How exactly Immunet does so using the cloud is the first part of the Immunet story. How effective is its clout, is the second part.

To those who have come in late, here’s the Internet nuance of the term – cloud computing.

The term ‘Cloud’ is basically a figure of speech for the Internet itself. It generally covers services which can be hosted and delivered over the internet. The user just needs the hardware (a computer) and bandwidth. The software and services are provided by the vendor. This allows a user to interact with the software/service from anywhere. The term cloud computing came symbolically from the cloud drawing that’s commonly used to indicate the Internet in graphics and diagrams.

The Men behind Immunet

A critical cloud antivirus product like Immunet needs a stamp of credibility. That’s given by its developers – Oliver Friedrichs (former Director at Symantec) and Alfred Huger (former McAfee and Symantec executive). Both are gurus in the field of internet security.

The Premise of Immunet

Cloud computing is not a new fangled concept anymore. Google Apps is perhaps the most in-our-face example we have today. Or even the online games we enjoy. Though cloud computing has its own set of pros (scalability, maintenance free) and cons (security, privacy), it is starting to offer new ways to do hitherto desktop based tasks.

Immunet takes this approach one step further by bringing the web community on board in the defense against malware and viruses. Citing the fact that a collective defense against virtual scourges is better than a standalone rearguard fight, it best defines what it does –

Imagine for a moment that you could link to the computers of your friends, family and a global community to harness the collective security of all these systems put together. Every time someone in this collective community encounters a threat, everyone else in the community gains protection from that same threat in real time.

Immunet works on four fronts –

• Cloud computing
• Community based protection
• Collective wisdom
• Coincidental with installed antivirus

Immunet in Action

• Immunet (ver1.0.10) is free, light and hassle free to install. The 4.25MB application can be downloaded and installed in a flash. Ideal system OS are – Microsoft Windows XP (SP2 or later), Vista and Windows 7 (RC 32Bit only).
• The Immunet interface is clean and minimal sans complicated settings. The application loads and exists without noticeable lag.
• Immunet can run alongside Norton Antivirus (versions 2008, 2009 and 2010). Also supported are AVG Pro (v8.5) and MacAfee 2009. Other antivirus software are not specifically mentioned but it’s assumed that they can be run unless bugs crop up. (For instance, I am running it with Avast!)
• On installation Immunet starts off with a Flash Scan. Flash scan is a rapid-fire initial system scan.  This is not a comprehensive system wide scan. On my system, completion of the Flash Scan showed 2804 files checked in 1 minute 39 seconds. A later, full scan went over 3300 files in 3 minutes 12 seconds.



• Immunet features only one type of scan. Individual files or drives cannot be scanned individually. But Immunet does offer one feature – Protection Settings when enabled allow you to monitor application installations and starts. An Active Protection Mode takes a few seconds to check and block program installations unless they are deemed to be safe. You can switch these settings on-off from Settings.



• CPU footprint is very minimal.  On my system it was around 25 – 27KB while scanning.

Circle Your Wagons with Immunet

The sum of parts is greater than the whole. The Immunet cloud is at the center of the harnessing this community power. With your internet connection you are always connected to the cloud (i.e. the data center). The cloud aggregates virus definitions and every user taps into this security umbrella. This is Immunet’s version of collective immunity.

If one user in the social chain gets threatened by a virus, this information passes through the cloud to the others in the circle. The threat is identified and neutralized at the central server. Immunet protection thus kicks in for the entire community. This inter-linked detection and cure happens in real time. Thus every user shares in the collective wisdom gathered from each virus attack.

The community is built up through your existing Facebook account or a new Immunet account. (The Facebook button wasn’t working for me though).After logging in, the community building process works similar to social networks. Invite others from your Facebook, Google, Yahoo accounts or using Email. A broader based group should translate to more effective protection. Even if you do not log-in, you get the default protection offered by the Immunet global community.

So, will you bet on Immunet?

