9 Tips on How to Share Files Safely and Efficiently.

How to share files safely is a fundamental question for anyone whose job requires file sharing. The internet is a common source of many scams, viruses, and general spam activities. The only way to protect yourself from these threats is by sharing files with the right people and services. This can be difficult as many resources claim they can make your file sharing experience safer while protecting your privacy.

They all look pretty good at first glance, but none are 100% secure.

Let’s take a look into some file sharing risks and the safest ways to mitigate them so you will experience fewer problems in the future.

Risks Involved with File Sharing

The risks involved with file-sharing are many and varied. The following are some of the more common risks:

Release of Sensitive Data

The most common risk regarding file sharing is that sensitive information can be released from your network. This includes personal information, such as financial data, credit card numbers, and social security numbers, and business-sensitive information, such as sales figures and customer lists. If a user has access to this information, they can use it to commit fraud or identity theft.

Installation of Malicious Software

The file-sharing site you use may have an infected program or script on its servers, which could allow hackers to steal your personal information and infect your computer with malware.

Susceptibility to Attacks

When you share files over the internet, you open yourself up to attack by other users on the same network as you. These attacks could include viruses or worms that will infiltrate your computer and cause damage, also known as “malware.” If malware is installed on your computer, hackers can then use it to steal data from your computer or even take control of it entirely!

Hacking Into Computers Remotely

A hacker who gains access to another person’s computer through file-sharing could then use the same method to gain access to their computer, which could give him access to any passwords needed for other computers on the network or even access valuable financial information such as credit card numbers or banking details.

9 Tips on How to Share Files Safely and Efficiently

Sharing files online may seem harmless, but it is not always safe. Someone who sees your file could steal your identity or even hack your computer. Here are some tips on how to share files safely:

1.    Keep Backups

Always keep backups of all your files and folders. You never know when they might be needed in the future. You should also ensure they’re backed up with an external drive or computer that can be accessed from multiple places.

2.    Avoid Emails

To be safe when sharing files, avoid sending sensitive files via email. Email is an insecure way to share data because there’s no way to guarantee that the recipient won’t forward your message to another person or group of people. If someone forwards your email to several other people, those people could potentially access the shared file.

3.    Double-Check Inbox Emails

When you receive an email with a file attached, double-check the sender’s email address before opening it. You should also ensure that it’s from someone you know and trust. If it’s not from someone you know, don’t open the message and delete it instead. This will prevent the person who sent you the email from accessing your computer without permission.

4.    Encrypt with Passwords

Encrypting your files with a password will make them more secure because only the person with access to that password can view or access those files. If someone steals your password (or if someone hacks into your computer and gets hold of it), they won’t be able to view any of your encrypted files unless they have access to your password!

5.    Refrain from Clicking Links

Refrain from clicking links that you are not entirely sure of. It is always better to be safe than sorry, so avoid clicking on the links of unknown websites. If you click a link that doesn’t take you to the website you were expecting, then report it immediately to the site administrator.

6.    Change Passwords Often

Always change your passwords regularly, especially if they are used for multiple accounts on different websites. It would be best if you change your passwords every few weeks or months, depending on how often you use them. This is also a good practice as a general rule of thumb because it ensures that no one else will have access to your account. Therefore, there will be no unauthorized access to any information stored within it.

7.    Update Your Security Software

If you use any software or browser, ensure that these programs are up to date before using them for anything meaningful like work or school applications. This way, the program will run faster and more efficiently, which means you will get better results in less time.

8.    Avoid USB Drivers

If someone has tried to access your computer remotely or installed malware, they can access all your files as soon as they connect the device to the computer. This is called an “evil maid attack” because it allows hackers to gain access to a computer without physical access.

9.    Use Secure Connection

When working with sensitive information such as financial or personal data, it is vital to ensure that you use a secure connection when sending emails or copying files from one computer to another. This will help prevent hackers from gaining access to your information and make it more difficult for them to steal it from your computer.

Final Words

One of the most crucial procedures in many workplaces is probably file sharing. However, file sharing can also result in malware and viruses that may harm a network, cause irreversible file loss, or jeopardize sensitive data.

The potential hazards involved in this system can be significantly reduced by sharing files securely.

The company is safer from outside threats by securing its data transfer from one employee to another. With a secure file transfer solution from Protected Harbor, employees can focus more on their daily tasks and less on data security. Our solution is ready for both an on-premises or cloud platform. With IP Reputation and anti-bot technology, we offer robust security against data breaches, malware, and DDoS attacks. With this solution, you can set the rules and restrictions for each employee to ensure they can only access the necessary files at the correct time. The team of experts at Protected Harbor always strive to stay updated with the current happenings in the world of cybersecurity. This enables us to provide the latest solutions to keep our clients secure.

We also scan your data, identifying sensitive information and removing it before it leaves your network to reduce the risk of a data breach. With the help of this solution, you can improve the security of your data, reduce operational costs, and avoid risks related to data loss.

Contact us today, get a free IT Audit, and share files securely and effortlessly.

