Picture it: Your dear acquaintance Jane Doe has a birthday coming up and–congratulations!–
you were nominated as party planner. You’ve picked the date, snagged a spot and – to share your game plan with Jane’s less enterprising friends – uploaded it to Box. Only task left: waiting for the big moment.
Then you check your email:
All that hard work, down the drain! (Though at least you’ll have plenty of cake left over.)
So how do you keep shared files from finding their way into the wrong hands, especially when there’s more at stake than a spoiled surprise bash? As a Box Support Rep, I’m asked that question often. Luckily, we’ve built several simple in-product tools you can use to restrict access to shared files and folders – here are a few:
1. Restrict collaborators’ invite privileges
By default, collaborators on your folders have the ability to invite additional collaborators. This makes sharing a breeze, but can be a challenge when you need tighter control over your files (like in the Jane Doe situation). To make sure your collaborators are only the folks you invite, right-click the folder title, mouse over
Folder Properties and click
Advanced Properties. Check
Restrict Invite Privilege and you’re good to go.
2. Disable shared links
Shared links to folders or files are great for wide distribution, but if you want to guarantee that only collaborators on your folders are seeing your work, get acquainted with the
Disable Shared Links option. You can get to it from the same
Advanced Properties menu: Just check
Disable Shared Links. After that, you can also set the scope of the restriction: for folders only, files only, or both.
3. Password-protect shared links and set auto-expiration dates
When you need to share securely with contacts who don’t have Box accounts, here are two tools you can use protect the links you’re sending out:
Password protection
Right-click the folder/file title, mouse over Share, and choose Get Link to Folder. Clicking the padlock icon to the right of the text field will give you options to restrict downloads, restrict uploads, or password-protect the folder/file you’re sharing.
Auto-expiration
Right-click the folder/file title, mouse over Folder Properties, and click Set Expiration. Pop in a date, press Okay, and you’re done – after the date you pick rolls around, the link to the folder or file will be disabled.
These tips are just the beginning: We’ve got plenty more security tools you can use to lock down your content.
Take a look now or call 1-877-729-4269.
Happy sharing!
P.S. At Box, we’re focused on security 24/7: Check out our data sheet to get an in-depth look at how we’re keeping our infrastructure–and your content–safe and sound.
