Do This to Protect Your Online Privacy

The trend of decreasing cloud use and increasing privacy and security are expected to grow as cloud hacking continues making the news. First, we heard about the celebrity photo thefts, which were stolen from private iCloud accounts (and some were deleted!). Then, we saw proof that Gmail can be hacked with 92 percent success rate. And now we come across this story by Mashable writer Christina Warren who hacked her own iCloud account.

The scary part? She did it despite having two-factor authentication (2FA) on the iCloud account. Apple’s 2FA is misleading. At first glance, it sounds like it protects iCloud account and information. The reality is that iCloud’s two-factor authentication doesn’t protect your privacy — only your wallet.

If you have an iPhone or iPad, you might want to reconsider backing it up to the iCloud and switch it to backing up to a computer or laptop. It’s easy to keep everything backed up and in sync as iTunes can do that through Wi-Fi.

The move away from the cloud

All signs point to U.S. customers concerns about privacy will be catching up with Europe where they’re very serious about protecting their privacy. According to the European Commission, 72 percent of Europeans want more control over their online data.

That’s why the European Commission issued the new General Data Protection Regulation, which goes into effect next year. The purpose of this regulation is to ensure the privacy of its citizens’ data.

Evidence proving Americans are taking steps to protect their privacy is starting to trickle in. In an interview with The New York Times, Director of the Consumer Privacy Project at the Center for Democracy and Technology Justin Brookman said, “Previously there had been a sort of undue trust in the magic of cloud services. People are starting to reconsider that.”

Furthermore, a Pew Research Internet Project survey on anonymity, privacy, and security online has found that “86 percent of internet users have taken steps online to remove or mask their digital footprints.”

Sync private information without the cloud

You can do all the right things — create stronger passwords, use 2FA and so on — to protect your information, but it’s been established these can be hacked. One thing you can do is avoid storing personal information in the cloud. Don’t store confidential information in Dropbox, Gmail, Outlook.com and other cloud-services.

Address books also contain important information that you want to keep private. Like most people, you want to have your contacts’ information and your schedule with you on your mobile device when you’re on the go. Who wants to take the extra step of entering new appointments multiple times: once on the mobile device, once on the computer when you return home and again on tablets?

You can sync Outlook contacts, calendar, notes and tasks without going through the cloud. With AkrutoSync, synchronization is automatic and effortless. You won’t need to open iTunes or take out your USB cable to sync the information. All you need to do is be in your Wi-Fi zone and Akruto will do the rest.

AkrutoSync will officially support iOS devices soon. This will make it easier to backup Outlook contacts and calendar as using iTunes’ is tedious. For one, you won’t need to open iTunes to sync. (Unofficially, some of our customers already sync Outlook with their iOS devices.)

Go ahead and update your appointments while you’re out and about. As soon as you return to your computer’s Wi-Fi connection, AkrutoSync will sync and update all your Outlook information on your computer and all your devices. Start protecting your privacy now, try AkrutoSync free for seven days.