Want to know how? Check out the ShareFile security infographic below to learn about our physical and data storage protection, user controls, and advanced mobility features.

Cloud computing has been widely accepted as a means for data storage, among other services. Moving to the cloud can be a smart business move, but do you know what questions to ask of a cloud service provider?

Lipson discusses the fear around cloud computing and offers some practical advice for companies thinking about moving business functions to the cloud. Read the full article, “Is Your Data Safe In The Cloud?” to learn more.

Interested in hearing more from the VP & GM of  the Data Sharing product group at Citrix? Follow Jesse Lipson on Twitter.

SaaS: Software as a service (SaaS) is a model for cloud computing where software and data are hosted remotely on the software provider’s servers. Users connect to the service via the Internet. Web-based email clients are a popular example of SaaS, allowing users to log in to their inbox from an Internet browser rather than opening an installed client on their desktop.

Uptime: Storing data in the cloud is only helpful if you can get to information when you need it. Cloud service providers should be able to give you an idea of how reliable their service has been in the past. Uptime guarantees should account for scheduled maintenance that may affect the availability of the service.

Encryption: Business-focused cloud services will have security measures in place to protect data from being intercepted or hacked. For peace of mind, make sure that your provider encrypts data during transfer to and from their servers. If you send, upload, or download information with the service, it should be protected. Many providers will also encrypt your information while it is at rest on their servers.

Data Portability: Business needs change, and you may find that you need to retrieve all of your data from a cloud provider someday. Ask providers if it is possible to completely remove your information should you no longer require the service or decide to move to a different provider.

While you continue to use the service, ensure that you can remove any data that is out of date or no longer in use. A service should allow you to completely remove files so that you don’t have information stored when it’s no longer necessary.

Redundancy: A cloud service provider should have detailed plans for managing disaster scenarios. While your own business may be tied to a specific location, many SaaS providers maintain multiple server locations and back up data for their primary servers to protect again data loss. Ask providers how they would manage a server failure to verify that they have the infrastructure to get the service back online in a reasonable timeframe.

BYOD: “Bring Your Own Device” has become a popular phrase. As consumers buy tablets and phones to increase connectivity, they naturally want to integrate work functions with their new mobile devices.

Businesses are smart to allow employees to use mobile devices for work. Working remotely can improve productivity and lead to a happier workforce. In order to take advantage of the benefits of convenient mobile work, companies can look into securing their mobile workflow so that data security is not compromised.

Visit ShareFile to learn more about how our secure, cloud-based file transfer solution can benefit your business.

It’s imperative that firm leaders conduct a careful review of their risk in handling confidential client information and ensure that they have appropriate tools and controls in place to manage the risk. It’s critical to understand that email alone, in the absence of additional protective measures, is inherently insecure and inadequate. Transmitting client information via email attachment does not meet the specified legal requirements and fails to live up to the certified public accountant (CPA) commitment to client confidentiality. Alternative means of electronic document transfer must be used.

The Problem of Transmitting Sensitive Client Information: Protection of Confidential Information

For anyone who has ever worked in an accounting firm in any capacity, part of the day one orientation deals with the importance of protecting client confidentiality. CPAs have always, and quite correctly, taken their obligation to safeguard sensitive client information very seriously. In the not too distant past, most of this information existed in paper form, and its transmission was either physical (through the mail or hand delivered) or verbal over the phone. Safeguarding this type of information was relatively straightforward, and most firms had well thought out policies to ensure security. Today, of course, the world is no longer so simple. Firms of all sizes have the prospect of working globally with a highly mobile workforce and client base, and handling information may exist only electronically. Working efficiently in this environment, while still maintaining the highest standards of client confidentiality, is a far more difficult challenge.

To learn more about how to restore security and improve workflow, read this whitepaper on client confidentiality, written by Ken McCall of Boomer Consulting and Laura Ivey of ShareFile. This paper will review some of the major components of the risk associated with handling confidential client information and suggest ways to mitigate it.

Still have questions or want to learn how to protect your clients’ confidentiality? Give us a call today 1-800-441-3453.

Backups

ShareFile employs multiple backup measures to minimize data loss in the event of natural disaster, terrorism, fire or any other unexpected event that could result in the destruction of the hardware that hosts the service.

Disaster Recovery

Client files are backed up to a disaster recovery data center on a continuous basis. In the event of a natural disaster or catastrophic hardware failure at the primary data center that services an account, resources at the disaster recovery data center can be brought online to minimize the disruption to the service.

