The Best Ways To Protect Audio Files Online

Whether you are a musician, podcaster, or post any other kind of audio content online, your digital content is at risk of cyberattacks.

Cyberattacks and data breaches have become increasingly common as more aspects of our personal and professional lives are conducted online. In recent years, cybercrime has grown at a rate of 15% annually, and it is projected to cost companies approximately a collective $10.5 trillion per year by 2025.

In this article

1. Why Must You Protect Your Audio Files?
2. To Control Who Gets Access To Your Content
3. To Preserve Your Legal Rights Over Your Content
4. To Safeguard Your Earnings
5. To Protect Against Piracy
6. To Preserve The Quality Of Your Content
7. To Ensure Compliance With Licensing Agreements
8. Best Ways To Protect Audio Files Online
9. Encryption
10. Password Protection
11. Digital Watermarks
12. Use Cloud Storage Services With Security Features
13. Copyright Protection
14. Reverse Proxy Server
15. Virtual Private Network
16. Wrapping Up

Since your digital content is your responsibility, you’ll want to make sure you’re taking the necessary steps to protect your property online.

Not sure where to start? Don’t worry. 

In this article, we’ve compiled a list of online security best practices to maintain the safety of your content and gain greater confidence while navigating the online realm.

Why Must You Protect Your Audio Files?

By nature, the internet isn’t necessarily a safe and secure place. If left unprotected, your creative work can fall into the wrong hands and be used in ways you might not want it to be used, as well as lead to attackers accessing your personal information. 

Some reasons you’ll want to protect your audio files online include:

To Control Who Gets Access To Your Content

You’ll want to make sure your content gets to the right hands and stays out of the wrong ones. By protecting your audio, you can have full control over how it’s used, accessed, and promoted. 

That way, only you can restrict or allow someone to download or edit that audio file. Protecting your audio files will keep it that way.

To Preserve Your Legal Rights Over Your Content

Your online creation is your digital property, and you own certain rights over your work. Retaining legal protection over your files helps guarantee the authenticity of the content.

To Safeguard Your Earnings

If your content is something that requires payment to access, you’ll want to make sure it’s secure so that only those who have paid can access your content, and you don’t lose out on any earnings. The last thing you’ll want is individuals gaining free access and sharing your audio files without permission.

To Protect Against Piracy

No one wants their products or data used or distributed illegally. It not only affects you monetarily but can impact your motivation to continue to create.

Depending on how it’s used, it could also cause harm to your reputation. Protection of your file makes it tough for piracy and distribution. 

To Preserve The Quality Of Your Content

A malicious party can compress, convert, or alter your files when downloading or streaming them without protection. Doing so can result in a loss of quality.

Protecting your audio files online ensures that your files are used in their original, high-quality form.

To Ensure Compliance With Licensing Agreements

If you have licensed your audio files to third-party distributors or platforms, it is crucial to ensure that your content remains within the scope of your licensing agreements. When files are maliciously accessed and distributed in ways that were not intended, you run the risk of violating your agreements and facing the associated consequences.

Best Ways To Protect Audio Files Online

As you can see, there are a number of reasons you’d want to ensure everything you’re uploading online is secure. Some actions you can take to protect your audio files include:

Encryption

Encryption transforms your audio files into a coded language, making it accessible only to authorized individuals who possess the means to decode it. It stands as one of the most effective methods for safeguarding your online audio assets.

Password Protection

One of the easiest methods to safeguard your files is by adding a password.

All you need to do is use a software that allows you to set a password for your files or a cloud storage service offering password protection as a feature. 

Additionally, employing a reliable password manager is highly recommended to enhance security. Password managers provide a secure and convenient way to store and manage passwords for various accounts. 

Digital Watermarks

Digital watermarks are hidden codes that can be embedded into audio files. 

This hidden code contains information about the creator, the date of creation, and other key identifying information. 

In the music industry, digital watermarks are the most common form of protection used to prevent piracy and copyright infringement. 

When you embed a digital watermark into your audio files, you can easily track who uses your content and ensure it gets used in compliance with copyright laws. 

Use Cloud Storage Services With Security Features

Google Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive are some of the top cloud storage services where you can conveniently store and share your files online. Cloud services use encryption, password protection, and often two-factor authentication. These safety features are there to enhance the protection of your files. 

Copyright Protection

Copyright provides you with legal protection from illegal use or distribution. You can do so by registering your content with the appropriate copyright authorities and taking legal action against anyone using it without permission. 

It can be an expensive way to protect your audio, but in some cases can be definitely worth it.

Reverse Proxy Server

Using a reverse proxy server to protect audio files provides an additional layer of security and control over access to those files. 

A reverse proxy server sits between the user and the server hosting the audio files, intercepting requests and determining whether they should be allowed or denied based on predetermined criteria. 

Virtual Private Network

VPNs transmit data through an encrypted channel so that malicious actors won’t be able to intercept the network. If you need to use a public or non-secure network to transfer files, it’s highly recommended that you use a VPN. 

Wrapping Up

In today’s interconnected world, the importance of cybersecurity cannot be overstated. Using a combination of the tips above will help you keep your audio files secure in today’s environment.