.
And no, it is not NATed through my FW. 🙂
I keep lot and lots of sensitive stuff. Using Dropbox's encryption on top of my own. Don't feel dumb.