Save It to the Cloud

Save It To The Cloud

Virtual Program – December 2020 What Is The Cloud? To put it simply, there is no cloud. There is just some other computer. The cloud part refers to storing your files somewhere other than your computer’s hard drive and accessing them through the Internet. Cloud storage services are free for a set number of gigabytes, but once you go over that amount, the fees can be costly. Pros & Cons There are many advantages to using cloud storage, including:  Usability: able to be used on multiple devices and computers  Bandwidth: instead of sending attachments through email, provide a link to the file to avoid size limits  Accessibility: provides access to your files anywhere you have a device connected to the Internet  Disaster Recovery: provides a copy of your files in case the worst should happen to your device  Storage Savings: allows you to move files off your device, saving valuable storage space Of course, there are disadvantages to using cloud storage:  Not User Friendly: for those new to the chosen service, it can be a learning curve  Limited Accessibility: without an Internet connection, you are stuck  Data Security: nothing is ever truly secure on the Internet  Software: have to set up the service on all applicable devices

The Products We are going to be discussing four cloud storage services today: Google Drive Microsoft OneDrive Apple iCloud Dropbox Here is a quick breakdown of the four services and their features.

Google Microsoft Apple Dropbox Drive OneDrive iCloud Apple device Emphasis Collaboration Office apps Compatibility users Free 15 GB 5GB 5 GB 2 GB Storage Online Yes Yes Yes No Editing File Yes Yes Yes Yes Versioning Windows Yes Yes Yes Yes App

iOS Yes Yes Yes Yes App Android Yes Yes No Yes App

Picked your chosen cloud storage service? Let’s find out how to sign up for it, install it, and use it!

Google Drive Step 1: Sign Up To sign up for Google Drive, you must have an account. If you already have a Gmail account, then you are all set! If not, it is free and easy to do. 1. Go to www.gmail.com 2. Click Create account 3. The signup form will appear. Enter in the required information 4. Click the check box next to Terms of Service, then click Next step 5. You will have the option to set up recovery options. If you want to skip this step at this time, click Done 6. Your account will be created and the Google welcome page will appear. You now automatically have a Google Drive account! Step 2: Using It From Your Browser Go to www.drive.google.com and log in. Once in, you can upload files, download files, and organize files.

Step 3: Using It On Your Device If you have an Android device, chances are you already have the app installed, you just have to log into the service. If not, go to the app store on your device and search for Google Drive. Install the app on the device and log in once it is finished. It is similar to using Google Drive in your browser.

Step 4: Using It On Your Desktop Having the cloud storage service installed on your computer provides a shortcut to upload files to your storage account instead of logging in and manually handling items every time. 1. Go to www.google.com/drive/download/ 2. Click Download on the Personal Backup and Sync option 3. After installing, it will ask you to log into your Google account. 4. After logging in, you will be asked to choose which folders will get synced from Google Drive (what do you want currently saved on your Google Drive to be saved on your computer)

5. You then will choose the folders on your computer to sync to your Google Drive (what do you want currently saved on your computer to be saved on your Google Drive)

Microsoft OneDrive Step 1: Sign Up To sign up for OneDrive, you must have an account. If you already have an Outlook account, then you are all set! If not, it is free and easy to do. 1. Go to www.onedrive.com and select Sign up for free 2. Select Create a Microsoft account 3. Enter your email address and password, and select Next Your account will be created to access your OneDrive account. Step 2: Using It From Your Browser Go to www.onedrive.live.com and click Sign in. Log in with your Microsoft credentials. You can now upload files, download files, and organize files.

Step 3: Using It On Your Device Go to the app store on your device and search for OneDrive. Install the app on the device and log in once it is finished. It will look similar to using OneDrive in your browser, just more scaled down.

Step 4: Using It On Your Desktop If you have Windows 8.1 or 10, then you already have OneDrive installed. Otherwise, download the software from Microsoft’s website. 1. Go to https://onedrive.live.com/about/en-us/download/ 2. Click Download and follow the instruction to complete the installation 3. After clicking Get started, sign in with you Microsoft account 4. Choose which folders in your OneDrive account to sync with your computer automatically 5. Choose which folders on your computer to sync with your OneDrive account 6. Click Done when you are

finished.

Apple iCloud Step 1: Sign Up To sign up for iCloud, you must have an Apple ID. If you already have an Apple ID, then you are all set! If not, it is free to do. 1. Go to https://appleid.apple.com and click Create your Apple ID 2. Fill out the form and click Continue Your Apple ID will be created to access your iCloud account. Step 2: Using It From Your Browser Go to https://www.icloud.com enter your Apple ID credentials. Click Sign in. You can now upload files, download files, and organize files.

Step 3: Using It On Your Device Apple devices will already have the app installed. Windows user will have to install the app from the app store. Android users are out of luck! iCloud will look very different as it primarily used to back up your device. Step 4: Using It On Your Desktop Apple laptops will already have iCloud installed. 1. Make sure your Mac is running the latest version of OS 11 2. Turn on iCloud by choosing System Preferences from the menu 3. Click iCloud, enter your Apple ID, and select the services you would like to enable 4. To get the most of iCloud, set it up everywhere on your other Apples devices.

Dropbox Step 1: Sign Up To sign up for Dropbox, you must have an account. Signing up is free and easy to do. 1. Go to www.dropbox.com and click the Sign Up button 2. Fill out the form and click the I Agree to Dropbox Terms checkbox 3. Click Sign Up and choose which plan you want (the basic plan for 2GB of storage space is free) and click Continue You now have a Dropbox account. Step 2: Using It From Your Browser Go to https://www.dropbox.com/login and login with your account information. Click Sign in. You can now upload files, download files, and organize files.

Step 3: Using It On Your Device Download and install the Dropbox app onto your device from the respective app store. Log into your account using your credentials. After you log in, you will see a scaled down version of the browser window. You have the ability to access all folders and files and be able to upload new files. Step 4: Using It On Your Desktop To sync your computer and Dropbox automatically, you will need to have the desktop app installed. 1. Download the desktop app on your computer at https://www.dropbox.com/downloading 2. Once installed, you will be prompted to sign in with your credentials 3. Once Dropbox is installed on your computer, you will see a Dropbox folder on your hard drive and see an icon in the system tray or menu bar 4. To add items to the Dropbox, simply drag and drop files and folders into the folder on your hard drive

Is The Cloud For You? What do you want to use the cloud for?  Disaster recovery?  Saving space?  The flexibility? But also need to think about….  How is your Internet connection?  Do you feel comfortable storing files on the cloud?  Would a flash drive work just as well?

100 Garfield Street, Newington, Connecticut 06111-2645 Voice: 860-665-8700 Fax 860-667-1255 http://www.newingtonct.gov/library [email protected]