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Clark Howard: Internet Cloud May Be Security Risk

ATLANTA,None — Tech industry heavyweights are investing in the cloud.

When most people hear about the cloud they think about something in the sky.

But this cloud is on the internet. People who use Facebook or Flickr use the cloud.

When someone uploads photos and videos to these sights, those pictures are stored on an online server, otherwise known as the cloud.

The cloud is the new era of computing.

Instead of having software packages on your computer, they're stored off site on big computers. The biggest players in it are Amazon, Google and Apple.

Computer users can access the software for cheap or free, and it works on everything, including smart phones and tablets.

But there are risks involved with storing your information on the web.

Dropbox is a cloud-based storage site used by more than 25 million customers.

A recent glitch in the system allowed people to log into customers' accounts by typing in any password.

The glitch was fixed but left customers' personal information vulnerable for over four hours.