Photo storage site????

[Jeni]

Martin,

Sorry to hear about that. That is never a good feeling to have your info used in some way. You just helped me make my decision..........Smugmug it is. If phishers can hack into that site and order that easy, I don't want to have my photos there. I'm glad you posted.

[Nicole]

Originally Posted by Jeni

If phishers can hack into that site and order that easy, I don't want to have my photos there. I'm glad you posted.

Just a quick internet security note, phishing and hacking are two very different things. A site does not have to be hacked to have phishing attacks, and phishing is pretty easy to accomplish on any site. All that is necessary for phishing is to essentially copy the website and use a different address (though it may only be slightly different) and then have a place for you to put in your account information. Usually phishing requires some action by the user who's information is hijacked. More on phishing here.

Hacking on the other hand usually assumes that the site itself has been somehow compromised and although you are at a legitimate site, it is no longer in the full control of the appropriate parties. Although pharming can have a similar result. Read more about the differences between hacking and phishing here.

[Jeni]

Thanks Nichole,

That made perfect sense. I really don't understand why people want to spend their time hacking into sites to take over some control or phishing for email addresses.........to me, that is just a waste. If they are that clever you think they would be out there creating something of themselves.

[Jamesc359]

Actually it's not about an ego trip (in most organized cases), it's about money.

In the case of email addresses, spammers need a constant supply of new and working email addresses to spam and are willing to pay for or go to extreme lengths to get them. Normally that means spreading a virus that collects peoples usernames and passwords, and then a program that collects their contacts and spreads the virus again.

.oO(Who buys from spammers? Somebody has to...)

In other cases it's about buying stuff with your credit card and sending it to them selves, or possibly tricking you into entering your credit card info into their fake site. Then they can make fake charges to your account.

Yeah, they're dirt bags! But aren't all criminals?

[Dizzle]

I am a very happy SmugMugger. I like the fact that they offer a true back-up feature. If you need to order a backup of your photos they have them saved on 3 seperate servers in different parts of the country.

The fact that I can sale photos and customize the site to my liking is a bonus and well worth the $150 a year I pay for the pro account. I also have a Flickr account, but that is more for me to play on Flickr, it's so cheap you can't pass it up.

[Joe Hoetzl]

You may also want to consider online/offsite services like Mozy.
Use this link and gain an extra 256MB when you sign up.
mozy.com/?ref=Q48HRG
(and yes, I get an extra 256MB as well).

I don't work for them, just another backup place that works. This is a good option for things like lr db backups offsite. Not necessarily great for all your photos because if you delete a photo from your disk, 30 days later it is gone from the off-site place.

I think the distinction between backup and archive exists -

Backup = something went terribly wrong with local hardware or you had a keyboard/mouse fart and leaned on the delete key too hard.

Archive - long term storage - for this - DVD's stored (DVD+R single sided) at a friend's house, bank vault, in-laws place (well, I'd have to think about that) are about as safe as it gets for that.

[bostonwolf]

Originally Posted by wulf

Fixed - I've merged the two back together.

Personally, I am very happy with Flickr. $2/month (so round about £1 in real money ) is a great deal for all that I get out of the site - not just another place to store my pictures but also a quick way of getting versions at different sizes and a place to interact and learn from other photographers.

However, I know that you will also find happy Smugmug users on here. I might consider that route if I were more interested in trying to sell some of my shots but Flickr is fine for me at present (and you can also try it first - I had a free account for months before deciding upgrade).

Wulf

Smugmug is great. Unlimited uploads and GREAT customer service. It's a family owned firm and you have a solid shot of getting the owner if you call customer service.

They will also make archival quality DVDs for you. It's not cheap, but it solves Jeni's problem of keeping all your photos in one place.

You can also get deals if you get referred, so if anyone is thinking of joining let me know and I'll send you the code (I of course get some sort of discount as well)

Jeff