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How 2-Way Synchronization Will Help You Secure Data!

Picture two people working remotely apart from each other on the same project. They make progress during the week, but when they attempt to compare notes, it becomes a huge mess trying to mesh the two projects.

You can avoid situations like this.

With 2-way synchronization, data is mirrored in real-time and solve these issues.

What is 2-Way Synchronization?

2-way synchronization is a specific type of file synchronization. File synchronization is the process that enables two locations to contain the same information simultaneously. If any changes are made in one database, it also affects the other one.

Another form of synchronization is one-way synchronization. When using one-way synchronization, only the content or changes from the main location are copied to the other location. It is essentially a backup storage in case you ever lose access to the main one.

In case the synchronization is bidirectional (another word for 2-way synchronization), however, both sides can change a file. In this case, they are considered equal in their permissions to change the content.

For example, if file A changes, so will file B as soon as the system detects the change (which happens almost instantly). However, unlike one-directional systems, if file B changes, so will file A as well.

In most cases, the files do not need to be in the same program for the synchronization to work. You can use two different software and still have access.

There are ways to customize the permissions of the synchronized locations, too. For example, you can set it up so one of them can delete files, but the other cannot, even if both can make changes to the files. This setting comes in handy if you need to work with a person that is not a part of your company, such as a third-party contractor.

Why is 2-Way Synchronization Important?

Of course, you already know the dangers of keeping all your data in one place – if your system is ever hacked, you may lose access to everything.

Also, using 2-way synchronization programs can enable you to work using multiple tools at the same time and increase efficiency in remote work.

Protection Against Ransomware

Offices all around the globe went remote during the COVID-19 outbreak. Unfortunately, this trend opened many new possibilities for hackers. So far, the surge in global ransomware has gone up 40% this year.

Hackers keep upgrading their technology to be more efficient, you need to do the same with your cyber defenses. Ransomware can only encrypt servers that it has access to. If you have another secure method of reaching your files, you may be able to circumvent any problems with your backup.

Getting hit by ransomware can cost thousands, if not millions of dollars to your business, so it is smart to have a failsafe plan if your company is ever hit by surprise.

Increase in Productivity

This technology enables you to open a file in more than one program simultaneously.  Nowadays, cloud services can offer a helping hand if you wish to use email tools, CRM, or ERP systems at the same time.

By synching the information, you will not have to copy the same file to a different location. Even if you are working alone, synching can significantly reduce the time lost by managing several different files. Your productivity will go up and you will have more flexibility and options of programs to use.

Efficiency in Remote Work

Another major advantage of using a program with 2-way synchronization is that you can cut the time spent using the files considerably. When two or more employees are working on a file at the same time but cannot see each other changes, there is often confusion and a lag in efficiency.

If you have to wait for feedback before you work, you can lose precious time, too. By using this system, instant feedback is possible without even having to leave your screen.

Advantages and Disadvantages of 2-Way Synchronization

2-way synchronization programs can help you in several situations. Unfortunately, they also have a couple of drawbacks if your internet access is limited or you have security issues.

Advantages

These are some of the advantages you stand to gain from adopting a 2-way synchronization system:

  • Solve synchronization issues: Bidirectional syncing keeps files in both locations up to date, making sure that real-time data is available to users regardless of which storage they access.
  • Administrators can check versions easily: Another important perk is that system administrators can ensure that data across different platforms is maintained properly. With a versioning system, it is even possible to keep old versions of files, so you can check how they are changing and see the history of the document.
  • Manage teams remotely: By sharing the same files, you can manage a team remotely without having to put in more effort to bring everyone up to speed.
  • More control over remote files: You can set up the system so that the select few with Admin rights will be the only ones with certain permissions to change/delete files. Other employees will be able to make changes with restrictions.
  • Remote backup: This system provides a handy remote system that will serve as a backup in case of data loss or cyber-attacks.

Disadvantages

You should be aware that 2-way synchronization also comes with a few cons if not properly harnessed.

  • Responsibility in managing access: Being careful so that harmful third-parties will not access your files and change them is your responsibility. 2-way synchronization can be dangerous if there are no proper restrictions in place or if access codes are given to the majority of the users.
  • Can get messy if offline: You can expect most systems to work well while you are online. If you get offline, however, files may be desynchronized. In this case, depending on the software you are using, you may run into a few problems.

