If you care at all about your internet privacy, you should learn how to encrypt all the data you store online. It doesn’t matter whether you’re storing photos, videos or documents—your data won’t be safe until it’s encrypted. Without encryption, your data may be vulnerable to theft.
Here’s why encryption is important, and also how you can encrypt all the data you put online.
Why is Encryption Important for Storing Data Online?
Nowadays, millions of people enjoy the convenience of storing data with cloud computing—also known as cloud storage.
Cloud storage is when you store your computer data on a server that’s owned and operated by a third party. Some of the most popular cloud storage options include Microsoft Azure and Google Drive. Here are some of the advantages of using cloud storage:
- You can keep your hard drive from getting too full
- Your data will be safe if your computer gets damaged
- You can easily transfer data between different devices
But here’s the big problem with cloud storage: you can only transfer your data to a cloud server by sending it through the internet. And whenever you send data over the internet, there’s a chance it could be intercepted by hackers or even corrupted by malware. While you can prevent hackers from stealing data that’s stored on your computer by enabling firewalls, your data is basically a sitting duck when it’s travelling across the web.
That’s where encryption comes in. When you encrypt a file, the data is scrambled up so hackers and malignant software can’t read it. The only entity that knows how to unscramble the data is the encryption software that you use.
Encryption is undoubtedly one of the most effective ways to protect your data when you upload it to cloud storage.
Types of Encryption
What are the different types of encryption? There are two main encryption techniques: symmetric encryption and public key encryption.
Symmetric encryption is basically when you encrypt a file using a password—you’ll need to enter a password in order to open the file.
Public key encryption (also known as asymmetric encryption) is more of an automated process that doesn’t require use of a password. Instead, public key encryption uses a complex mathematical formula based on prime numbers that’s incredibly difficult for even the most advanced computers to decipher.
Both types of encryption are good for different purposes.
How to Use Symmetric Encryption
Before you upload your data to the cloud, you can encrypt it via symmetric encryption. After it’s been transferred over to your cloud storage account, you’ll need the password to open up the file. It’s easy to encrypt files on Windows 10:
- “Right-click” the file you want to encrypt
- Click “Properties”
- Click “Advanced”
- Check the encryption box
- Provide a password for the file and be sure to write it down
What’s great about using symmetric encryption is that your cloud data will always be encrypted. Even if the cloud storage servers get compromised, hackers won’t be able to read the data in your cloud storage because it’s still encrypted.
How to Use Public Key Encryption
There are a couple of different ways you can use public key encryption to protect your data when you upload it to the cloud. One of the best ways is to use a virtual private network (VPN). A VPN encrypts all the data that your computer sends onto the internet, so it’ll encrypt all the data that you upload to your cloud storage. The benefits of VPN encryption is that it’s fast, safe, and automated.
Another great way to encrypt your data is to download encryption software. It works in very much the same way that a VPN does, automatically encrypting data that your computer sends off into the web.
Use a Secure Data Storage Site
Whenever you’re uploading anything to the internet—whether you’re uploading data to the cloud, to a social media profile, or to a retail website—always make sure that the website has its own encryption protocol. How can you tell whether or not a website encrypts your data? The URL will feature HTTPS and not HTTP (the “S” stands for “Secured”). Most web browsers will inform you in the address bar whether a website is secured via encryption. Never upload personal data to a website that isn’t secured.