Redundant File Storage

All client files are mirrored in real-time to a primary and secondary storage location. In the event of a failure in the primary storage location, the secondary location is used automatically.

Security

-ShareFile software has been created with security in mind. Each user in the system has a unique login and password. All user-created passwords are hashed in the ShareFile database, meaning that not even ShareFile support personnel have the ability to determine a user’s password.

-All uploaded files are scanned by anti-virus software. Any files that are flagged as potential viruses are denoted with a red exclamation point icon within the application, and a warning will be displayed before attempting to download these files.

-All communications between ShareFile and the user are encrypted using the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protocol. This is the same industry-standard protocol used by online banking and popular e-commerce services such as Amazon.com for secure communication over the Internet.

-Each of ShareFile’s data centers has attained third-party SSAE 16 certification, which verifies all data center facilities operate with strict security procedures.

While it’s tempting to consider a file sharing and storage service that is promoted as free or feels like a real “steal,” always check with the company on their disaster recovery, redundant file storage and security policies. If they aren’t forthcoming on how they will secure, manage and store your data, consider what costs – missed deadlines, lost revenue, forfeit of competitive advantage and damage to your corporate brand – that might present down the road.

Our support and account management teams frequently work with account administrators who want to learn more about best practices for maintaining security. Here are a few of the features that many administrators have found helpful:

Always require passwords for download – ShareFile offers flexible settings for upload and download links that you send from your account. You can require recipients to login when sending confidential files, but you can also send links without requiring users to log in if extra security is not necessary.

If you find that you really always want the links that you send from your ShareFile account to require log in, your account settings can be changed so that any links will require a user name and password for download. To make this change, please contact your account manager or ShareFile Support for assistance.

Limit how many times a download link will work- When you send a link to a file, you can make sure that the link will only allow a single download. This prevents your recipient from sharing the file that you sent by forwarding the link to another person.

When you click ‘Send’ or ‘Send a File’, there is a drop down menu to specify the ‘Downloads per user’ right on the Send screen. If you do plan to limit the number of times that the link will work, we recommend using the ‘Message’ field to enter a custom note to the recipient letting them know about the limitation. This will prevent any need to send the link to them again if they close the file without saving it.

Require strong passwords- ShareFile can enforce custom password requirements for your account. If you would prefer to have stricter policies in place for the length or content of passwords, or to enforce regular password updates, you can make these changes in the ‘Admin’ section. To the right of the Admin page click ‘Password Policy’ to see all of the available options and change your current settings to reflect the policy that you would like to have in place.

Display a non-disclosure agreement on your login page – To discourage users from distributing information stored on your account, you can place a non-disclosure agreement directly on the login page. You can use any text that you would like so that your confidentiality agreement will be completely relevant to your company and data.

In order to add login page text, you can log in to your account and click on the ‘Admin’ link in the top navigation bar. On the Admin screen, click ‘Edit Custom Branding’ to the right of the screen. If you expand the ‘Miscellaneous’ section, you can paste all of your non-disclosure text into the ‘Login Page Text’ field. This text will display right on your login page.

Do you have any questions about which features are the best fit for your account? Feel free to contact your account manager or support for help. If you don’t have an account and would like to see how ShareFile can help you send large files securely, sign up for a 30 day free trial!

Most of the advantages to flash drives are the same as their weaknesses.

Having a small device that can go in your pocket or in your purse and carry all of your files is extremely convenient and practical. But their small size also makes them easy to lose and a target to be stolen. All of your files could end up in someone else’s hands and there is no way that is a good thing for your company. An incident just recently happened to one of the world’s leading professional services organizations. A flash drive, containing information on clients’ current and former employees’ 401k retirement plans, was stolen. This is not the first company, or the last, that has experienced this same nightmare.

What would happen to your company if you lost proprietary information or personal information of your clients? Would you lose the client? Would they file a lawsuit? Would you implement a ‘No Flash Drives’ policy?

So how do you provide your employees with a convenient, easy, and secure way of accessing their files on-the-go? That’s where ShareFile comes in. Our web-based service is there for you and your employees 24/7 with secure access to files—on the road, on vacation, in a hotel, in a foreign country, anywhere. You and your clients can even use ShareFile on your mobile devices to provide the ultimate convenience.

So, why are you still using a flash drive? If you need help quitting your flash drive habit, check us out. We’re happy to help you kick your habit!