Essential Features That Your 2-Way Synchronization Programs Should Have

If you are hunting for software that will allow your business to use 2-way synchronization hitch-free, you will want to check this list of essential features:

  • Encryption: It is one of the most important features to improve your security. If your information is not encrypted, attackers can potentially view sensitive information when they access your system during a cyberattack.
  • Synchronization only when needed: You need a smart system that will only synchronize data when essential. If your system is constantly trying to synchronize, your program may run slower as a result.
  • Simple user interface: A confusing interface may make work harder as you may need to train your employees on how to use it. Pick a model that has a straightforward and clean design. This way, even people who are not used to the new system can quickly adapt to using it.
  • Virtual Private Network (VPN): Sometimes, your employees may need to travel while they work. If they do not use a VPN, they may face some restrictions depending on their location.
  • Swift customer support: Pick an option that offers a responsive customer support system. Unexpected issues can arise anytime, 24/7 access to support is essential to avoid a crisis.
  • Version control: Versioning can help you to keep track of all the changes made to your files. By maintaining different versions of a file on a server, you can go back if you change your mind about changes made or if you want to check details in a previous version.
  • Mobile access: In a world where more than 3.5 billion people have smartphones, mobile access is important. A service that is compatible with mobile devices will speed up your employees’ response and lets them work when they are without immediate access to a computer.
  • File compression: Compression is essential if you prefer to conserve space, especially if you regularly deal with huge files.

Triofox Has The Right 2-Way Synchronization System For You

Our company, Triofox, provides software solutions for businesses that need to manage remote work and protect their files. Our services include secure remote file server access, 2-way synchronization file-sharing systems, cloud migration, encryption, and so much more.

Check out Triofox solutions and upgrade your file-sharing systems today. Also, signup today to see how it works here

Maintain Active Directory and NTFS Permissions and Move Your Local File Servers to the Cloud!

Many businesses are struggling to secure remote access to file server shares as the world deals with the COVID-19 pandemic. More than ever, enterprises are looking to take advantage of the cloud by shifting their on-premises workloads either entirely to the cloud or starting with a hybrid strategy.

Besides moving their application, web, and database servers to the cloud, companies also need a way to move their on-premises file servers to the cloud as long as existing Active Directory and NTFS permissions are maintained. No enterprise would like to recreate the directory structure, and the file server shares security permissions again, which is a massive undertaking by itself.

Companies also would like to endeavor into the cloud securely and seamlessly, which will free them up with the hassles of maintaining on-premises hardware and freeing their workforce from the headaches of slow and clunky VPN connections. VPN Connections generate many support tickets and are a big red herring and productivity loss to the remote and mobile workforce.

Another reason to consider moving your data sources to the cloud, whether you have the data on file servers or NAS devices, is the house cleaning. You can archive the dead data into inexpensive cloud storage and keep your operational and active data in the cloud storage repositories like AWS S3 or Azure blob.

With Triofox, you can securely and seamlessly move all your data into the cloud while keeping your existing security permissions and folder structure intact. You can also adopt a hybrid model by keeping a subset of your data on local file servers. Users will access the files directly from the cloud using their Active Directory and share level access permissions anywhere on any device without a VPN. Triofox will sync file changes by users in real-time to both cloud and on-premises data repositories.

Take advantage of the power of cloud file server enablement with Triofox today and also free your mobile workforce and IT from the headaches of VPN connections.

Protect Your Data with Versioning Software and a Retention Policy

Companies produce a considerable amount of digital data every day, including reports, invoices, emails, and other documents. So, what happens if you accidentally delete an important file? You could lose that file forever. You can even be hit by ransomware in the worst-case scenario and lose access to all files in your database. The solution? Versioning and a strong retention policy.

What Is Versioning?

Versioning, also known as version control, is creating and storing multiple versions of the same files. It is used to keep track of both digital documents and software.

To make it easier to check for previous versions of a file, they have a number. If you see a file with version 3.1, for example, you know that versions 3.0 or below are older, while any version from 3.1.1 and forward has been updated.

The first number indicates significant improvements or changes in the document, while the second is a minor revision. A possible third or fourth digit indicates further minor modifications.

An example could be a plan to devise a new product. When it is still a prototype, you would most likely label it as version 0.1, then 0.2, 0.2.1 (after minor tweaks), and then finally 1.0 when it is ready for launch. After the first update, your product files would be 1.1 or even 2.0 if it is a significant overhaul.

The main advantage of versioning is how it helps you organize your documents. It also allows you to backup each version, so you have copies should one be lost.

Similar systems had existed since the 1960s, back when the first computers were used to process and store data.

How Does A Retention Policy Work?

Suppose versioning is the act of creating different versions of a document. In that case, a retention policy is a holistic policy that determines these records’ lifecycle. By using it, you can determine how much time your company should keep a file before deletion.

