Dropbox to store ALL important documents?

[thecomputerguy]

I have a new client whose construction business is just starting to grow very rapidly since hiring some sales people who are good at what they do.

I was thinking of trying to sell them a Server BUT ... the only important documents they currently use are Word, Excel, and PDF's. They currently have no use for any sort of database to run. Their main accounting program is a hosted solution.

They basically need a way to share stuff with 3 desktops in house and 5 laptops which are ALWAYS off-site.

Email is hosted exchange.

I figure set them up with a 50GB dropbox account (or similar service) add the feature that keeps different versions of files, and backup the dropbox to an external hard drive through one of the always on desktops.

Anyone see any problems with this? I mean it's a pretty easy and cheap solution to implement now, and if they ever need anything more they aren't so deep into it that it would be difficult to transition out of.

 

[thecomputerguy]

Oh and ... they can access all of their stuff through their phones which is a pretty nice feature to have.

Only problem is securing the data with permissions is impossible with dropbox ... BUT ... they are employee owned so everyone who would have access to the dropbox would have no reason to dick with files in there.

 

[thecomputerguy]

Looks like Dropbox teams allows for some additional functionality security wise.

 

[RedFoxComp]

Office 365 sounds like it would work well for them.

http://office.microsoft.com/en-ca/business/compare-office-for-business-plans-FX102918419.aspx

Sign up as a reseller

 

[300DDR]

Dropbox sounds like an easy and convenient solution to me.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

Office 365 sounds like it would work well for them.

http://office.microsoft.com/en-ca/business/compare-office-for-business-plans-FX102918419.aspx

Sign up as a reseller

Yeah since they're on hosted Exchange....I'd move them up on and stay on the Microsoft scale....go to a full Office 365 program. Sharepoint, SkyDrive, satisfies all their needs, smart phone access included.

 

[TenYardFight]

What if a laptop gets stolen? Thief has all the company data. Dropbox has already copied it all to the laptop hard drive.

 

[mraikes]

Oh and ... they can access all of their stuff through their phones which is a pretty nice feature to have.

Only problem is securing the data with permissions is impossible with dropbox ... BUT ... they are employee owned so everyone who would have access to the dropbox would have no reason to dick with files in there.

What if a laptop gets stolen? Thief has all the company data. Dropbox has already copied it all to the laptop hard drive.

Dropbox isn't "all or nothing", although the default install sets it up that way.

Dropbox's sharing options (accessible online) may be a good solution to this problem. The "boss" can create shared folders that will be the only ones that sync to specified users. He controls what is in those folders and who has access.

If a laptop is stolen, only the specific documents shared to that user (just for that day's/week's work) will be exposed. And if that's a concern, than setup Truecrypt of something similar on the laptops.

 

[DocGreen]

What if a laptop gets stolen? Thief has all the company data. Dropbox has already copied it all to the laptop hard drive.

Passwords on the laptop should help keep the data safe in the event it's stolen. Sure, we all know how easy it is to get around Windows passwords, but the vast majority of people out there have no clue. TBH, all they're going to do is steal it, MAYBE factory restore it, and take it to a pawn shop.


Also I agree with the people who've suggested setting up shares specific to the employees to prevent EVERYONE from having access to everything.

 

[TenYardFight]

This will fly for some businesses...

 

[DocGreen]

This will fly for some businesses...

You're right, this would work for some businesses, but definitely not all. It all depends very heavily on what data the company is wanting to put in the Dropbox. OP said that their accounting is hosted, so that wouldn't go in there... I'm assuming there wouldn't be any need for sensitive legal documents to be in there either.

Personally from the information I've seen so far I would consider it a low risk. At the same time, the customer would have to understand the risk and be conscious of the data they're storing, where it's being stored, who will have access to it, etc.

 

[basic]

I guess it depends on what the needs are but, in my opinion, Dropbox will never appropriate until they have a check-in/check-out feature. Right now, I can't get our financial people to stop using Dropbox to share Quickbooks databases and foul up each other's work in it. Not saying that check-in/check-out feature would make Dropbox appropriate for Quickbooks, btw.

 

[HFultzjr]

What if a laptop gets stolen? Thief has all the company data. Dropbox has already copied it all to the laptop hard drive.

Maybe you could use something like AxCrypt to encrypt the files in drop box.

User 1 opens (decrypts) a file, makes changes, close the file (encrypts).

File then syncs with drop box.

User 2 then opens (decrypts) the changed file and does the same

I think AxCrypt can be set to auto encypt the file when closed, but still ask for a password when opening.

http://www.axantum.com/axcrypt/

Should be able to come up with some type of configuration to work.

Could use different passwords for different folders/files.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

Passwords on the laptop should help keep the data safe in the event it's stolen. Sure, we all know how easy it is to get around Windows passwords, but the vast majority of people out there have no clue. TBH, all they're going to do is steal it, MAYBE factory restore it, and take it to a pawn shop.
.

Regarding theft/loss of laptop. The real danger here is, most theft rings, including pawn shops...know the value of a laptop is really in the "potential information" on it. Especially if the laptop is a corporate model, even more so if it has an identity badge on it stating it belongs to a healthcare agency or insurance company. Suddenly the value goes from ~1 grand for just the laptop...to at least several grand or more as a source of personal information on the black market. Theft rings and pawn shops have deep ties into these...and will sell the laptop to those underground crime organizations that pilfer the private information off of those laptops. They have the skillsets and tools to bust through logins.

If the laptops will have information on there which is considered important/private...the correct solution to secure it is full disk encryption.

 

[HFultzjr]

Regarding theft/loss of laptop. The real danger here is, most theft rings, including pawn shops...know the value of a laptop is really in the "potential information" on it. Especially if the laptop is a corporate model, even more so if it has an identity badge on it stating it belongs to a healthcare agency or insurance company. Suddenly the value goes from ~1 grand for just the laptop...to at least several grand or more as a source of personal information on the black market. Theft rings and pawn shops have deep ties into these...and will sell the laptop to those underground crime organizations that pilfer the private information off of those laptops. They have the skillsets and tools to bust through logins.

If the laptops will have information on there which is considered important/private...the correct solution to secure it is full disk encryption.

Very good points.

Most anyone with a little knowledge can pull a hard drive, mount it with USB adapter ($12.99) and "have a look around".

 

[DocGreen]

I guess it depends on what the needs are but, in my opinion, Dropbox will never appropriate until they have a check-in/check-out feature. Right now, I can't get our financial people to stop using Dropbox to share Quickbooks databases and foul up each other's work in it. Not saying that check-in/check-out feature would make Dropbox appropriate for Quickbooks, btw.

You CAN NOT store Quickbooks databases on Dropbox. Ever. Even with just one user.

You can, however, store Quickbooks BACKUPS.