Challenges

Do you or your coworkers use thumb (flash) drives to transfer information from one point to another? I’d guess you use them from time to time… when you have access to one and need to send a large document. It’s simple, right? Locate the flash drive (stored somewhere underneath the millions of papers piled atop your desk), wait for the flash drive to load, find your file, navigate to your email and attach the document from your flash drive. Oh wait. You got that error… the attachment size exceeds the allowable limit. How annoying.

Well you could always print the necessary documents and transfer them that way. Chances are most businesses print documents on a daily/weekly/monthly basis.  A lot of them.  In addition to printing costs, some companies may pay the extra costs associated with courier or shipping services to transfer documents. Ever thought of ways to significantly reduce the amount of documents that your office prints on a daily basis? You’ve heard about those companies “going green” but how do they do it?

There is also the option of hosting your own FTP to send and store files.  The problem is, this generally results is more of a headache for your tech team. Oh yeah, and unhappy clients. In the words of one of our clients, “[Prior to ShareFile] we had our own FTP storage space on our server to use for transferring files but it was cumbersome for our clients to use (plus they needed FTP software) and it was impossible for us to track the activity on the site.”

Solution

The challenge with the above methods of file transfer is the security risk, the costs associated with printing/delivery and simply just the inconvenience. What if your business could send and receive files up to 10GB in size, exchange documents instantly, provide clients with 24/7 access to their documents and save money while doing so? You can. Go ahead; try it for yourself for free today.

Have questions? Give us a call at 1-800-441-3453.

Greymane is a medium-sized general contracting company that services the hospitality industry as well as commercial, institutional, and high-end residential markets. The company regularly bids on different projects, and exchanges a large volume of documents and drawings. “These documents frequently go out to dozens of subcontractors and suppliers for pricing,” says Alex.

The company was challenged with the high cost of printing prior to ShareFile.  Alex tells me that in one year, Greymane spent more than $50,000 with a local printer.  Not only was the company spending a significant amount on printing costs, but it was also using valuable time in the process.

Alex says, “Before ShareFile, it would take us the better part of 3 or 4 days to get done what now happens instantaneously. We really needed an efficient way to make inquiries with subcontractors and suppliers for various elements of a project and luckily, we found our solution in ShareFile.”

With password-protected access Greymane can be confident about security and have complete control over which suppliers and subcontractors have access to projects. Employees at the company can monitor activity by tracking exactly which documents have been downloaded, at what time, and by whom.

“To put it simply, ShareFile has paid for itself tenfold,” says Alex.

If you’d like to see how others in the construction industry are using ShareFile, check out this ShareFile customer testimonial on our YouTube channel.

Currently, the agency sends and receives a massive amount of data files and transfers extremely large creative files to its vendors. Scott Petinga, President of AKQURACY, says “Security is by far the biggest benefit of ShareFile. We work with a plethora of teams within any given client and not everyone needs the same level of access to project files. With ShareFile’s granular folder-level permissions we’re able to customize security settings, enabling specific users to have access to specific files. This keeps us compliant with legal regulations regarding the privacy and security of confidential information.” Scott explains that ShareFile is also much more streamlined because of power tools like Desktop Sync, Drive Mapping, Outlook Plug-in and mobile apps, which make workflow much faster and more efficient for employees working remotely.

Tracking and alerts are an easy way to make individuals involved with the file sharing process aware of new file uploads. The agency no longer has to send a separate email telling those individual users that files have been uploaded, and it saves the hassle of sending links back and forth. The agency also has a ShareFile log-in box at the top of their website, which makes it easy for clients to access their files and information securely.

Scott says that ShareFile is very intuitive; making it incredibly easy for everyone on a project to access and manage files via email, mobile and/or web. In addition the security features have improved the agency’s compliance with legal regulations surrounding the privacy and security of information. “We didn’t care for the level of security (or lack thereof) behind our prior methods of data sharing. We also had size limitations, connectivity issues and a general sense of unreliability with other products. With ShareFile, it’s easy for any member of our team to gain access and manage content. This saves us time, which translates directly to increased margin,” says Scott.

Then click “Java Uploader” and Save. As long as your internet connection can handle the speed, you should see significantly faster uploads.

To learn more about enhanced uploading, I went straight to the source, Josh Smith, our Infrastructure Developer.

When I asked Josh, he stated the idea actually came from a potential customer. A large company needed to upload large 2GB+ files many times a day. Anything we could do to improve upload speeds would save a lot of time and give them the ability to free up more resources. Knowing this would help all of our clients, our development team went right to work. The “potential” customer is now an actual customer.