Cloud computing has inherent advantages and some prominent drawbacks as well. With the server doing the bulk of work, you don’t have to worry about updates. Centralized updates removes the risk of bloatware. The software is light and low on system resources. The community based protection is a good idea in theory. Its real power will be realized only when greater numbers log-in. Its early days…last figures suggest 1,800 users were logged in and were protected from 3.5 million threats.

The real disadvantage of Immunet is true for everything that’s on the cloud. Dependency on bandwidth comes at a premium in some places. For a high-priority need such as an antivirus, effective protection is the absolute bottom line.

The one singular feature (though traditionally people advise against it) of Immunet is that it can ride along with our existing antivirus solution. Thus, when it’s time to circle the wagons, Immunet can gallop in and along with the other antivirus, give double barreled cover.

If industry experts reckon that more than two million viruses will be created in 2009 alone and established protection has a 50-50 chance of catching all of them, then Immunet becomes a vital addition to our defense armory. The numbers may not match up, but even if a few sneak in they can become wreckers in chief.

With the first version label, it’s early days yet. But will you be a part of the community?

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

• Panda Cloud – The Antivirus Like No Other You Have Seen (27)
• How To Get Rid Of A Trojan Horse Virus That Won’t Go Away (21)
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This lightweight antivirus application caters to your system without having to take up half of your PC resources. Panda Cloud Antivirus is based on cloud computing, and is only partially installed on your computer and keeps core files on a dedicated server on the Internet.

The graphical user interface is very easy on the eyes and is actually one of the top interfaces I’ve found for free antivirus software’s.

Features and Reliability

One of the key features of this antivirus software is that you don’t have to manually update it. Complicated configurations and having to download new signature files is pretty much a thing of the past this Panda Cloud Antivirus. However, this doesn’t mean you remain unprotected when disconnected from the network: this antivirus app features a local cache that keeps the program up and running, continuously working at 100%.

When I ran a quick scan, the scan itself lagged a little at first, however it quickly picked up after 30% of the computer had been scanned. For the most part, the speed of Panda Cloud Antivirus is dependent on how much free memory you have, how many apps are installed, folders, and a variation of stored data. You should expect a regular scan to take an average of 40-70 minutes to complete.

Once the program has been installed, if you ever wish to open up the task manager to check on the effects of Panda Cloud on your system you’ll be able to find it listed in your task manager under PSANHost and PSUNMain. One thing that I can say is that during the scanning there were very few apps that were noticeably acting sluggish, even the Internet connection and PC speed where up to par.

This new program should take up around 50 MB on the hard drive and eats around 17 MB of RAM when in use.

Conclusion

All in all, besides lightness as its main attribute, Panda Cloud Antivirus is quite a simple antivirus tool that can’t be scheduled to run automatic scans. It would also be beneficial for this antivirus software to include effective filters for web, email, or support to detect any spyware. However, as a software that’s very much still in beta, it’s what you’d expect.

Panda Cloud Antivirus was designed fo Windows XP and Windows Vista, with Windows 7 support in the near future.

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

• Immunet Protect – Free Antivirus Protection From The Social Cloud (Windows) (9)
• Browse Safely & Avoid Viruses & Spyware With HHOTT (22)
• Best Programs To Keep Your Computer Secure (27)
• 3 Tools to Test Run your AntiVirus/Spyware Program (10)
• 10 Free Online Malware and Virus Scanners (23)

First of all, it’s very important to know a little about AGPL:

The GNU Affero General Public License is a free, copyleft license for software and other kinds of works, specifically designed to ensure cooperation with the community in the case of network server software.[…] By contrast, our General Public Licenses are intended to guarantee your freedom to share and change all versions of a program–to make sure it remains free software for all its users. –Free Software Foundation

The AGPL license gives you the freedom to download a copy of EyeOS, install it on your own server, modify the code to suit your needs or add new features – contribute back to the community – and use the software at no cost.

Developing applications is another advantage of EyeOS. You can use a standard WAMP/LAMP server, and code applications in PHP. There are many developers with knowledge of PHP, and PHP is a fairly potent programming language, which could mean that more applications will be available for the EyeOS platform in the long run.

The idea behind eyeOS is not to have an Operating System inside an Operating System, or a browser inside a browser. Instead, eyeOS is another step in the digital life era.

