[Mac-admin] Fwd: Re: iCloud

[Gregory Nowicki]

Some sage advice from Graham. My advice is more blunt. Don't use it
especially if it is for a JLab owned device.

Greg

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: [Mac-admin] iCloud
Date: Wed, 8 Aug 2012 07:57:25 -0400
From: Graham Heyes <heyes at jlab.org>
To: Gregory Nowicki <gnowicki at jlab.org>
CC: mac-admin at jlab.org

To be clear about this, iCloud has many useful features but several are
dangerous.

Firstly, "back to my Mac" and "Find my iPhone" which allow anyone who
knows your AppleID password to locate, lock or wipe your devices. This
is useful if your Mac or iPhone is stolen but terrible if your password
is the thing that is stolen. Personally I keep them turned off. They are
not that useful anyway. If your iPhone or Mac is stolen then any thief
can wipe the device back to factory settings and use it even with the
iCloud features on.

The second "potentially bad" feature is iCloud "Documents & Data" sync.
This automagically syncs documents between your various Apple devices
that use the same AppleID. This is very useful but you must realize that
you have no idea where your data goes on it's little journey from Mac to
iPhone and how secure that route is. Also, anyone who knows your AppleID
and password can set up a third device and sync it with your data. Yes,
you can find out which devices are synced but, to be honest, how often
does anyone check?

So, bottom line, iCloud is useful but dangerous. Evaluate the features
and handle with care.

My 10c worth.

Graham

On Aug 7, 2012, at 9:51 AM, Gregory Nowicki <gnowicki at jlab.org> wrote:

> Do you really want to be using iCloud? Another slap against using the
> cloud. Remotely wiped, iPad, iPhone, and iMac...
> 
> http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/08/apple-amazon-mat-honan-hacking/
> 
> Greg
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