I have just purchased the My Cloud Home network drive, looks good, I am currently adding devices and moving data, which I need a little advice about please.
How secure is the data on the My Cloud drive?
The first folder that everything is added to says ‘Public’.
My Home network will include a PC, 2 laptops, 2 mobiles and a tablet. Does Public mean it is the main folder all in the Home network have access to or ‘Public’ as it connects to the modem anyone can access?
All devices have Norton Internet Security installed.
I look forward to your replies and thank you in advance for your help and your time.
the my cloud home is a little different than other NAS products. The public folder is a traditional SMB share mostly used for Windows backups. this is a public share so any computer on the same network could see it.
There is also a private user space. You can install WD discovery and it will mount the private user space as a drive on your computer. This space can only be seen by logging into that account. No other users on the device or computers on the network can see this private user space.
each user invited to the device will have their own private user space. this space can only be seen by logging into WD discovery and letting it mount the private user space as a drive, accessing via the web browser, or accessing via the mobile app.
Data stored in the public share cannot be seen by the WD discovery mounted drive, the mobile app, or web browser access. it can only be mapped as a network share.
I think it best to discuss the first item only at this stage, once that is clear I can then consider your second statement.
I am wanting to have 1 PC and 2 Laptops, connected to the My Cloud Home drive. Access would not be restricted for the users at this level. So anyone can go on any machine and see all the files.
To do this I was considering each machine to keep its own file structure, all machines having identical folder structure, and a file being saved on the PC would sync with the My Cloud network drive, e.g. document/personal/file1.doc then on the PC and My Cloud.
The question that follows is; if the laptop has a folder structure documents/personal/ will My Cloud Home sync the file on the My Cloud to the laptops. Or are files only sync one was, e.g PC or laptop to My Cloud?
I appreciate I can save and open all files direct from the My Cloud, from each device, that would sound the simplest way, but if the first proposal works I have two copies of the file, or one on the My Cloud, one on the PC and one each on the Laptops.
My concern regarding the PUBLIC folder in My Cloud was… is the data safe on that disk, not from the home network point of view but from an hacking access point of view.
I have Norton Internet Security installed in all devices but, the network drive plugs straight into the router, that was my concern, I probably didn’t explain that issue clearly. Sorry.
I will try explain a different way, is the My Cloud network drive only Public to those in my network?
My PC and both laptops plus mobile phones and tablet are Protected by Norton Internet Security.
Sorry if I am not making clear my question, this is new to me and I don’t want to put documents of a financial or health nature on the drive if they can be viewed by others not in my network.
You won’t see it because the MCH is not supported by WD Security.
You are not the 1st to be caught out like this because WD stupidly require you to install WD discovery, which then shows you an apps tab where the majority cant be used … how daft is that !
At the very least once WD discovery has identified you have an MCH it should grey out the optional apps that don’t work so you don’t waste your time installing them for then to find they don’t work.
Regrettably, like many others you have been duped into buying a half baked NAS
I understand you can plug another drive into the My Cloud Home to back up everything on the Cloud drive…
if I plug a drive into the USB is it automatically recognised?
And is there backup software built in?
Since asking the question I have a 2TB drive attached to my PC for backup purposes, I use SyncBackFree which is excellent software and is Free. I can backup, mirror or sync (at set times of the day, usually every night). So I have set it up to sync the PC and both laptops to My Cloud, and sync from My Cloud onto the spare drive, after the first run.
Hi PJ,
I put my question because I got you didn’t know how to back up/sync data from MCH to another disk via USB.
Now I read you have lots of perfect skills and there is nothing to add.
I know a little, certainly not a lot, SyncBackFree is great software but it only sync at the time set. Not instantly as a 2 or more drive NAS drive.
I have not tried WD Sync fully yet, I tried it at first but with to much to sync it took ages, once everything is set up with the software mentioned I may try WD Sync, do you know if this sync’ straight away?
Hi PJ-Cloud,
Well, I don’t think SyncBackFree is a reasonable solution, you know.
I would consider one of those solutions: Best File Syncing Solutions Of 2023 | TechRadar
however using RAID 5 or RAID 6 seems like much, much better solution anyhow.
I agree a RAID 4 or higher should be minimum for most businesses, but I am now retired, there is only my wife and myself, we don’t have a business anymore.
I am hoping WD SYNC will work effectively once the data is synced and duplicated, I will be trying it once I have everything set up.
OK. Let’s close backup/syncing topic (Time Machine, if you use Mac, makes it perfectly).
However your initial and VERY important question remains unanswered, I think:
“How secure is the data in my MY CLOUD HOME?” is a crucial point.
I went the whole forum down and up and found no answer to this basic question.
My Cloud Home disk is between router and your PC, right?
Well, my Mac is fully protected by antivirus/malware - up to the commercially accessible level.
But My Cloud Home operates without Mac’s protection.
So your important question remains valid especially there is no suggestions over the net.
Western Digital ignores this issue and there is no even one word about it in their Knowledge Base.
Do you think, PJ, we should initial this topic again?
What you say is very interesting, and as you say the security question has not been answered.
After placing the post I received a message stating… Account temporarily on hold, basically saying as a new member I could not start any new conversations, ‘temporary on hold’ yet it is still on hold? Hence the reason this thread has a number of conversations and questions, it is the only place I can add questions, and cannot create new ones!
This now makes me wonder if data on these drives is secure or not.