Let’s take a look at the feature set and interface:

EyeOS has a very interesting interface – combining metaphors from Linux, Mac and Windows GUIs: taskbar, applications in a dock but on the top, simple clean lines, transparency and a sort of elegance specific to Apple products. The interface was snappy – moving and switching apps, flawless. You can easily upload and download files.

You can view a complete list of available applications on the EyeOS Wiki.

The most important advantage that a platform like this offers to end-users is portability: take with you documents, applications – no need to think about compatibility between different programs and formats – no need to think about the actual computer you’re using. Your office computer, your home computer, your laptop, there would be no difference between them, no need to transfer files or maintain program versions throughout the environment.

The second most important aspect of EyeOS is the fact that you can own and manage your own server. This means you can set up a VPN connection between you and your server and enjoy complete privacy; prices for private virtual servers are low enough to be feasible even for home users. This solution finally eliminates the privacy stigma that cloud applications suffer from.

Imagine running something similar to MinWin or DamnSmallLinux – providing just the base to run Mozilla’s engine for emulating desktop apps, Prism, and inside EyeOS. That’s what the developers behind EyeOS hope will happen to personal computing: the comeback of thin clients.

The environment is clearly more advanced than Cloudo for example, with a fully featured word processor, presentation creator, calendar – everything you need to be productive. Of course there’s room for improvement, but what I saw impressed me; If only I could use Lightroom and Live Writer, I would buy a server immediately.

EyeOS was mentioned in Jeffry’s article, Five Webtop Alternatives For Cloud Computing.  That too is well worth a read.

You can try EyeOS yourself at eyeos.org, then don’t forget to share your experiences in the comments.

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

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Hakan Bilgin, System Architect, managed to bring the idea of a cloud OS from the drawing board to fruition – and it even has Paint!

The Cloudo Company is a Swedish start-up, a 5 man team, with an interesting product: a virtual operating system – like running Linux inside VMware, but their servers do all the legwork for you.  It’s got another another advantage: all of your documents are accessible from any computer connected to the internet.

Don’t worry about the price, it is supported by advertising and for those interested in developing apps for it, there’s a ‘revenue share’ program. They are also really nice about getting you started – offering free support via chat or email.

The user interface is quite modern and beautiful – with a lot of features in common with KDE – transparent menus, big icons, a built-in search tool in the Menu and one click access to frequently used apps. You can run Cloudo in full screen by selecting View> Fullscreen in Firefox or just press F11.

Cloudo is unfortunately still in its testing phase; it just opened its gates on February 19th to developers, who are invited to create new apps for Cloudo in standards based XML. Ted Persson, in charge of strategy had the following quote in the press release:

“The computers we use today are based on a set of ideas and concepts that were developed in the late 70’s, they haven’t evolved to meet the demands of today’s mobile lifestyle and the possibilities the Internet offers.  Among 20 year-olds more than 95% of the time by the computer is spent online. Cloudo is the natural next step, taking the full desktop online”.

At the moment Cloudos’ functionality is rather limited – third party developers just started using the service at the end of February. New applications will probably take at least 6 months to reach the threshold for real day-to-day work. Today, Cloudo has built-in:

• Application Manager – a simple tool that enables you to pick apps and install them. No need for configurations or Next buttons, it’s a one click install. Installing new apps takes a little over 20 seconds.
• Textpad – a very limited text editor, similar to Notepad.
• CHamp – an audio player that resembles early versions of Winamp, limited to playing non-DRM music. There is no syncing with portable media players or album art. The current skin has an awkward design.
• Media Player – a barebones video player with almost no controls or settings.
• Also included: Calendar, Dev-Tool (an enhanced notepad), a Weather Widget and a RSS Reader.

There are a few more applications available for installation: Iceman, Gomoku, Othello, Connect Four, MineSweeper, Snake, Sudoku, Slideshow and Google Maps.

So far the service is stable – I could log in perfectly every time – my apps and documents are still there and the interface is snappy. I haven’t found a  limit on how much you can store online, which is a big plus for the digital packrats.

