Why Sync Your Windows Desktop With OneDrive?
Putting commonly used folders such as your Windows desktop in the cloud is a great solution if you use your desktop to store downloaded files or frequently accessed items. That way, you always have those files synced across your devices. You can also connect other PCs you use with OneDrive sync.
How to Move Your Desktop to the Cloud With OneDrive
Before you begin, install the OneDrive desktop sync client on your version of Windows. Windows 10 and later have this program.
Are My Files Secure in the Cloud?
Moving your desktop or other folders to the cloud is more convenient than transferring files with a USB stick. However, there are some security implications of storing in the cloud. Whenever you put files online, those files are potentially accessible by others. Law enforcement can, for example, use a warrant to demand access to your files, and you may not be made aware when it happens. C:\Users[User Name]\OneDrive\Desktop A more common predicament is when hackers guess or steal your account password. If that happens, the bad guys potentially have access to your OneDrive files. That’s not a huge deal if all you saved to the cloud is old poetry from high school. Unauthorized access to work documents or files with personal information, however, can be devastating. There are several security measures you can take to mitigate this risk. One is to enable two-factor authentication for your cloud storage account. A simpler measure is to avoid putting anything in the cloud that has information you don’t want others to see. For home users, that usually means keeping items such as financial spreadsheets, bills, and mortgages on your hard drive and not in the cloud, with the attendant risks that come from potentially losing access if the hard drive fails. Microsoft released a Personal Vault feature for OneDrive—rolling out in waves to users worldwide over 2019—that offers additional security through encryption and forced multi-factor authentication. For critical files accessed relatively infrequently, Personal Vault offers a good balance of protection and ease of access.
