These files that you store on Drive or any cloud service could cause you issues. Avoid saving them
If you use Google Drive in your daily life, you probably store a lot of files. Some of them may become a problem in the medium or long term. They may affect your privacy or security. We will talk to you about the most important ones, so you can better control them or even eliminate them. If they end up in the wrong hands, you may face big problems, and it is advisable to avoid them.
Although we focus on Drive as the most popular platform today, the same can happen on other platforms like OneDrive or Dropbox. Therefore, it is advisable to review everything you store in the cloud and thus avoid problems that affect your privacy on the network or even the privacy of third parties.
The danger of hosting files in the cloud is that they can fall into the wrong hands. This can happen for various reasons, and one of them is that your account gets hijacked. You can also leave it open on someone else’s computer if there is a data leak, a problem with the platform itself, etc.
Confidential information
The first thing that can happen is that you have confidential information saved in Drive. You may have uploaded personal documents at some point, such as a copy of your ID, bank card, or any report containing sensitive data, and this could be a problem if it ends up in the wrong hands.
Although it is a safe platform on paper, as we explained, there may be issues that put all the files stored on it at risk. You may make a mistake, someone may attack the service, etc.
Documents shared with third parties
Another issue is the potential documents you upload and share with third parties. Be especially careful with anything that might contain personal data and sensitive information. Again, if this is exposed, it could compromise your security and make it easier for attackers to trick you.
What could happen? Maybe the other person you're sharing this data with makes a mistake at some point. A hacker might get into their account, or they might accidentally post a document you've previously shared, etc.
Text files containing passwords
It's a huge mistake, but the truth is that many users do this. They have a text document with passwords to all their accounts, so they don't have to memorize them. Basically, using Google Drive storage as a password manager is convenient, but it's not the best solution.
What could happen is that this document is exposed. Someone could log into your account and see all your other passwords. This could happen if, for example, you left the session open on your computer. There could be a leak through no fault of your own.
- Third party information
You should also not save documents that contain third-party information. These could be from coworkers, data from an organization, friends or family, etc. Even if you think these files are safe, as in all the previous cases, there could always be a problem that leads to their exposure.
It is best to restrict any third-party information you have stored in the cloud. Be careful with this. It will help you avoid problems on a personal level, but it may also affect others.
In short, these are some of the types of files you should avoid in Google Drive. Always check very carefully what you have stored, and don’t make the mistake of leaving documents that could become exposed and affect you.