What is “Google Drive” ?

What is “Google Drive” ?  

Continued on from Thursday May 10th & Monday May 14th..

Like, Dropbox, Google Drive is “a cloud computing service” from Google, to compete with DropBox, Microsoft's SkyDrive, Apple's iCloud and Evernote – some of the largest..

During many classes we’ve talked about “Google Docs” - Basically “Google Drive” is a super version of this, allowing us to store documents, photos, music, videos, etc. all in one place. And a great feature, is that it syncs with your mobile devices and your computer, so if you make a change from one gadget, it will automatically show up if you were to access it elsewhere.  Just like those of use who are now syncing your “gmail emails, contacts & calendars” with your computer and mobile devices…

What’s nice, is that Google Drive can also track changes and edits we make to documents – so when we hit save, we can look back at all revisions from the past 30 days.

Like DropBox and the others there are various levels of services, currently they offer up to 5GB of space for free – but if that’s not enough you can upgrade to other plans, such as $2.49/month for 25GB, $4.99/month for 100GB, and $49.99 a month for a whopping 1TB. If you move to a premium account it also automatically expands your Gmail storage to 25G

For those of you with iPads, iPhones etc remember that the Apple's iCloud can only be used by Mac users using the “i” operating System; but Google drive is now open to all Operating Systems – Windows, Mac, Androids, etc so it can be used on computers, tablets, iPad and the iPhone (though only through a web browser at the moment).. So anyone can download this drive for your Mac or PC

Protect your mobile devices - cell phones, blackberry's etc.

We received these tips from State Farm Insurance and thought you would find them helpful…

Smartphones (iPhones, Droids, etc); Blackberry’s and other mobile devices are just “always-on computers” that can make phone calls." So how can you protect your phone and your identity from this new breed of mobile-minded criminal? Here are some tips:

Protect your phone
Use common sense in protecting your smartphone from hackers and identity thieves. Don't let strangers borrow your phone, protect access to e-mail and sensitive data with a PIN or password, don't use unofficial apps for online banking, and don't click on links from text messages. Basically, if you wouldn't do it on your home computer, don't do it on your smartphone. Be wary of free apps that aren't from established, trusted, familiar sources. Steer clear of pirated app repositories; stick to official versions for safe mobile surfing. And when you use public WiFi for Web access, don't visit sites that require you to share sensitive personal information such as account numbers or your social security number. Hackers may lurk on WiFi networks.

Watch bills vigilantly
Check your bill carefully each month. If you see downloads you didn't authorize or calls you didn't make, contact your wireless provider immediately. If you receive a confirmation e-mail when you download an app, take time to actually read through it so that you know exactly what you are putting on your phone—and where it's coming from.

Question quirks
If your home computer started doing bizarre things like shutting down without warning, sending unauthorized email messages or pulling up websites that don't match the address typed in, you might suspect a virus. But users don't necessarily make the same connection when bizarre quirks develop on smartphones. Mobile devices will usually issue similar weird warnings when they're infected with malware.

For more tips to protect your online identity and more, visit this State Farm link:

http://www.statefarm.com/learning/planning/prevent_identityFraud.asp