Some firms deal with this problem by keeping records of everything forever. However, this will quickly turn into a problem. A new company can get away with it for some years, but it will need an insane amount of space if nothing is ever erased. Also, it makes it harder to find information because there’s much more of it to go through.

It is crucial to coordinate different departments and define timelines for keeping these documents to establish an efficient retention policy. You will also need to use versioning file software. It helps to create backup files and keep the organization simple without costing too many human resources.

The process takes time. However, it’s well worth it because of the security that it provides in the long-term.

The Reasons Why You Should Care About Having a Retention Policy

While implementing an effective retention policy may seem costly and complicated, the results are undeniably positive.

It protects your company from losing access to your files and helps it to be compliant with rules and regulations that may affect your business if you do not keep records of your activities. It even protects you against human error or damages to your hardware that may cause the loss of information.

Versioning Also Helps Protect You from Ransomware

The most immediate advantage of using versioning systems is to be protected from the dreaded ransomware attacks, which are getting more common every day. Researchers are already warning that ransomware attacks may have risen seven-fold compared to last year.

According to them, the technology used by hackers continues to evolve as they devise new threats. Some of the most popular ransomware used last year was dropped this year in favor of more aggressive versions.

So, it is impossible to be protected without investing heavily in cybersecurity and having a backup if something terrible does happen.

Sometimes, these attacks can cost thousands or even millions of dollars to companies. The larger your company is, the more expensive the ransom will be.

However, if you use specialized software as part of your retention policy, you will likely have several copies of your documents in the cloud. In the worst cases, you may end up losing a few days of work, but it is still not as tragic as having to pay millions of dollars to be able to run your business.

You need to remove the ransomware, reformat your drive, and as soon as your system is clean, you are ready to download the files again.

Retention Policies May Help You to Be Compliant with The Law

Another primary reason to instate a retention policy is to be compliant with local guidelines involving data retention. All companies need to provide reports about financial transactions. Depending on your region, you may need to keep records for years. If you do not, you may be subject to hefty fines. It’s easy to lose old files, so the system helps you to organize.

The information you need to keep depends on which industry you are a part of and in which state your business is based. These rules may even change in specific situations. So, it is vital to take the time to set up a plan.

Protection Against Accidents

Accidents are possibly the most common reason why companies ever use backup files. They can be divided into two types: human error and hardware failure.

In the first case, an employee makes a mistake and ends up deleting information that was not meant to be erased. Sometimes, you can get it back, but your chances will be slim if nobody immediately sees the error.

If you keep all your files in dedicated hardware without backup, your hard drive can stop functioning one day, and you will lose everything. Using new hardware can help avoid issues, but it’s not a guaranteed solution, as even new hard drives can malfunction.

How to Implement a Successful Retention Policy

Creating a set of retention policies is hard work, but you can do it by following these steps:

  • Determine a versioning software: Start by picking software that will do most of the hard work for you. You need one that offers cloud-based services (to have a backup) and tools that will help you to organize different versions of the files. You should also look for a system that enables remote access to the files and uses two-factor authentication to increase security and usability.
  • Identify the necessary regulations: Begin by understanding what kind of federal and local regulations you must follow. List them and pay attention to the documents that they require. How old can these documents be? It will help you to understand when you can finally delete your old files.
  • Select essential documents: You also need to create versions of other crucial documents for business operations.
  • Group the records: After you have selected all the records, group them into a logical order. The specific grouping is up to you, but do it so that most people accessing the system will not have to lose much time browsing before finding what they need. Organizing them by departments or projects is a good idea.
  • Organize information about the files: Finish the process by gathering information such as their retention period of the files, any special security measures related to them, and how to proceed when the retention period is finished.
  • Revise policies continually: Efficiency is at the heart of any successful business venture. By holding periodic reviews about how the policies are implemented, you can keep them compliant and working well. Remember that regulations can change quickly. Significant changes in your operations, such as venturing into new industries, states, or projects, may also trigger revisions.

Use Triofox To Manage Your Data

Triofox is a software that offers solutions for customers who need to protect their servers’ data. It adds ransomware protection and alerts to your file server. It will monitor the Triofox clients and automatically shuts them down if it sees a possible attack. It also sends an alert to the administrator when it detects the threat from the server-side and adds versioning and offsite backup of your file server, allowing you to recover from any attacks or accidental deletions. Triofox allows you to define your own retention policy based on your industry’s requirements and compliance.

Signup for a demo today to learn more and get access to one of the best versioning systems in the market right now.

