Pros and Cons of Secure File Sharing: Types and Tips
Introduction
Secure file sharing is the best way to share files with your friends and family. If you’re looking for a way to share your photos, music, or other files, it’s indeed the way to go!
However, there are pros and cons to secure file sharing, as it can allow you the ability to share audio files securely to another device across the globe, but it comes with its flaws, such as possible security risks and added costs.
In this post, we’ll look into some of the main pros and cons of secure file sharing, along with the most common types of file sharing. Finally, we’ll cover some tips to ensure you’re always safe and have the best file-sharing experience!
Let’s begin with some pros and cons of secure file sharing:
Pros of File Sharing
- Securely shared files cannot be accessed by anyone except those to whom you have given permission. This can help you keep your files safe in the event of somebody else gaining access to your computer or mobile device.
- Files are not stored on your computer or device after they have been shared with someone else — they are deleted from your device immediately after they are downloaded.
- Files can be sent across networks, such as between computers, tablets, phones, and other devices, without needing any special software or hardware installed on them beforehand (and without ever having their IP address exposed).
- You can set how long a file lasts before it expires (so it won’t continue to be accessible by anyone if you forget about it), as well as how long it stays active before expiring (so people know when they should delete their copy).
Cons of File Sharing
Secure file sharing is a great way to share audio files securely with your friends, colleagues, and family. But sometimes, it’s easy to forget the many negatives of secure file sharing.
Here are some of the biggest ones:
1) You’re not sure if the person you’re sending files to is who they say they are. Sure, we’re all guilty of signing up for accounts under pretenses here and there, but that doesn’t mean that every single one of us does it! If someone you trust is faking their identity, you have no idea who owns the account, and that’s just not ideal.
2) You can’t tell if someone has shared your file without even looking at it first. Maybe someone had shared your file without including a note about it — which means they could be using your file for something completely different than what you thought when you sent it out into cyberspace!
3) The possibility of viruses. If you’re not careful, your files could get corrupted — or worse, fall into the wrong hands.
4) The possibility of identity theft. File sharing can make it easier for hackers to steal your personal information by using your file-sharing software to steal passwords and other sensitive data from other users.
5) File sharing can lead to copyright infringement, which is illegal in many countries around the world. You could face serious legal repercussions if you use file-sharing software illegally and share copyrighted music or movies with others.
Types of Secure File Sharing
There are a ton of different secure file-sharing options that you can use to share your files with other people:
This is probably the most common way people share audio files, and it’s also one of the easiest! Just send an email with a link to your file or folder to the person you want to share with, and they can download it right away.
Dropbox
Dropbox is a popular service that lets you store any kind of file on its server — including videos and presentations — and then access it from anywhere in the world through its website or mobile app.
You can also share folders with friends and family members who have Dropbox accounts. It’s great for sharing photos and documents with friends, as well as for collaborating on projects together!
Google Drive
Google Drive is similar to Dropbox in that it lets you upload any type of file — photos, videos, documents — and make them available to others who also have Google accounts (or anyone else who has access to those files). It’s especially good for sharing files between coworkers or classmates.
File Sharing Tips
There are many different ways to share files in today’s digital world. There’s email, there’s cloud storage, and then there’s secure file sharing.
One of the best advantages of secure file sharing is that it makes your data more private — you don’t have to worry about anyone else seeing or taking it because they can’t even see your computer or connect with it unless you give them access to your system (like if you’re logged into a server).
The bad news? It can be tricky to set up secure file sharing. Here are some tips on how to do so:
Use a VPN When You’re Online
When you’re connecting with someone else via their secure server, most of the time, they’ll want you to use their VPN so that no one else can see what’s going on between them (and vice versa).
It also protects against DNS attacks and other types of network attacks that might try to exploit vulnerabilities in someone else’s system (but only if both systems are using the same VPN).
Never Share Passwords
If someone gets hold of your password information, then they could enter your account and access all of your files that are not password protected.
Since it’s just not worth the risk, it’s best to ensure that you never share any passwords with somebody you don’t intend to have full access to your documents.
Conclusion:
As you can see, secure file sharing is one of the best ways to protect your business and your assets. But like any other solution, it must be used correctly if it’s going to be effective.
The pros and cons should give you an idea of the positives and negatives of secure file sharing, and the tips we outlined above should help make your sharing practices even more bulletproof. For a hassle-free, completely secure file-sharing experience, check out Kytes.