Their servers are running LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP), which are known to be very stable and less prone to crashes and security breaches. Your browser will interpret XML, XSLT and Javascript, known to be less performance intensive than Flash or straight on Java.

I personally think Cloudo will succeed in this market driven by cheaper lower-end hardware built with mobility in mind – you guessed it, netbooks. Couple this with some of the services we reviewed earlier and you’ve got no need for software or any data at all on your computer: Google Docs, Lala, Spotify, Meebo, Picnik….the list goes on.

What do you guys think? Are you ready to trust Cloudo with your documents and other personal data?  My privacy genie says its a risk – but is it worth taking – that remains to be seen.

For more examples of cloud computing, check out these articles by Tina, Jeffry and Karl.

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

• Five Webtop Alternatives For Cloud Computing (24)
• Enter The World Of Cloud Computing Using AirSet (Any OS) (6)
• Panda Cloud – The Antivirus Like No Other You Have Seen (27)
• Map Online Service As a Network Drive with Gladinet (Windows) (10)
• Install An Open-Source Cloud Operating System On Your Server (14)

We have covered a number of such services from time to time here on MakeUseOf. However today the focus is on an excellent application that bridges the gap between applications on the desktop and in the cloud. Basically we are going to look at one app that can map website as a drive on your Windows.

Gladinet is a free application that gives you easy access to the cloud from the comfort of your Windows desktop. Gladinet allows you to access all your files from one central location. You may need a file that you stored at your work computer in the office, or your holiday photos on Picasa or perhaps that shared spreadsheet that you were working on with your colleagues.  With Gladinet you can access all of these and more as regular folders on your computer. Not only this, Gladinet also makes it really fast and easy to use commonly used web applications.

Gladinet works by creating a mapped drive that is visible from within My Computer. All your online storage accounts, photos and documents are available as folders within this drive. What’s really amazing is that it is easy to set up all your accounts and you can have a fully functional Gladinet installation with all your accounts set up in a matter of minutes.

Here are some of the cool things that Gladinet allows you to accomplish:

Mounting an online storage account

Every function is accessible through the all powerful systray menu. Suppose you want to mount your Windows Live Skydrive account (don’t forget it now offers 25GB of online storage). To mount it as a folder within your Gladinet Virtual Drive:

Right-click on the tray icon, point to My Virtual Directories > Mount Storage as Virtual Directory > Windows Live Skydrive and enter the details

Gladinet will go through the setup process and if you provided the correct credentials you should see your Skydrive files within the Virtual Gladinet Drive.

Similarly you can mount other services like Google Docs, Picasa, Amazon S3 or a remote storage.

Integrate Web Applications into the Operating System

Gladinet allows you to use web applications as you would use a desktop application. Want to quickly edit a “*.doc” file and don’t have Microsoft Office or OpenOffice installed? Well why not use Google Docs or Zoho Docs or perhaps use the Thinkfree PPT Viewer for quickly viewing presentations?

All you need to do is enable it from the Gladinet Menu, where it will ask you for the account credentials. Henceforth you can access Google Docs from the start menu without opening the web browser. You can even right-click on a doc file and choose to open it with Google Docs, how cool is that?

Maintain Bookmarks

If you work and browse the web on more than one computer, there will come a time when you will want to access a page that you bookmarked at home, but now you need to have access to it. While you could use a solution like Foxmarks, Gladinet also allows you to aggregate all your bookmarks and access them from all the computers that you work on.

Remotely access all your computers

I briefly mentioned above that you can access your remote computer’s contents as a remote drive. However there is more.  All of your computers that have a Gladinet client installed on them automatically form a virtual network. You can access them via remote desktop from within Gladinet, or forward services from one machine to another, thereby acting as a proxy server for other machines.

Manage Everything with ease

Gladinet offers easy management of all resources from a centralized location. You can manage safe cards (which allows you to save login details so that you won’t have to enter them again and again) and all your accounts and devices from dedicated managers within Gladinet.

Webtop

As if all of the above was not enough, Gladinet also offers you a webtop, meaning you can access all of the above from within a web browser using something like a Web OS.