10 File Sharing Tips from The Professionals

When the topic of file sharing is mentioned, some people revert to the days of when programs like Napster were widely used to share music files illegally across the internet in the 90s. However, file sharing is now a crucial component for many companies and other use cases.

Key Takeaways

• 39% of company data stored within the cloud are used for file sharing.
• Over 800 web domains, including partners and vendors, share files with the average company.
• A file sharing service receives about 60% of files used as backup copies that are never shared with anybody else.
• Only internal users in a business receive about 70% of shared files.

Types of File Sharing

You must choose the method and protocol you want to employ before you can begin sharing files. Your choice should depend on the types of data you are moving and the recipients of those files.

Let’s examine the types of file-sharing options and which one may be better suited for you.

File Transfer Protocol (FTP)

FTP was among the earliest techniques for transferring data over networks to be developed, and because of its dependability and effectiveness, it is still widely used today. A tool with a user interface or a command prompt window can be used to execute FTP operations. Simply specifying the source file you wish to relocate and the destination for where it should be stored is all you need.

Peer to Peer (P2P)

A P2P file transmission does away with the requirement for a central server to hold your data. Clients, instead, link up with a distributed network of peers and carry out the file transfers across their network connections. P2P could one day be utilized to build an impregnable TOR (The Onion Router. TOR is widely used to provide more secure online connections.

Cloud Sharing Services

One user uploads their data to a central base using a cloud file sharing service, and others can then download those contents to their own devices. Although users can choose the types of permission levels to apply to the files, all data is hosted by a third-party source.

Email Providers

Some people are unaware that email can be a system for transferring files. You start a data transmission over the public internet every time you attach a document to an outgoing message.

Removable Storage

If there isn’t a network-based solution that will work for you, you may always use a hard disk to handle file transfers. This implies that you copy data to either an external hard drive or a USB flash drive that you then insert into the target computer.

10 File Sharing Tips For Businesses

You may either already be utilizing cloud-based file sharing or you may have been thinking about doing so. Here are a few tips to help you maximize your cloud storage file-sharing capabilities.

1. Set File Permissions:

You must ensure that only the right people can access your files on a file-sharing platform. You should restrict access to particular files or a whole folder.

2. Verify File Activity:

After sharing your files, you might want to view a summary of user activity, comments, and revisions for each file. When you right-click or hover over a file in your cloud storage root view, you can frequently get either a detailed pane or hovercard view of your file activity. With the help of this view, you can quickly find out who has viewed or possibly altered your file.

3. Use Sharing Links With Password Protection:

Virus screening upon download, ransomware protection, password-protected sharing links, at-rest, in-transit encryption, and two-factor authentication are some of the robust security features that the leading cloud storage providers offer. Use sharing URLs that are password and time protected.

4. Check the Shared Files Directory:

If you already use cloud storage, it most likely has a shared folder feature. In this single folder, you’ll find every file you’ve ever shared and every file that has ever been shared with you.

5. Maintain a Standard for File Naming:

Everyone you share files with will benefit from your use of uniform naming rules and short yet descriptive file names. When naming a file, please consider the search terms other people would probably use to find it.

6. Classify the Security Level of Your Files:

You must be aware of the dangers that can arise upon handling important files poorly and especially those with whom you share these files with. It is worthwhile to categorize your sensitive data and provide each of those files or folders with the proper level of security. When required, strictly regulate who has access to certain files.

7. Download the App:

Install the cloud drive app on your phone. There, you will be able to access, share, and modify all of your files when you’re on the move.

8. Create Offline Access for Important Folders and Files:

Usually, you can just right-click on a file or folder and choose “offline access,” which in turn means your device will keep a local copy of it. You can access and work on your files even if there is no Wi-Fi around you.

9. Designate Folders for Routine Backups

For your most crucial folders, including you Desktop, Documents, and Pictures, enable automatic synchronization. You won’t ever lose your work if you keep all of your files within these folders, even if you misplace your device. All of your work will be stored in the cloud and readily available to you via the web or an app.

Final Words

Nowadays, collaboration is the name of the game. People must collaborate in order to drive revenue generation and because of this, decision-makers must have an access control strategy in place. Not all members of your workforce require access to every piece of information. If you give employees full authority over your file systems, things could go wrong, and data might end up in the wrong places.

For everyone to operate effectively and securely, make sure you specify permissions on your file-sharing system.

Although simplicity and access control will go a long way toward securing your file-sharing platform, you might require other solutions for it to be completely safe. Your disks will be far more secure if you encrypt them. Using a virtual private network to send and receive files will prevent them from being intercepted by businesses that use remote workers.

Protected Harbor’s file-sharing solution allows employees to share and collaborate on documents and files from any location. It will enable secure file sharing across your organization, keeping your data private and safe while reducing the risk of information leaks. Features like MFA, Encryption, and Identity & Access Management allow you to set up secure and granular file sharing permissions for each file.

Contact Protected Harbor’s IT professionals right away if you’re seeking for strategies to enhance your organizational file sharing.