Guide to Risks Associated with File Sharing Platforms
A very useful alternative is the opportunity to share files online, which can save a lot of time because we do not have to upload files to a USB or external hard drive. Some email and cloud services also have restricted file space. Therefore, the best option for that is to use some online data-sharing platform if you need to submit some set of music, videos, or some great project. There is an easy GUI for most of these services where you can quickly drag and drop files and send the connection to the recipient.
Hightail, FileShare, Zippyshare, FileWhopper, and Mediafire are some of the best and most influential file-sharing services. While the use of these platforms has many advantages, you should know about the possible downsides and threats that they could bring. You should read more about the future internet security problems, and how cyber-attacks and many other threats can be avoided. We are therefore going to introduce you to the big risks of using sites for file sharing in 2020.
Malware
You should know that there is a risk that someone might intercept the connection and get a copy of your files while you are using programs to share your files online. The main problem is that by introducing malicious programs to them, the hacker may change the files, which can lead to the spreading of malware on your PC. Malware and spyware programs are viruses and worms that can cause software, hardware, or, in the worst case, theft of your private files, bank accounts, e-wallets, and more to malfunction.
Developers are businesses that develop operating systems, web browsers, and other applications, and also upgrade their systems to enhance security. Hackers, however, are still trying to find new strategies to infect viruses with all forms of software. A decent antivirus program is the safest way to prevent any problems with malicious software and to avoid visiting or uploading any content from unknown sources.
Risk of Identify Theft
The most important thing is to stop possible identity fraud when seeking the safest way to send files online. The biggest concern is that a malicious program will share your private information, IP address, location, and any other data if your PC gets infected by malware. In this case, make sure that your machine has sufficient protection against cyber-attacks before you decide to use any file-sharing option. When it comes to selecting a secure platform for sending content over it, by reading more about other people’s copyrights and feedback, you can verify if it is a trustworthy service.
Expose Your Business to Denial of Service
This dilemma is not so much of a security threat to you. However, if you obtain a large package of files from a sharing site on your PC, it may impact the speed of the internet and cause issues with other software you are currently using. If you are working on some online project at the same time as downloading those files, that could be extremely irritating, which means that you can wait until you finish your job.
Firewall Penetration
There are some kinds of sharing applications that might enable you to turn off the security of the firewall to be able to download data to your PC. You should know, however, that opening a firewall could leave your computer without security for a while, and during that time, there is a great risk of cyberattacks. On the other hand, without you even knowing, some of those platforms could reduce security. Hackers are aware of the functionality. Therefore, it is not an uncommon case that file transfers are intercepted as an effective way to deliver malicious data to your device.
You should realize, however, that even the best file-sharing sites pose a potential danger as well. For that purpose, you should always have antivirus protection installed and never download any content from untrusted websites. A significant number of individuals are exposed to various internet security problems because only about 20 percent of users have adequate protection and knowledge of the actual threats that could exist on the internet.
Legal Problems
These applications can be used for legitimate purposes only, such as sharing the project at work, private files, images, videos, and more. However, if you want to submit official movies, video games, music, and a lot of other content, you risk prosecution because in most countries it could be known as piracy. In that respect, if you want to send your friend a video game or movie, the best way is to upload it to your USB drive.
Our Recommendations
The use of file-sharing platforms has many benefits, particularly if it relates to some projects on your job, as you can save a lot of time by sending or receiving some big files over the internet. The easiest way to prevent any problems when it comes to possible threats with this program is to always have the right antivirus and firewall. Also, if you only share information with your friends, relatives, and colleagues, there is a very small risk that you could pick up any malicious malware, and the only way to do that is if some hackers manage to intercept the connection you are using to share the data. Even if a hacker succeeds in his attempt to intercept the transfer, however, proper protection on the PC would show that no data sent from that link can be downloaded.
If you need to share some more personal information, the most secure way is to use encryption-based software as a safety measure. That way, even if someone tries to intercept the transfer, they’re not going to be able to open the link files. The most reliable options are iDrive, iCloud, OneDrive, and Google Drive when it comes to cloud services, which represent the most common alternative for file sharing today. The issue is that there is the minimal capacity for most of these clouds, and you will need to pay for a subscription and extended restrictions.