Pros and cons of online options for tracking your money

— -- Q: I want to track my money, but keep all the data on my computer, not some company's website. What options are there?

A: Banks and financial websites are trying to push users' financial information into the so-called cloud. But many are fighting to keep their financial data in their control.

There's no question the trend is to put more digital information, ranging from photos to music, on servers controlled by third parties or the "cloud." Some companies are urging consumers to do the same with their financial information. Mint.com, owned by Intuit, was one of the first sites to consolidate financial information on a third-party's server, not on the consumers' hard drive. But banks and brokerages, too, increasingly see controlling consumer's data as a way to keep them loyal.

Storing digital information and using software that runs on remote servers, popularly called the cloud, does have some advantages. You don't have to routinely update the financial software on your own computer, as that's all done for you by the website. You can also easily access your information from anywhere using a mobile device.

But there are some major downsides to cloud-based financial systems, including:

•The risk of limited accessibility. If you store your financial data on a remote server, it might not be available if the server goes down or you lose Internet access. Also, since the data isn't in your possession, if there's a problem at the site or it shuts down, you can lose everything. Mint's top rival years ago, Cake, shut down suddenly, leaving many users stranded.

•Security issues. To use financial systems based in the cloud, you typically must enter account numbers, user IDs and passwords. While cloud-based services vow they protect your information, any data connected to the Internet, in theory, can be breached. This could make some people uncomfortable. If financial data are stored on your computer, you can access it anytime and make copies for backup, if needed.

•Lack of control of your data. Some consumers like the simplicity of using banks' and brokerages' websites to manage their money and investments. But relying on these sites can anchor you to a bank. For instance, if a bank decides to start charging a fee you disagree with, if your financial data is locked up at the bank, you might be stuck paying the fee, or moving, then losing access to all your historical financial information.

Banks and brokerages may hope they can keep all their customers' data captive. But if consumers are aware, there are alternatives that will keep their data on their own hard drives.

The best-known desktop app for personal finance remains Intuit's Quicken. The software is the most widely used, and therefore, has active development behind it. This year's version, Quicken 2012, added new tools to help consumers create budgets and track their spending. The huge user base means there's a robust community that can help answer your questions. And for most investors, Quicken is really the only software option, as its investment-tracking tools are the most powerful. Your data are all stored on a file saved on your own computer.

The downside, though, is that all the online features of Quicken expire every three years. The software will still work, but users are unable to tap into Intuit's servers for online features such as automatic stock quotes.