How the Java Uploader works is very interesting. There is obviously much more complex logic and factors involved, but to put it into easy-to-understand terms, our development team created a way for the Java Uploader to look at files differently. The uploader looks at numerous factors, including your internet connection, file size, and much more. The new uploader no longer sees one huge massive file, it sees many smaller files that get uploaded much faster. Not only do you now have the ability to upload entire folders quickly and easily, but the Java Uploader has an auto-resume feature that will pick up where it left off if for some reason your internet connection fails.

Clients have claimed they have seen increases in upload speeds of over 50%. Competition? We just went from being faster to significantly faster.

Layer 1: As a ShareFile user, the first layer of security is in regard to accessing your account. Each user of the system has a unique login and password. All user passwords are hashed in the ShareFile database, meaning that not even the ShareFile support personnel have the ability to view or in any way determine a user’s password. To access your sensitive documents, you are prompted to sign into your account with your email and password. This serves to protect your information from unauthorized users.

Layer 2: The second layer of security is default privacy settings. By default, your files are only accessible if you choose to share them with others. When ShareFile users create folders in the system, only the specified users that are designated by owner of the folder are able to access the contents of those folders. Users who do not have access to the folder will not even see the folder in their view of the system. So, you can rest assured knowing that your information is kept confidential.

Layer 3: ShareFile’s servers are located in facilities that are managed by Windstream Hosted Solutions and Amazon Web Services, trusted providers of secure and reliable data centers. Our data centers feature computer network security measures such as:

• Ballistic-proof exterior, including doors & windows
• Fingerprint scanners and ID checking for all entry and exit of the facility
• Double Man Traps force double verification and provides extra secure data center entry
• Redundant off-site monitoring of all security systems
• Locked Cabinets and Cages

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Layer 4: Our privately managed server farm is equipped with the latest firewalls and computer internet security updates to help keep your data completely safe. Third-party SAS 70 Type II certification verifies that all data center facilities operate with strict security procedures. Servers are protected with a dedicated firewall, which constantly scans for and protects against malicious threats. The firewall protects ‘zero-day’ protection against any traffic that does not conform to standard Internet protocols, behaviors, or patterns.

Layer 5: All communications between ShareFile and the user are encrypted using the SSL (Secure Socket Layer). This is the same functionality used by banks and popular e-commerce services for secure communication. ShareFile also offers the ability to store your files encrypted when they are at rest on our servers, adding an additional layer of security. Additionally, all uploaded files are scanned by anti-virus software. Any files that are flagged as potential viruses are denoted with a red exclamation point icon within the application, and a warning is displayed before users attempt to download these files.

Layer 6: We also have several corporate policies in place that help protect the security of data in the system. All support functions are conducted by ShareFile employees, and access is restricted by IP address so that support functions can only be performed from within the secure ShareFile physical office facilities. Additionally, it is company policy that ShareFile support engineers only access client data when such support has been specifically requested by a user. All login and upload/download activity by support engineers here at ShareFile is logged in our activity log, which is completely viewable by administrators on each account.

Layer 7: Our latest layer of security features an advanced security set, focused on enterprise-level capabilities, including granular control over password strength requirements and number of failed logins before user is locked out, and forced reset of password after defined number of days to help comply with PCI and other security requirements and best practices.

If you’re interested in learning more about how your data is protected with ShareFile, download our security report.

However, lawmakers aren’t so certain about the new proposed legislation, arguing that it would give the government unprecedented access to private data. Critics say that the promotion of shared information about cyber-attacks with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security would violate laws limiting government access to private data. According to an article in Network World, the proposal will take away protection found in laws such as the Wiretap Act and the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, in favor of the proposed broad information sharing.

So what should businesses do to protect against cyber security threats?

The best method to use is a proactive approach to data security. ShareFile’s operational data centers have security measures in place to protect data. Third party SAS 70 Type II certification verifies that all data center facilities operate with strict security procedures. ShareFile’s servers are protected with a dedicated firewall, which constantly scans for and protects against malicious threats. Additionally, encryption technology, password protection, and even the ability to limit the IP addresses that may access a ShareFile account online, keep data secure and available only to authorized parties. By taking a proactive approach, instead of a reactive approach, to data security, businesses can ensure customer data protection.