How to Properly Map Cloud Storage as a Network Drive: 4 Easy Steps

It’s become a common problem for IT engineers to provide secure cloud access to company information without duplicating effort. For your business, you may want to give your staff access to network resources like mapped drives, but struggle to find a way of doing so securely. With Triofox, you can provide remote and mobile access to your file server shares quickly and easily.

Most employees only need access to a mapped drive to remain productive. While various tools can help you do this, you may find implementations that lead to problems. Some require you to duplicate the information or have connections that time out, needing you to re-authenticate in a web browser. Triofox provides reliable, secure access to information inside your company network by mobilizing your onsite servers, folders, or files.

4 Steps to Properly Map Cloud Storage as a Network Drive in Triofox

If you need to make a network drive available as a map cloud storage location, you can use Triofox to achieve this quickly. It doesn’t require you to change your current operating system while making your files accessible in a virtual drive. You can see some other issues users experience with different solutions from this post.

1. Installing Triofox

To start, you’ll need to download and install the Triofox Client. Before you can download the clients (available for Windows and Mac), you should log in to your Triofox account. You can find the links to the different clients at the top of the page. Select the package and download the Windows Client Installer. After the download completes, run the package.

2. Logging In to Triofox

Once the installation completes, you’ll receive a prompt to log in to your Triofox account. Enter the details to authorize your Triofox client and establish a connection to your Triofox credentials. If you want the client to launch at startup, select the “auto-login next time’ option before completing the process. You can find your client in the programs and tasks menu.

3. Accessing the Files and Folders You Want

There are two ways you can configure your access to your files and folders. With Triofox Cloud Drive, you have direct, on-demand access to your files. Alternatively, you can use bi-directional folder synchronization between your client and cloud drives. After installing the client, you can find your cloud drive in your system tray. From here, you can manage Triofox including synchronization settings, accessing the web-portal, or open up your Management Console.

4. Connecting to Your Cloud Storage Drive

After you’ve set up the way you want to manage your files, you can access your cloud drive like any mapped folder. Using the Windows Explorer, you’ll find your drive below the This PC section. Simply drag and drop files into the folder and manage all functions just like any local storage device.

Easily Map a Cloud Drive in Triofox

Triofox is perfect for small businesses or large enterprise deployments. It uses your existing security policies and drive access rights to ensure you can manage who has access to what information. For situations where you want to provide cloud access to authorized users, you can get up and running quickly with Triofox as your cloud management tool. Additional features allow you to lock files, limit offline access, or manage access rights in the Management Console.

If you need a secure, fast, and reliable way to map cloud storage to a network drive, start a free trial of Triofox today.

What is Offsite Backup?

Traditionally the purview of large, multinational firms with complex operations, offsite backups remains a core component of any Disaster Recovery Plan. To ensure you can recover from an event, you’ll need to enforce a strict backup schedule. However, if you host the backups in the cloud or on your network, you could still be at risk.

The rising trend for cybercriminals using ransomware has put all organizations at risk. By the end of last year, 43% of cyberattacks targeted small businesses. A single ransomware attack succeeding can bring a company’s operations to a halt. Even if the organization has backups available, ransomware can encrypt those files and render all of them useless. With an offsite or offline backup, you can ensure you’re able to recover from a ransomware attack.

Triofox adds ransomware protection and alerts to your file servers. It will monitor the Triofox clients for any unusual activity and shuts them down if it sees a possible attack. It also adds versioning and offsite backup of your file server, which allows IT to recover from any attacks or accidental deletions.

Triofox also protects your data from accidental deletion or unexpected corruption with version controls at the file level. Meet compliance requirements and track system changes with audit traces and file change history.

What Are Offsite Backups and Why You Should Use One

It’s good practice to create regular backups of your work information. How and when you schedule your backups will depend on your company’s operations. It’s become possible for hackers to find your backup files (connected as storage media or on cloud services) and encrypt the data with ransomware attacks.

An offsite backup traditionally prevents this by keeping a copy of your backup offline at all times. If a ransomware attack succeeds, criminals won’t be able to infect that copy, allowing you to recover to a specific point once you’ve removed the infection.

With Triofox, your private cloud backup data repository is also an active, shared workspace that can be accessed directly when your file servers are unavailable. Or you can instantly spin up a new environment by restoring the file server network shares to a new off-site location.

Why Are Offsite Backups Important?

Every company should ensure it limits its attack surface. If a single one of your employees falls for a phishing scam, it could lead to a ransomware infection spreading throughout your corporate network. Keeping an offsite backup is your last line of defense against the latest cyber attack types. You should always have one of your backups in a cold (disconnected) state and only connect that back up to your live (connected) system when necessary.