Gladinet is very visual and you have to use it to experience it. Here is a show case of all its capabilities.

Gladinet is one of those applications that I really hoped was available for all operating systems. As far as I know there is no such solution for Linux and to be frank, I found myself missing it when working in Linux. I hope the Linux geeks get Gladinet or a similar solution soon. If you know of a similar program please let me know.

What do you think about Gladinet? Pretty cool eh? Definitely a keeper for me. Pour in your thoughts in the comments.

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

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I ventured over to the site and signed up for my free account. They do ask for a bunch of personal information that you might not feel comfortable giving out (like your mobile number for instance) But between me and you, giving them this information is to your benefit.

With your mobile number and email address, AirSet can hit you on the hip or send an email alerting you to a specific condition. So AirSet is like a personal computer that is running on a terminal in a very powerful server. It is also available to you at any time and can process and do stuff while you are not actively using it. How awesome is that?

When you activate your account, you will be greeted with this:

I ran through the demo (quickly) and then jumped right into cloud computing.

Here is a shot of the default desktop:

and a close up of my default Start (like) menu:

The apps available to you right off the bat are:

• Web Publish
• Messaging
• Calendar
• Contacts
• Lists
• Forum
• Albums
• Playlists
• Links

Hit “More Tools” and you will see a healthy amount of other applications and services to make cloud computing more “desktop-like”. You can “sync-up” and bring over contacts and documents. You can invite other users to work in the same Cloud Computer as you and it really seems like the possibilities are endless.

Some recommended uses for AirSet include :

• Create a web desktop for an event or group of people.
• Have easy access to all of your data wherever you are.
• Publish web documents and add calendar events and contacts.
• Load up other peoples desktops and share yours as well.

Think a slimmed down version of Ubuntu running on the web ready to do your bidding.

Is anyone else using any other Cloud Computing services? Let us know in the comments!

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

• Five Webtop Alternatives For Cloud Computing (24)
• Cloudo: Your Entire Operating System In The Cloud (40)
• Panda Cloud – The Antivirus Like No Other You Have Seen (27)
• Map Online Service As a Network Drive with Gladinet (Windows) (10)
• Install An Open-Source Cloud Operating System On Your Server (14)

The term “cloud computing” has become much more well known recently. From the perspective of someone like me, I guess it means that I can do any computer-related task anywhere without having to install any program at all because everything I need is already web-based. I just need the basic things: a computer, an operating system, an internet connection and a compatible web browser.

Complimenting the cloud-computing concept, a new breed of small and cheap mobile computers called “netbooks” have emerged and are starting to pop up everywhere. Started by the idea of Mr. Negroponte with his project “One Laptop Per Child” now almost every PC manufacturer has their own line of netbooks.

So, where will we go from here? Here’s my two cents: Static desktops will probably move aside because the future is mobility and connectivity. Future machines probably will have more simplified hardware configurations (meaning: cheaper price, smaller size, lighter weight and extremely longer battery life) and armed only with an internet connection, a very tiny simple lightweight OS (I’m thinking about one of the Linux variants) and a browser. Everything else will be available in the virtual world. You might even able to do your office work comfortably from a simple cellphone.

Webtop is the name given to the virtual working environments. Here are some of the free alternatives.

1. ajaxWindows

This one has the greatest flexibility among others which I’ve tried so far. You can ‘install’ many available optional applications to the webtop (including iTunes) and use them straight away. Likewise, you can also ‘uninstall’ applications that you don’t like/need. But the sweetest thing about ajaxWindows is its ability to synchronize the document(s) located in ajaxWindows environment and in your own computer desktop and in your moveable storage such as a thumbdrive.

Aside from standard office applications and other useful apps, the user will also get 1GB of storage, an email account, and the ability to upload and download files.

2. iCube Online Operating System

Almost identical to, but not as rich as, Windows XP. Not too friendly to office works (it only has a word processor) but has enough multimedia applications. It has an old Mario Bros game! The user also gets 1GB of storage, an email account, and the ability to upload and download files.