With ShareFile’s new folder invitation feature, folder administrators will be able to send a link granting full folder access to as many email recipients as they would like without having to set the users up with folder access first. This feature is designed to make it easier for folder administrators to grant access to folders to a large group of users. These invitations will allow interested parties to sign up for gain access to folders within a ShareFile account. At the same time, we have also made updates to the “Remember Me” check box on the Login screen of a ShareFile account. Now, the check box reads “Keep me logged in,” as opposed to “Remember Me;” by selecting this option, the ShareFile account will save the email address and password of the user so that it will be automatically filled in whenever you login using the same browser on your computer. For any new accounts opened on the 16th of May or after, the box will read “Remember Me,” but this box will only save the user’s email address, and not their password. This update is designed to improve security within an account because the user must enter their ShareFile password each time they login. Accounts created prior to the 16th of May can also have this setting updated by contacting our Support team at support@sharefile.com. Finally, this month, our Development teams made a number of new account settings available, including the ability to limit file versions, create case-sensitive passwords and limit IP addresses. In limiting file versions, administrators can change the number of copies of a file that will be saved as separate versions on a folder. Case-sensitive passwords can also be enforced on an account-wide basis and accounts may now also limit account activity to a given number of IP addresses. This allows accounts to limit file access and to discourage distribution to external users. To change both the password settings in your account or to limit the IP addresses accessing your account, please contact ShareFile Support at support@sharefile.com.

Each one of these feature enhancements significantly increases your ability to manage your ShareFile account and each one was a result of customer feedback. If there are any new upgrades or suggestions on how we can help you to better manage your account, please contact us or email suggestions@sharefile.com.

In a separate study by IBM, 60% of international organizations are ready to move forward with cloud computing over the next five years as a way to increase their business and gain an edge over their competitors. This percentage is double the percentage that the survey got in their 2009 study showing that cloud computing is clearly on the rise as organizations continue to grow and become more international. More information on this study can be found here.

ShareFile is always looking for new ways to increase our international presence. Over the past few years, we have already added three new datacenters to service our international customers with servers located in the European Union, Southeast Asia and Japan, giving ShareFile a total of five. We have also updated our European datacenter to allow Virtual Data Room customers to have their accounts hosted through this EU server. ShareFile is continuing to grow and improve our business around the world. As the demand for cloud computing continues to increase, we will constantly be updating our service and looking for new ways to better service our customers around the world.

Account Services representatives conduct daily training webinars and also one-on-one sessions for customers. The team has the opportunity to work with new our accounts and learn the reasons our customers chose ShareFile as a solution for their business. I recently asked two Account Services representatives, Alex Hofford and Amanda Rogers, about the features and benefits of a ShareFile account that are most helpful to people who are just getting started or looking to learn more. Below are some of the tips they shared.

What are the most common questions that you hear from new accounts?

Alex:
FAQ- One of the most common questions I get from clients is “What is my client going to be able to see when they log in?”

Answer- While the specific answer to this question will be different with each account, the fundamental answer lies within our Folder Access permissions. With these options, the account administrator can control not only which folders each client user can see in the system, but also any download/upload capability and email notifications. These options create a level of customization so that you and your clients can get the most appropriate use out of our system.

Amanda:
FAQ- “How is the transfer secure if we send out an email with a link to download a file? What if the email gets intercepted?”

Answer- I often get asked this question, especially when going over the ‘Require user to login’ option within ‘Send a File’. I point out that if the user isn’t already created as a user on the account, the system will assign them a password. I get a lot of concern over the password coming out in the same email as the link to the file. There are measures that the administrator(s) can put into place within their account to add additional security. Our first recommendation is to create the person as user in the system and then grant them access to a folder in the account that has the material you would be sending to them. If the user is created in this way, then they will be required to log-in each time before they can access the folder. They will be sent a temporary system-generated password in an initial email and will be prompted to change that password as soon as they log-in the first time. Email notifications can be turned on, so that notification will be provided as soon as new files have been uploaded to the folder.

I’ve also helped accounts with their email templates so that a new user’s password won’t go out in an email. Some accounts even change the passwords for all users to the last four digits of their SSN (for those in Accounting and Financial industries) and then only say in the welcome email that their password is the last four digits of their SSN. I also refer those who ask these questions to the Reporting feature in their account and let them know that they can trace downloads to an IP address and location to determine who is doing the downloading/uploading of a file.

What are the most popular features with your accounts?

Alex: Across all of our accounts, we provide access to the Desktop Widget tool in order to provide easy access to the ShareFile account without having to utilize an internet browser. The Widget allows the user to see the folders and files they have access to in the ShareFile account, while providing a way to upload documents, send files, and create new folders/subfolders.