Where Should You Store Your Offsite Backups

To ensure your backup remains protected at all times, you’ll want to consider where you’ll be storing your offsite backup. Although the name offsite implies you should keep it at a different location to your corporate office, this depends on your company’s business operations. If there’s any chance of a natural disaster influencing your offices, remove your backups and keep them safe in a second location. For most offices, it’s enough to store the backup in the office, disconnected from any of the networks or devices.

Maintain worker productivity with direct access to your backup repository with triofox when your file servers are offline. Backing up file server network shares and folders on remote devices also creates a live fail-over environment.

What Are the Benefits of Having Offsite Backups

By including an offsite backup in your disaster recovery plan, you can recover from a catastrophic data loss event. Cyberattacks will continue to increase, and the tools criminals deployed will become more sophisticated in the coming years. Keeping an offsite backup as a last line of defense is good cybersecurity practice.

What Types of Offsite Backups are Available?

You can use either physical or cloud storage for your offsite backups. The primary consideration is to ensure it supports your business process while remaining secured from your company network. Although cloud storage is one of the offsite backup options, it’s safer to use physical storage to stay under lock and key for better security.

Leverage AWS and Azure cloud services. With triofox, synchronize local file server network shares to designated AWS or Azure accounts for business continuity.

Triofox also enables branch office file server synchronization. Synchronize files and folders from remote branch offices to headquarters for business continuity.

Using Triofox to Establish and Manage Your Remote Access Environment

Triofox makes it easy for you to manage your remote access environment and secure your essential company files. You can set up your remote access using existing permissions while staff can access the information needed to remain productive.

You can also leverage local data centers for business continuity by synchronizing local file server network shares to local data centers.

To see how Triofox can help your organization and improve your disaster recovery planning with offsite backups, request a demo today.

What is Enterprise Cloud Storage? Everything You Need to Know

In the same way that electricity empowered the economies of the 20th century, enterprise cloud storage and computing led to rapid transformations in organizations over the last two decades. As devices and networks became more powerful, staff could operate more efficiently from multiple locations. It meant you could decentralize your teams without compromising your business operations.

With the rapid advances in technology, it also created a massive amount of new data. By 2018, the world was already creating 2.7 quintillion bytes of new data every day. Every time you search online or send an instant message, you’re adding to the world’s data sprawl. To accommodate the growing amounts of information, enterprise cloud storage providers and solutions became a cost-effective alternative to on-premises infrastructure. The market reached $49.13 billion in 2019 and analysts predict it will continue to grow at a 25.3% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) until 2027.

What Is Enterprise Cloud Storage and How It Works

For enterprises, cloud storage usually means any information hosted by a third-party service provider at a datacenter. It could be as simple as hosting an email server or span multiple network nodes running different business applications. Due to the versatility of cloud storage, many organizations prefer to deploy hybrid systems. You can then maintain some of your own infrastructure onsite while accentuating your computing and storage needs with a cloud solution.

Benefits of Enterprise Cloud Storage Solutions

Cloud solutions became popular because of its usefulness. Maintaining infrastructure onsite is expensive and requires a team of IT professionals to keep it available. When your company outgrows your current technology stack, upgrades take time and significantly adds to that year’s IT budget.

Cloud storage and computing overcomes these challenges and provides your company with the following benefits:

  • Reduced cost for scaling operations and deploying additional resources.
  • Improved system availability and gives you access to newer technologies.
  • Service Level Agreements (SLAs) that makes the entire system the responsibility of a third-party organization.

Challenges with Enterprise Cloud Storage Solutions

For many businesses, it is challenging to get started with cloud solutions. It requires you to understand new technologies and consider how to deploy a solution that will suit your business requirements. It’s often not possible to transition from an onsite solution to completely operating from the cloud. Companies regularly opt to phase the migration to the cloud, leading to a hybrid deployment.

If you don’t manage this correctly, it could create security risks in your network or increase your data sprawl, leading to duplicate information in multiple locations. You should carefully plan and execute your transition to a cloud solution that gives remote access for your employees.

Get the Best of Both Worlds with Triofox

For situations where you need a solution that provides secure access without a complete cloud deployment, consider Triofox. You can mobilize your current servers, providing you with cloud-like access to onsite infrastructure. By choosing this type of deployment, you can limit your access only to the sets of data your staff needs to use remotely.

You can still maintain your entire infrastructure with your existing policies and procedures, while your staff operates more productively from any location. With Triofox, you can also deploy additional cloud solutions from providers like AWS, Azure, Rackspace Cloud Files, and Microsoft SharePoint. As Triofox manages your access control for all your services, it’s the best way to start your cloud migration.

