Thanks to modern technology, many actions that used to take a lot of time and effort can now be done in a single click. With the advent of file-sharing programs, both individuals and entire companies began to save on costs and time, because the file is sent instantly and there are no costs for printing, stapling, and delivering the document. However, sharing files over the Internet can also be a dangerous activity if one does not use a reliable tool. In this article, we will break down the advantages and disadvantages of file-sharing networks.
Document sharing programs – pros and cons
Below we will break down the strengths and weaknesses of using file-sharing programs on the Internet in detail. Let’s start with the advantages:
- Exchange documents with colleagues easily and easily – Through file-sharing platforms, you can send a wide variety of documents of all sizes, this also includes media files, videos, presentations, and so on. Forwarding is very fast and efficient
- Saves time – sendings happen in real-time, you don’t need to go into third-party offers to open and say document, you have easy access when you need it
- Removes multiple versions of documents – Often, companies misinform employees internally or third-party partners by sending them files with outdated information. This happens because employees accumulate multiple versions of the same document with updated content. All files are automatically synchronized with other versions of the same document, so you always have up-to-date information
- Saves costs -you don’t have to worry about lack of space in physical storage because you store all the files digitally
- Helps you avoid data loss -File-sharing servers perform overnight backups, so if there is a system failure your data will easily be restored from the latest backups
- Possibility to restrict access rights – program administrators can configure different levels of access to documents for different users as well as control their interaction functions such as editing, copying, uploading, printing, etc.
Disadvantages of data sharing programs:
- Confidentiality and plagiarism issues-an employee can use their colleague’s ideas and pass them off as their own, thereby violating intellectual property rights. This is extremely difficult to keep track of if your program does not have tracking features
- High bandwidth-requires high bandwidth-if you can’t make the file exchange software run at a normal speed, it will only be tiresome and slow down the performance
- High risk of data leakage – If you don’t have a good security toolkit like VDR, the chance of data theft is quite high and the consequences are brutal
- High risk of virus infection – a virus can hide on your workstation to access files and upload to your server with other documents
Peer to Peer software – is it safe?
Peer-to-peer file sharing is a way to exchange various data over an informal network. Users choose which files they want to share via P2P and then they are indexed on a central server, making them available for all to read and download by other users. For company operations, this method is a highly unreliable method of sending confidential documents, for obvious reasons. Hackers will have no trouble extracting your files from the server and distributing them elsewhere, after which you won’t be in trouble. In addition, P2P also has a high risk of malware infection.
To ensure that your documents remain private when shared with colleagues or third-party users, you should use a virtual data room, a certified online space with multiple layers of security and ease of use.