Many people tell me they like the Widget because of the ability to Drag-and-Drop files in and out of the Widget window. This is a very easy way to move a large number of folders and/or files at once from outside the client portal.

Amanda: The Outlook Plug-in—everyone loves how easy it is to use!

The Reporting page and tracking features are also very popular. All of the users on an account may not be in close proximity with each other. Our notifications, combined with the Activity Log available in each folder, help the Administrator know if their colleagues and clients are getting their work done. Many administrators like being able to check to see how many files have been downloaded and to know right away when that happens. They also like knowing that if there is ever a question about meeting a deadline, they can use the Reporting features to get a time stamp of their work.

What are the best ways to get help when you’re getting started with a new account?

Alex: The Help link in the top right corner of the ShareFile portal menu provides a variety of options to get our clients the help they need as quickly as possible. This page contains a search field for our Knowledge Base (a collection of articles detailing various aspects of our service), a link to chat live with our Support Team, and contact information for both the support team and your account manager. Using these tools, customers can get the answer they need in a variety of different ways.

Amanda: We broadcast a daily webinar, held during the week at 2PM EDT. Each account has a dedicated account manager, who serves as a point of contact for any questions that come up as you start using the service. Customers can also contact their account manager to schedule a free training session for themselves and their colleagues if the webinars are time conflicting or if they would like the ability to ask more questions during training.

Many thanks to Alex and Amanda for the expert advice on getting started with your ShareFile account! If you have any questions or would like any help getting started with your account, please feel free to contact us at support@sharefile.com.

If you don’t have an account yet and would be interested in learning more about our service, check out our 30-day free trial at ShareFile.

Some concerns involve the possibility of actually limiting progress by writing any specific methods or requirements for protecting data and network systems into law. Any explicit stipulations may force businesses to keep dated measures in place after they have become obsolete, potentially driving resources away from the implementation of newer and more sophisticated security technology. In acknowledgement of these issues, the proposal introduced on May 12th does not recommend specific requirements but instead offers potential incentives to companies for meeting or exceeding standard expectations for security that the Department of Homeland Security will decide.

The reach of the Department of Homeland Security, and even the White House itself, is also a matter of discussion here. CNET reported the following regarding a comment from an unnamed Department of Homeland Security official: “If ‘industry does not come forward’ with an ‘appropriate’ standard, the draft legislation would give the government the power to ‘pick one, to create one, to modify one and choose that one. We believe that won’t be necessary.’” If this line of thinking is incorporated into law, this would leave open the possibility for the Department of Homeland Security to create and promote a standard that the Department determines to be appropriate for corporate information security.

Further, the New York Times reports that the Obama administration announced that under the proposed law, the Department of Homeland Security would be able to identify private organizations that are considered important to national stability and to have increased control over the computer system and networks of these companies, so that federal government could intervene in case of a security breach to prevent the spread of damage.

In this environment, a proactive approach to data security is best. The ShareFile service offers a hosted solution to protect information using the same encryption technology used by online banking and ecommerce companies. Further, SAS 70 type II servers, password protection, and even the ability to limit the IP addresses that may access a ShareFile account online keep account data secure and available only to authorized parties.

ShareFile has recently been able to offer consistent, secure file transfer and storage where other services have failed because of our focus on infrastructure and staying up to date with changes in data protection and migration. The recent interruption in Amazon Web Services which affected many companies did not affect ShareFile clients although our servers are hosted by Amazon, because our worldwide network of servers is designed to allow data to be migrated to the healthiest server on short notice. Further, data is backed up in real time to alternate server locations to allow ShareFile to restore client data as quickly as possible in case of server failure.

European researchers also recently released a report on how some file transfer services compromise information security by using unique ids for files stored on their service which can be predicted and exploited to gain access to files. The method used by the services cited in the report creates ids by making incremental changes from id to id, which makes it possible to determine the pattern used. The ShareFile service employs a random string of characters too long to guess to identify and store each file, and there is always the option to require login to access any files or links created, preventing access to the file by unauthorized users even if they had a file id. If an IP address attempts 20 wrong ‘guesses’ at a file id to try to access a file, the system will lock out any attempts by that IP address to access the account or any stored files for 10 minutes.

For more information on how our world-class large file transfer and storage service can help you keep your confidential files safe, please see our website at www.sharefile.com.

Watch a short, informative video and learn how ShareFile can help your business.

Be sure to sign up for a 30-day FREE trial and try ShareFile for yourself. Click HERE to get started.