3. G.ho.st

Another Windows clone – and far from scary. Similar to iCube but with more office apps. The things that make this one different from the others are the fatter storage of 5GB, 3GB of email storage, and an additional 1GB for each friend you refer. Just be sure to mention ‘thurana’ when you sign up

4. eyeOS

Not everybody likes chocolate ice cream, some prefer strawberry flavour. This one here is definitely strawberry because the UI is similar not to Windows but to Mac OS. Other things that make this one different from the others are the fact that eyeOS is open source so you can use it within your home/office network, and the existence of a Google Earth-like application called eyeTerre which has seven sources of satellite maps.

5. Glide OS

The mobility concept is really here. While others so far can only be used ‘correctly’ via a personal computer’s browser, Glide OS provides users with the real ability to run the webtop from small mobile devices such as a Blackberry, Palm, Windows Mobile, Symbian, and of course Mac OS X in the iPhone.

I know that this list is just scratching the surface. So if you can add one or two (or more) other Webtop alternatives for cloud computing, throw them in the comments below! Or if you have used one of these, what did you think of it?

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

• Enter The World Of Cloud Computing Using AirSet (Any OS) (6)
• Cloudo: Your Entire Operating System In The Cloud (40)
• Panda Cloud – The Antivirus Like No Other You Have Seen (27)
• Map Online Service As a Network Drive with Gladinet (Windows) (10)
• Install An Open-Source Cloud Operating System On Your Server (14)

The truth is, everybody with a computer and internet access is already performing cloud computing. When in need for information, do you go to the library or do you use search engines and wikis? Do you still send letters or do you use online eMail accounts? Even if you use Outlook (beware!) or Thunderbird, all your eMails pass through the cloud, are temporarily (hopefully!) stored on mail servers, and can be intercepted at various points during their journey. That’s the reality.

If you are worried about privacy and if you need to transmit confidential information quickly, you should think about encryption. There are multiple ways to automatically encrypt eMails through the program you are using. The advantage is comfort, the disadvantage is that it’s quite predictable. Here are a selection of encryption tools to add some variation.

Cybermachine

This very simple tool comes with a number of different not so serious encryption and decryption methods. To me the highlights are l33t encryption, pig latin and backward spelling. Since not even a password or key is required to decrypt messages, Cybermachine should be used for fun only.

Encodor

This is the best tool for quick and thorough encryption. As can be seen in the screenshot below, the interface is plain and simple, Encodor supports up to 400 characters, with up to 30 characters the password can be very strong, no sign up is required to use Encodor, and there are no limitations of how often it can be used. Nothing is revealed about the encryption method used.

Info Encrypt

If 400 characters for your message and 30 for the password are not enough, Info Encrypt provides more space. The interface is a tad less stylish, but not a bit more complicated to use. For safety reasons the password has to be entered twice for encryption.

File Encryptor

Encrypting plain text messages is all fair and easy, but what about files? The partner site to Info Encrypt provides a file encryption engine which is just as easy to handle as the previous tools. Files of up to 10MB can be encrypted and optionally secured with a password. The files are not stored online, but rather must be downloaded and shared by other means.

Lockbin

The last tool in the list is the most comprehensive one. This service stores your encrypted and password protected WYSIWYG message, and informs the indicated recipient via eMail about it.
Lockbin takes us through five stages:

1. Agree to the terms and conditions.
2. Prove that you are not a robot.
   I failed twice, but I swear it was an o!
3. Finally begin to edit your message.
   It may contain formatted text, different containers (paragraphs, headers, etc.), lists, links, images, tables or any html code you wish to enter directly. Copy and paste from a text editor to Lockbin works just fine.
4. Enter your Secret Word.
5. Enter information for both yourself and the designated message recipient(s).

And that’s it, now you’re all set for online message and file encryption. For more information about encryption check out Simon’s article Keeping Under the Radar and Securing Your PC Files, Aibek’s piece on 2 Ways to Hide “Important” Files and Folders in Windows, Mark’s articles on TrueCrypt, how to Encrypt Your USB Stick and Are you Sure your Email isn’t being Hacked?, and finally my article on how to Become a Secret Steganographer.

