Greetings everyone,

When going paperless, one of the big concerns that people (rightly) have is security.

In the Paperless Document Organization Guide that is launching soon (I promise!) I have some videos where I take you step by step through setting up document security on your computer, but today's tip (see below) is about security considerations when using an online backup provider.

How do you balance the peace of mind of having your documents online with the nervousness of, well, having your documents online?

On a totally unrelated topic, tomorrow I am heading to my favorite American city, Portland, Oregon for a few days (insert Portlandia joke here). While there I will probably be picking up a Smart Cover for my soon-to-arrive iPad 2. Which cover should I get? Or should I forget the Smart Cover altogether? Hit reply to tell me which one is best, or comment on the Facebook page.

Tip: Secure Your Documents Before Online Backup

You've heard about the benefits of using an online backup service, the primary one being that your documents are stored offsite. If something happens to your computer or at your location, you can restore them.

However, you may be nervous about putting sensitive documents in the cloud where (potentially) people watching your Internet connection, hackers, or even the providers' IT staff could get access to them.

A number of online backup vendors have heard this objection and have started using client-side encryption. What does this mean?

Before your documents are even uploaded they become encrypted with your secret password. That way, even if a hacker or snoopy sysadmin gets access to your backup, they can't open it up because it is encrypted and they don't have the key.

This sounds great (and it is), but there is one very significant drawback: if you ever forget your password, you are out of luck. The support department at your backup provider can't help you out because they have no way of getting access. It's important to choose a password that either a) you can remember, or b) is stored securely somewhere outside of the files you are backing up.

With that in mind, if this sounds like something you might want to learn more about, here are what a few online backup vendors have to say about the topic:

Wuala: Security

SpiderOak: True Privacy

CrashPlan: Security

On The Blog

Here are some of my recommended products for going paperless. If you buy them through these links, you'll be buying me a beverage, so thanks!

Fujitsu ScanSnap Scanners