In response to the increase in mobile users, and to coincide with ShareFile’s mobile strategy, we have recently released mobile apps for Android and iOS (optimized tablet applications soon on the way). The applications allow customers to access their files on-the-go and even save downloads in a convenient folder on the account. We have seen and incredible adoption rate as more offices are going mobile. One ShareFile user says, “Fantastic app. One less reason to sit through start up on the PC. +1 for the Mobile Office.” Another user says, “Great app- the ability to manage users as well as files is superb.”

We will continue to develop innovative features to make our service as seamless as possible for our customers.

Android user? Click here to download.
Apple user? Download the app right from the iTunes store.

According to Jesse Lipson, CEO of ShareFile,

“We have a whole farm of servers, spread across availability zones, that handle uploads and downloads. These servers are interchangeable, so if one or multiple servers go down, customers are not affected. We also have systems in place that constantly check each of our upload and download servers for a ‘heartbeat’, hitting a page on the servers that returns the ‘vital signs’ regarding the load of the server and it’s level of utilization. If the vital signs are not healthy (or if the server doesn’t respond to the heartbeat request), the server is automatically dropped from our server farm.”

Additionally, our data centers are designed to be protected in the instance of a weather-related event, with features such as hurricane-rated roofs, with multiple redundant power sources. Our servers are also designed to protect against data loss by mirroring all data in real-time to two separate locations and performing incremental and full backups of all system data.

Want to learn more about how we protect your data? Visit our Security Information page.

Interested in looking at our security report? Click here to download it in PDF format.

The company now uses ShareFile to streamline its business process. Employees at the firm use ShareFile’s Outlook Plug-in to easily send links to their clients and consultants. The firm’s design team also finds it helpful to post drawing sets on their ShareFile “plan room” to eliminate printing and delivery costs, while having the ability to track when those files have been downloaded and reviewed. The firm even uses ShareFile during the bidding process and saves roughly $2,000 on printing and delivery fees for small to medium sized projects.

Today, Geier Brown Renfrow relies on its ShareFile account every day to help provide the exceptional service that has made the firm an enduring part of the northern Virginia community for over 30 years.

With traditional storage methods, users worry about running out of space on flash drives and CDs or worry about keeping up with a physical device. However, with ShareFile you can upload files directly to your account, which provides an easy and secure online storage solution, customized for almost any small to medium sized business. All data is transmitted and stored with 128-bit SSL encryption, stored in a SAS 70 audited data center, and is audited regularly by a third-party. Users can store files on their account for a specified period of time and can access this information from virtually anywhere, even on-the-go through ShareFile’s mobile app for Android.

Our Desktop Sync power tool also allows users to easily synchronize files and folders by automating existing file sharing and storage workflows to accommodate the needs of today’s business users.

So, instead of being an April Fool, join over two million users and take advantage of the ShareFile service to take the insecurity and hassle out of data storage and file exchange today!

Try ShareFile for FREE today

We are proud to announce that we have opened up a new data center located in Tokyo, Japan. This brings the total number of data centers that service our customers to five. We now have two centers in the United States, one in the European Union and two in the Asian region. This new data center should significantly improve upload and download speeds for this region, and we are very excited about this server announcement and what it means to our Asian customers.

In addition to this new server, we have also updated our European data center for Virtual Data Room customers. ShareFile’s Virtual Data Room is our premier service and allows customers to setup client users with view-only access, in addition to standard download and upload permissions. This service also allows for custom watermarking, print permissions, full-text searching and advanced audit reporting and click trails. Thanks to this enhancement, ShareFile’s European VDR customers will not have to worry about their files being stored in the United States, and they should see both improved download and upload speeds and quicker speeds for document renderer to view-only capabilities.
With these new international enhancements, our goal to raise the bar for customer service is greatly improved and we are excited about this opportunity to make it easier for our international customers to utilize the ShareFile service. To learn more about these enhancements or to migrate your account to either our newest data center or to our new Virtual Data Room server, please do not hesitate to contact our Support team.

Released in January, ShareFile Desktop Sync quickly became the most popular feature available in the Power Tools line. Like all of the Power Tools, Desktop Sync was designed to better integrate the ShareFile web-based service with processes that our clients already utilize on a daily basis for faster and more streamlined file transfer. With Desktop Sync, local folders can be designated to synchronize with folders located on your ShareFile account, allowing files and folders to be managed through an Explorer or Finder screen. Sync jobs are created and managed though a user-friendly interface, and the development of the tool has been part of a broad effort to offer solutions that are compatible across operating systems. Desktop Sync boasts the ability to run on Mac, Windows, and Linux operating systems.