How safe do you feel using online communication for more or less sensible data?

(By) Tina is a regular MUO author. In her offline life she’s a PhD student interested in unraveling signaling events that determine cartilage and bone development.

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

• Protect And Track Your Laptop In Case Of Theft (18)
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• How to Set Privacy Settings to Make Skype Safe Against Snoopers (8)
• How To Secure & Encrypt Your Instant Messaging Chats (19)

Ultimately, the cloud will be able to replace a majority of everyday programs on local desktop computers. This brings freedom and convenience in that we don’t have to buy expensive software, we can access our data wherever we go, and we don’t have to worry about updates or security, since it’s all taken care of by the providers. The danger of course is loss of control over your privacy and data, and potential consequences are data piracy or identity theft. What if the service fails and data cannot be accessed? Imagine the internet went down, all hell would break loose. These are just some of the scenarios to be considered.

While at this point it may not be advisable to transfer your whole life to a cloud, detaching from a desktop computer may actually have great advantages, such as retaining a great deal of independence. So after starting with a somewhat lengthy introduction, let me provide you with a short list of online software alternatives to popular desktop applications.

Microsoft Word becomes Zoho

Zoho is, without a doubt, one of the most complete online office suites available to date. Zoho comes with a word processor, spreadsheets, presentation tool, note taker, organizer, project management, web conferencing and much, much more.

Other than that it provides plugins for MS Office, MS Outlook, Firefox, and IE to ensure you’re not locked up with this service, but can take your files out of the cloud to create backups or avoid online storage.

Microsoft PowerPoint becomes Preezo

If you don’t want to rely on Zoho to replace your whole office suite, here is an alternative for PowerPoint worth mentioning. Preezo is an Ajax-based web application to create and share professional presentations over the web without the need for software or plugins installed on your computer. It totally looks and works like PowerPoint and you can import or export .ppt files. Perfect.

Microsoft Excel becomes EditGrid or ChartAll

Not quite Excel but close. EditGrid is one of the most comprehensive online spreadsheet providers. Another possible alternative, much simpler but therefore not requiring you to sign up, is chartAll.

MS Outlook becomes Google Mail

What more do I need to say? At this point we are stuck with Google because to my knowledge there is not a worthy alternative to GMail.

If you would like to learn more about GMail, and let me tell you there is a lot you probably don’t know about it yet, search Make Use Of for some great articles! Or go directly to our Gmail tag.

Microsoft OneNote becomes LinoIt or Springnote

LinoIt is an online pinboard to which you can stick your notes to. You can have multiple canvases for multiple purposes, make them public or share them with specific users. The stickies can serve as reminders or to-to lists, organizing and customizing stickies is easy, and you can post new ones by eMail.

If you’re looking for more advanced note taking, give Springnote a try, which I reviewed in detail several weeks ago.

Adobe Photoshop becomes Splashup or PhotoShop Express

Websites like Photoshop Express or Splashup may not be a complete or worthy replacement for Adobe’s Photoshop. However, they provide a very familiar interface and cover more than just the most basic photo editing tools. Definitely better than fiddling with some crappy desktop application (e.g. the Windows default), when Photoshop is not available.

Instant Messengers become Meebo

Meebo allows instant messaging through all popular messengers via your browser. It supports AIM, Yahoo!, MSN, Google Talk, and more.

Simon wrote about Meebo and two more web-based IM clients back in July this year.

Your Desktop Online

Back in March I wrote about online desktops (aka Web Os). As pointed out in the comments, this may not make sense for most people. However, to retain a familiar desktop environment with shortcuts and wallpapers, it may be quite nice to have. It’s those seemingly superfluous things that make life great.

Now that you know some alternatives to desktop applications, let me say this: It may be convenient to use Google for everything, but unless there is absolutely no better alternative, don’t. Keep a variety and make your private cloud rest on more than just one foot. Last but not least, keep backups!

How far into Cloud Computing are you, and which services would you rather not trust anonymous providers with?

(By) Tina is a regular MUO author. In her offline life she’s a PhD student interested in unraveling signaling events that determine cartilage and bone development.

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