Cloud this and Cloud That

[CyberKSystems]

Hey all,

Over on another forum, there is a user called TheSergeant. He is starting to make an excellent point about the new hype about the Cloud systems, personal privacy and more. With his permission, I am including his words here also. His blog is at http://x7ven.com/blog.php/8-TheSergeant where you can follow more of what he is writing. For the normal User, it is very important for you to understand what you are getting into....

The recent hype over Cloud computing is both good and bad. Regardless of its purposes and intent it is a dangerous concept when it comes to your privacy. The world complains when Apple or Google are tracking your personal GPS location. The reason that you are complaining is becuase that info is taken from you, but what is the difference when you give them that info willingly. Essentially that is a cloud system.

Statements from Cloud creators and Apple are things such as "The desktop will be a thing of the past", think about this for a second. You have 500GB or so of data, music, pictures, credit card tracking, bank notes, letters to companies and more all stored on your hard drive. Well statement like "The desktop are no longer needed" implies that you files are no longer on your computer sitting in front of you, they are all on a hard drive not under your control.

In order to sync all of your devices, one device must be the input unit. So if you take a picture with your iPhone, it sends it to the Cloud System. That picture is STORED on the cloud system so that when your other devices go to sync with that computer, they can download all that is new. Its a great idea and very convenient. BUT whom is operating the main server computer that has that picture on it? What if it is a picture of the Secret KFC Chicken and Spices Recipe? What if the government wants the recipe? Do you think that they will not peek into your account and have a look at it?

I build servers and deploy them all over the world. I build them so that only key people have access to different parts and functions in the system. I build Cloud Servers, Web Server, DNS, Firewall and all sorts. I also provide remote support on those systems anywhere in the world. I can make adjusts at the requests of my customers. Do you know that in order for me to be able to do that, I must be a ROOT user or in plain terms, the Super USER Point is that I have absolute control over all of the data in the entire systems. Do you also know that not a single one of my customers has ever wondered if I am peeking at their secret company data? Why? Why do we all trust the admin? So with that if someone wanted to pay me to get data for them from a target firm, I have the access. I would never do that to a customer but what I am trying to explain to the normal system users out there, is that there is always a command user that has access to all parts of the system to include your files.

We get upset when companies monitor us by absorbing our data, but now with the development of cloud systems, they no longer need to take it, we will give it to them for free!

This cloud thing is a huge red flag, I will discuss more on it soon.

[CyberKSystems]

More from TheSergeant about cloud computing and your privacy....

More on cloud opinions coming.... Lets take apart the concept of the Google Cloud. What they provide is software the in online which you do not have to install on your computer so for example Google Docs. This is a word program for you to create word documents. You would use their net software to create your doc, and then have access to it from all over the world.

Two things here, you created a document, what ever it is and then essentially stored it on someone else's computer whom is essentially giving you permission to download it over and over. This consumes disk space and bandwidth.

So, from a moeny perspective, this is how it shall work. Lets say that like Dropbox, the Apple cloud provides you with 2GB of disk space for free and lets take a guess at 2GB of monthly bandwidth. That means that you can download your entire storage space from them only one time per month.

Now with the concept that the Desktop compute will be a thing of the past, lets say that you are using the new MacBook Air with a very limited amount of hard drive space because it is designed to be connected to a network full time. So essentially the Air is the first concept of this. I am not bashing Apple, dont get me wrong, I am bashing internet privacy and their effort to convince you of the advantages of giving your data to them for free.

So if you want to have more diskspace and more bandwidth to have continuous streaming access to your music or perhaps you are writing a book and are very active in the documents area, you must pay for more. So lets say that they give you little bits and pieces maybe 2GB more for $10 / month. Well I am only a little guy, but i have 100GB of music. So again going with their idea that we will no longer need computers, you are now paying well over $500 / month to store my music and distribute it to all of my systems.

I for I go out and purchase a brand new $3000 iMac with 2 TB of diskspace and then finance it for one year I will pay a little over $250 per month. The point is that after 1 year it is mine, but with a cloud it is never yours and you will keep paying more and more. THEN on top of that, you need the devices still just to access the data. So you are not winning here. You are essentially not only paying far more for what service, but you are also giving them your data for free. So now the cloud masters win by getting your data and your money.

http://x7ven.com/entry.php/14-Cloud-Privacy

[CyberKSystems]

The last one from TheSergeant on x7ven.com

Ok without sounds like a paranoid weirdo, let me explain one more example of a Cloud Problem.

Those in the US know of the keyring shopper card. That is the little card that you can use at Walmart Grocery shopping or where ever you go, and get y discount at the end of checking out, just for being a member. Now this concept is not neccesarily a cloud, it is a network, but it is the same.

So lets say that you purchase 100 items and also for your best friend he asked you to get him some cigarettes. SO you get him a carton. You use your memerb card so that you can get your discount and then go home happily with all that you hva bought.

Now a few years down the road you grow up and realize, hmmmm I would really like my kids, wife, husband to have a good Life Insurance policy. With that come a health review, physical and all sorts. In the question do you smoke or have you ever smoked, you put a NO of course not. Later the agent comes back and denies your policy because you have a record of purchasing those cigarettes on your shiny new member card, along with all of that buttered popcorn and fattening dairy creamer and oh my god look how much salt you are purchasing. You are really living unhealthy and you are now a story teller because you did in fact buy cigarettes and can not prove that they were not for you. So they are afraid but they are either going to have to deny your insurance policy or increase your premiums because you are a health risk. Why? Because you freely gave them the data that they used to monitor you. AND you paid them to do it to you.

You tell me that the way that gov is moving in Britain and in the US, that this is not what the future is and I will tell you many more examples of how the future is already like that.

This is only you giving them a list of things that you bought. You KNOW this is true because when you go to the check out, they ask you, "Would you like to pay with the card that you used last time?" So why the heck are they storing my card on file and who has access to that. BUT It should really not be a problem because we all know that the HUGE ompanies like Sony, WalMart, and others are using the latest is technology and security and can never be hacked because they all have so much concern and money to put into it, right?

Now exponentially increase the data you are giving to them from a shopping list to all of your personal photos, music, documents, browsing history, communications and more. So now what do you think you will get with your privacy?

http://x7ven.com/entry.php/15-Clouds...re-killing-you

[jhoanna]

To tell you the truth, it is very convenient to have these kinds of technologies today, but I do have a lot of concerns about privacy. I didn't know about the cloud system that way, but now that you mentioned it, I better stop using Google Docs to store my client's sensitive SEO data! Not paranoid, just a little precaution, who knows what might happen in the near future.

Regarding the shopping cards, again, it's very convenient, but disregards a person's privacy. I'm not using one, wouldn't even think of using one, I don't want other people recording and reading my own data without my permission. Tech companies these days should really inform their consumers about the products they are selling... not just the flashy advertisement about features and uses of their products but for the protection of their consumers as well.

[CyberKSystems]

They would never tell you the background intent for the system that they put into place. If so, then why would you voluntarily put yourself into those positions. Essentially it goes in phases, get you into the base system, collect many people's data and then move to the next phase after the first is widely accepted.

[jhoanna]

That's what I thought you'd say... People these days doesn't pay that much attention either, so they don't even realize that their data is being collected and stored by other people without them knowing about it.