By popular demand, the Enterprise Sync tool introduces the following capabilities to our Desktop Sync tool:
• Compatible with server and network environment
• Ability for an administrator to create and manage sync jobs for multiple user accounts
• Constantly run sync jobs or schedule jobs to run at only designated times
• Detailed logging on each sync job

These features will allow IT departments and other administrators to coordinate sync jobs across offices, and to back up files at the times convenient for them. This can allow for constant syncing, even when a user isn’t logged in, or only at specified times, such as in the evening outside of normal office hours to allow for less drain on network bandwidth.

Enterprise Sync is a big step towards increasing ShareFile’s ability to provide businesses with the most cutting edge and intuitive tools to improve security and convenience in file transfer. Along with the Outlook Plug-in, ShareFile API, and ShareFile Command Line Interface, Enterprise Sync can help businesses ensure that they receive all of the benefits of the ShareFile service by promoting consistent use across an office and single-user administration.

We are looking forward to adding even more improvements and supporting features soon- look forward to more updates over the next few months!

6 Marketing Lessons Learned from a Guy Who Eats Frozen Food for a Living: A great post from Gregory Ng from Brooks Bell Interactive and how he has built up his video review site using some excellent marketing tactics. You don’t need to eat frozen food to benefit from Greg’s solid advice.

The Best Books for Business Owners: We have a bookshelf in the office that features a wide range of business books. If you take a quick trip around the office during lunch you will often find a few people unwinding while reading a book they have grabbed off the shelf. Inc. Magazine has a great article listing a number of business books from 2010 that are well worth picking up.

How Twitter Use Has Changed, From 2009 to 2010: Twitter has had a great year and is launching a self-serve ad model. ReadWriteWeb has an interesting, data-heavy article looking at how the micro-blogging service has changed from 2009 to 2010.

Zappos CEO and COO Blog: This isn’t a link to a specific post, but the blog of Tony Hsieh. Tony is the CEO of Zappos as well as the author of “Delivering Happiness” and an incredibly brilliant entrepreneur.

5 Ways Cities Are Using Social Media to Reverse Economic Downturn: This Mashable article shows 5 examples of cities using social media in order to create jobs and stir economic growth. There are a few ideas being used that can be applied to any business.

October serves as a national awareness month for a variety of issues in the US. You may already know that this is the month that many organizations make their biggest push to raise funds for breast cancer research and that communities renew their commitment to the arts, and it’s also National Cyber Security Awareness Month. This year, the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) has kicked off October efforts to promote internet security by announcing their new public awareness campaign, STOP|THINK|CONNECT. The campaign strives to help end users remember that their actions on the web can affect their personal and financial security, as well as the security of others.

This message has been crafted and supported by a large and diverse group of government agencies and private companies that are dedicated to promoting a responsible and thoughtful approach to accessing the internet and sending information on the end user level. Efforts aim to increase general awareness of security issues on the web and also to educate users to protect themselves from breaches of privacy or corruption of their computer by malware. For example, participant companies like Microsoft have created pages on their websites with guidelines and resources to help consumers learn how to create stronger passwords and ensure that they have the appropriate protections in place.

While STOP|THINK|CONNECT is directed mainly towards promoting good habits in personal internet use, National Cyber Security Awareness Month is also a good time to remember that responsible internet practices are especially crucial for professionals. When handling private information for clients, it is extremely important that businesses focus on keeping up to date with the most comprehensive security solutions available.

This is one reason that professionals turn to ShareFile for help with transferring sensitive files through email or setting up secure portals to facilitate communication with clients. The ShareFile service provides encryption for transferred and stored files, password protection, audit features, flexible access controls within the account, and virus scan software. To learn more about our service, please visit our ShareFile Feature Overview page.

To try and prevent these breaches, many states in the US have started to pass strict privacy protection laws that require the encryption of personal information that is transferred or stored as backup. Just this week, the FTC supported a new Data Security and Breach Notification Act, which would require businesses to develop data protection plans and restrict unauthorized access to private information.

Many companies, including ShareFile, already take proactive measures to ensure the protection of client data through encryption and compliance with existing federal regulations. However, these new regulations will force all companies to be in compliance and protect personal information so as to prevent widespread privacy breaches, like the one at Google, from occurring in an increasingly virtual world.

To read more about how we protect your data visit our Data Security page.