To find out more about how Triofox can help you deploy an enterprise cloud storage solution, request a demo today.

How to share files and folders using triofox web client video

Triofox helps businesses mobilize their existing file servers. It also provides secure file sharing and collaboration. Avoid the limitations of sending files in emails over Outlook or the loss of control when employees use personal Dropbox and other third party service accounts to share files. Take control by using Triofox to provide secure corporate file sharing from your file servers directly.

Quickly add web browser based secure file sharing to on-premise file servers with new cloud-like access & file sharing capabilities while retaining the old security safeguards, permission controls and data ownership.

The video below shows how to share files and folders using triofox web portal.

Triofox secure file sharing and collaboration enhances:

Productivity:

Outlook integration – Instead of sending files as Outlook attachments. files and folders can be shared as links via Outlook.

Send large files: Enhance the performance of large file transfers by only sending the changes that were made instead of synchronizing the entire file.

Share files and folders: Files and folders can be turned into secure web links and accessed from web browsers or any mobile clients.

Receive Files and Folders: Web links can also be generated for web browser based upload to receive large files and folders.

Advanced Sharing: Policies such as expiration dates and read/write permissions can be configured to file sharing.

Desktop Integration: File sharing can be as easy as right click on a file from within Windows Explorer.

Security:

Security Data Room: Shared folders have optional secure data room features to enable view-only permissions that disable downloads.

Granular Folder Permission: Define different permissions for folders at different levels of the directory structure.

Domain Control: The destination email domain is one of the white list parameters that control who can receive file sharing invitations.

IP Address Control: The destination IP Address is another parameter to control who can be the receiver for a file sharing action.

Collaboration:

Co-Editing: Integrates with Office365 to take advantage of built-in co-editing features.

Notifications: Keep track of important changes and events in the system.

Management:

Audit Trace and History: Maintain compliance and control by keeping track of all management tasks and activities.

File Sharing Reports: Keep track of all file sharing activities. For example, it’s easy to see who is sharing what with whom.

Secure File Sharing Benefits

Reduce Costs By Replacing VPN – Eliminate the overheads and support tickets commonly associated with VPN file sharing, Always On VPNs or Direct Access. Automatically use existing users and permissions to save setup time and money.

Minimize Data Sprawl – Avoid the headaches of data sets split between internal file servers, email attachment or the personal Dropbox accounts of your employees.

Simplify Management – Centrally manage externally shared files and folders and easily keep track of who has access, when data is accessed and when shares will be expiring.

Boost Productivity – Convert file sharing into web links are much faster and with less limitations to go through Email systems such as Outlook and Exchange servers.

Enhance Data Security – Reduce your attack surface and enhance data security with secure connections that minimize open ports (HTTPS only) and military grade endpoint encryption.

Strengthen Compliance – Strengthen compliance by maintaining data ownership, file change logs, audit tracing and retention policies.

To learn more go here: https://triofox.com/secure-file-sharing/

Triofox Cloud File Server

Gladinet Triofox helps businesses mobilize their existing file servers or cloud storage services. Triofox enhances existing Windows file servers with secure remote access, mobile file sharing, data protection, and cloud migration, while addressing business concerns about security, privacy, compliance and control. Triofox enhances productivity of your mobile workforce without sacrificing data ownership, data privacy and data security.

Files can be located either on a local file server or in any cloud storage service provider for example AWS S3, Azure blob, Rackspace Cloud Files, Wasabi storage, Microsoft SharePoint to name a few.

Triofox is the only solution which makes it very easy to convert any cloud storage service into a cloud file share and provide users access to files using Windows, MAC, mobile and browsers.

Below is the procedure to add a Cloud Storage Service as a Cloud File Share:

  1. Login as an admin into the triofox console. Click on the Cloud File Server icon in the dashboard.

2. On the next screen, just click on ‘Add Cloud Share’.

3. Enter the Cloud share name and select the Cloud Storage Service from the available cloud storage service providers.

4. Enter the cloud storage service provider details for example Azure blob access point URL and Primary Access Key.

5. Select an existing cloud container or create a new one and click ‘Finish’.

6. You will then see your cloud file share added as shown below.

7. Click on ‘Add User’ to add users who need access to this cloud file share.

8. Select the user(s) or groups (either from On-Premise AD or any other Cloud Identity Provider) and click ‘Done’.

9. You will now see that the new Cloud File Share is visible to the user who was given access when he logs into the triofox web portal.

10. Users can also use any client of their choice for example Windows, MAC or mobile besides the web browsers. Below is the screenshot of the user login Window when using a Windows Client.

