[Sussex] Dropbox like system

[Steve Dobson]

Hi John

On 05/12/12 08:47, John Crowhurst wrote:
> I was using SyncBack for a while, I'm now using something called syncovery. However, it's proprietary and not free.

> I just wondered how Dropbox like services work and whether it is easy to setup on a remote host.

To be honest I don't know - but now I'm starting to play with these
Android devices the cloud is making a lot more sense.

> I think that depends on what you are wanting. I've noticed that
> ecryptfs works as an intermediary layer and encrypts the file
> contents, rather than the whole drive. Without the layer, the
> files are useless.
>
> I would have thought something like a true crypt or tcfs volume
> would be a better choice for a laptop as nobody can see inside
> the drive but the person with the key.

Absolutely.  Encrypting the whole disk, including the meta data, means
that the authorities won't know what is worth cracking and what isn't.
Systems that only encrypt the file content meant that "Plan for World
Domination.doc" is probably worth cracking, where as "Laundary List.xls"
isn't.  :-)

> A home setup probably wouldn't need a VPN since everyone is effectively
> trusted, and wouldn't need encryption either.

Only if access is only done via a trusted network.  If your home server
is public facing...

> I wondered how Dropbox does it, the connection is obviously encrypted
> but is it client side encryption or server side?.

Security is the one time when paranoia is a good thing.  Whatever
Dropbox say they do, do you trust them?  Do they have a backdoor that
allows them to decrypt the data stored on their systems?

Steve
-- 
Steve "Dobbo" Dobson