11. Once the users logs in, they will see a cloud drive on their machines with the data in the cloud file share that they have been given access to.

12. Users can also use any of the sharing features as well as enable offline access directly from the right click context menu as shown in the screen below.

Summary:

Gladinet Triofox is helping business provide access to data from anywhere using any device. Triofox prepares file servers for a productive future that is independent of data location or deployment model. Whether your needs are best served by migration to a public cloud, private cloud or just file servers on-premises, you’ll maximize the productivity of your mobile workforce without sacrificing control, security or privacy. Combine traditional file server security with mobile productivity to enjoy the best of both worlds!

You can request a demo or signup for a free trial using the links below:

Triofox demo: https://calendly.com/triofox/demo

Triofox free trial: https://triofox.com/management/mytriofox/signup/

Why You Need to Create a Shared Cloud Drive (And How to Easily Transition to It)

According to a recent poll, 85% of employees believe they could do their jobs remotely. Since 2005, the remote workforce in the United States increased by 173%, amounting to about 5 million employees. Allowing staff to telecommute can increase employee engagement, foster loyalty, and increase productivity – and companies are realizing these benefits.

Whenever the question of working remotely comes up in organizations, management’s first concern is how much effort it will take to enable work from home for their staff. Even if the company doesn’t implement a formal work from home strategy, giving staff remote access to company information can improve productivity. The simplest way to start is to create a shared cloud drive that employees can access from any device.

How Creating a Shared Cloud Drive Improves Remote Access

Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) allowed secured access to company data while enabling staff to access the corporate network from a connected device. However, even if a company invested in a VPN, maintaining it created additional overheads for the IT department. They had to limit how many workers logged in remotely as a VPN could only handle a certain amount of simultaneous connections. If more employees required access, the company would need additional licenses, making VPNs an expensive solution for remote access.

Using existing shared drives with a cloud file server that grants access to employees using their network credentials is a more efficient solution for enabling remote work. As most staff are already familiar with using mapped network drives, making these available from a cloud interface can solve many of the concerns the management may have.

Employees who work inside the office network can map a network drive by navigating to the file or folder and using the path to bind the drive to their credentials. They can choose which drive letter they want to assign to the folder and should use the full Universal Naming Convention (UNC) path, including the domain name. This will provide access to the shared drive from their PC’s file explorer.

5 Benefits of Triofox’s Shared Cloud Drives

Triofox’s private cloud migration capabilities give organizations the ability to set up remote sharing of their mapped network drives. It doesn’t require additional hardware or appliances on-premises, interfacing directly with the company’s file servers instead. Unlike other cloud storage solutions like OneDrive, Dropbox, or Google Drive, Triofox integrates with the company’s Active Directory (AD) to enforce existing file and folder permissions. Employees can access their files from a mobile device or browser, helping them remain productive from anywhere.

Here are five ways Triofox improves remote working with shared cloud drives.

1. Familiarity Across Devices

Most employees know how to use mapped drives and shared folders in the office network. Usually, with a remote access solution like a VPN, it requires training staff on how to use the technology. With Triofox, the company can replicate the same office experience on mobile devices or web browsers. Staff won’t end up navigating around an endless maze of drives and folders.

2. Reduced IT Overheads

Triofox is easy to deploy and has an intuitive interface that doesn’t add additional burdens to the company’s IT department. By inheriting access permissions from the company AD, Triofox doesn’t require any additional administrative load from network security professionals. The protection of the internal network extends to the cloud drives.

3. Collaborate Productively

File management capabilities like versioning and automatic locking increase staff’s capability to work concurrently and efficiently. Triofox also reduces the cost of compliance by generating an audit trail of every shared file’s change history.

4. Scale Effectively

With Triofox, the on-premises infrastructure can host all the cloud accessible data, allowing firms to scale with ease. It also allows firms to be cloud-ready and transition their data to a public, private, or hybrid cloud deployment.

5. Secure Yet Accessible Data

The rise of cloud services offered a solution to firms but also increased their attack surface. Security professionals experienced with working in a closed corporate network didn’t have the skills and expertise to deploy their infrastructure to the cloud safely. These concerns hampered private and public cloud adoption in organizations until a solution presented itself.

Triofox combines the hardline security infrastructure of an on-premises deployment while enabling a scalable cloud access model. It leverages the existing security layers built into the company servers and group policies (including NTFS permissions) to keep information safe, yet accessible. After the company configures the solution, staff can access their shared drives from a web or mobile interface.

Enable the Remote Workforce with Triofox Cloud Shared Network Drives

Using Triofox to enable remote work in companies can speed up the implementation without compromising any of the corporate network’s security. It provides companies with a flexible solution that adds a layer of remote functionality to their existing file servers.

With more organizations now depending on staff to be productive while working from home, Triofox streamlines the company’s deployment strategy and establishes a robust, cloud-ready ecosystem for future resilience. You can try Triofox as a free cloud storage solution by signing up for a trial period.

Efficiency in the Remote Office: Everything You Need for Secure File Sharing

Companies have to establish an effective remote file sharing strategy to cater to a variety of different business cases. A site office may have to capture field data and share it with the entire team in real-time. Engineers working remotely may be required to check out a license token from the company servers before they can use an application. Mostly, it’s just having access to the latest version of a file on a shared drive secured within a corporate network.

When schedules matter and teams need to work together while remaining apart, a fast and efficient remote file sharing solution is vital for business success. However, granting remote file access in a computer network presents benefits and risks to the organization. If they don’t provide easy access, staff will be less productive. Yet, if they don’t prioritize security, it opens them up to cybercrime, data loss, or even corporate theft.

Traditional systems tended to err on the safe side, forcing remote users to go through multiple layers of security and authentication before granting them access. It made remote work laborious and frustrated IT engineers who had to troubleshoot a list of dependencies when something went wrong, which it often did.

Challenges with Remote File Sharing Technologies Like Virtual Private Networks

Incremental improvements in file-sharing technologies enabled more knowledge workers to start operating remotely. As companies learned how to access a network drive from outside the network securely, they adopted policies that allowed staff to be productive from almost anywhere. One of the oldest and well-known technologies that organizations used to achieve this are Virtual Private Networks (VPNs).

Disadvantages of VPNs for Remote File Sharing

VPNs remained the standard for secure file access over the last two decades. It’s only recently that new technologies became available that could compete with these systems. The drawbacks of VPNs encouraged developers to build alternative solutions for remote file storage and access.

Some of these drawbacks include:

  • Scalability – VPNs can only handle a limited number of concurrent connections at a time. This makes it difficult to scale when more users are logging in remotely. If the company needs a greater number of simultaneous connections, the more they will have to spend on their VPN licenses. This also makes using a VPN as a remote access solution expensive.
  • Speed – By routing all information through the VPN server instead of the ISP’s infrastructure, networks tend to be slower. Some estimates found a VPN reduces network speeds by up to 90%. Performance will also decrease as more users log on to the network. The company will have to compensate for the reduction in bandwidth when using a VPN.
  • Complexity – Every company’s digital technology stack is unique. Setting up a VPN that works with all the company’s information networks and file servers requires expertise in a variety of disciplines to configure it correctly. The team responsible for setting up the VPN solution will still need to add additional network security protocols on the endpoint devices to keep the company’s systems secure.

How to Share a Folder Over the Internet Securely Without a VPN

The most efficient solution available now for sharing drives and folders over the internet is a remote server access tool. Triofox has all the benefits that come with a VPN secured connection without using the same dependencies. It streamlines remote access and allows staff to collaborate effectively while working from anywhere.

Triofox’s remote access file server integrates with the company’s Active Directory (AD) directly and inherits the existing NTFS permissions to manage remote access. It reduces the burden on IT staff while giving remote workers secure access to their files from anywhere using a web file manager.

The Benefits of Triofox to Access External Hard Drives Remotely

Packed with features, Triofox overcomes the shortcomings that traditional VPN solutions bring to a corporate network. Designed for speed, Triofox provides fast and secure access to specific files or folders. For organizations that need to implement a work from home solution quickly, Triofox is the easiest way to enable remote access from any connected device.

The benefits of Triofox remote server access include:

  • Improved Productivity – With integration to Office 365, staff can collaborate using web-based co-editing and co-authoring.
  • Granular Control – Use web links for files and Outlook attachments to share information with access controls and expiration dates.
  • Secure Access – Using HTTPS and SSL protocols to process access requests means all information remains secured and only authorized users have access to the remote files and folders.
  • Reduced Bandwidth – Triofox saves on bandwidth and speeds up drive navigation by only downloading the folder structure before accessing the intended file.
  • Simplicity and Ease of Use – Unlike VPNs, Triofox is easy to implement and can enable the company to start remote work within minutes instead of weeks.

Enabling Remote File Sharing for Workers to Telecommute Efficiently with Triofox

To keep track of all the different transactions from remote workers, Triofox comes with complete auditing and reporting capabilities. Compared to a VPN, Triofox is a cost-effective remote server access solution that leverages the company’s existing on-premises infrastructure for a reliable, fast, and secure connection.

Please visit “File Server Remote Access without a VPN” for more information.