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  • FTP/SFTP?

    Okay, so over the weekend, I picked up this. I put 2 500GB Seagate 7200RPM drives in it in a RAID 1 configuration. Now, I want to set up the FTP function so I can access it when I'm not home. I've already got my router port forwarding set up, but someone I know mentioned "SFTP". Not knowing diddly squat about FTP, I'm wondering if this is capable of SFTP, or how much less secure regualr FTP is. I wouldn't be sharing anything sensitive, just my music and pictures. Also, if anyone has any tips to go about setting up secure FTP, and how it differs from FTP, I'd be glad for the knowledge.
    Ba'al: I'm a god. Gods are all-knowing.

    http://unrelatedcaptions.com/45147

  • #2
    Okay, FTP == badly insecure. Every thing you send over FTP can be seen by anybody with access to the network stream. On a cable modem connection, this means everybody in your neighborhood, plus all the routers along the way, plus anybody sharing the connection at the far end.

    Everything you send over FTP is plainly visible, including passwords, file contents, etc. I wouldn't use it unless I wanted everybody to see the data.

    Problem: This device doesn't support SFTP, which would encrypt all the data. You'd need to set up an SFTP server in your network, and configure it to talk to the device. All in all, rather a pain in the ass to do (though it can be done). If you want to do it, post here, and I'll try to help you through it. Just be forewarned that it really will be a royal pain.

    And, depending on your budget, might require a separate machine to do (maybe).

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    • #3
      Well blah. Would setting up the torrent client be any more secure?
      Ba'al: I'm a god. Gods are all-knowing.

      http://unrelatedcaptions.com/45147

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      • #4
        That shouldn't be a problem. It still won't be encrypted (unless newer versions of the BitTorrent protocol have added this in, which is both possible and likely), but you won't be sending passwords across the network at all. Plus, you'll be restricting it to a certain set of file, as opposed to a certain set of directories (which is what FTP would provide).

        That's the one I'd go with, if those were the only two options. My fave choice (SSH/SFTP) isn't an option for you without a fair amount of work. And the only reason it's not a problem for me is because I already have a server set up on my home network for that sort of stuff

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        • #5
          Broomy, Pedersen's correct about FTP, but to better assist you with your project, what exactly is the goal?

          What exactly are you trying to do/setup? Are you wanting to do big file txfers between ...oh, a buddy's house and your own? Or are you wanting to do file sharing?

          You bought a unit for file storage. What's the plan?

          Cutenoob
          In my heart, in my soul, I'm a woman for rock & roll.
          She's as fast as slugs on barbituates.

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          • #6
            Well, the original plan was just to have a backup storage that I could access from any computer on my network, which this serves admirably.

            Then I noticed the online functionality options, and thought it would be nice to be able to access my stuff from elsewhere, and for my friends to be able to send me files and suchwhat even when I'm not online.

            Most of the stuff we swap is small, ~2MB, sometimes a bit larger. It'd also be nice to share my music with my friends (completely legal here in Canada) when I find a cool CD, and there's nothing online to demonstrate it.

            I guess that's a round-about way of saying, I'd like to do file sharing, and friends have the ability to upload some stuff.
            Ba'al: I'm a god. Gods are all-knowing.

            http://unrelatedcaptions.com/45147

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            • #7
              If all you're doing is dropping MP3 files onto it for sharing, just go with FTP.
              "Always stand near the door." -- Doctor Who

              Kuya's Kitchen -- Cooking, Cooking Gadgets, and Food Related Blather from a Transplanted Foodie

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              • #8
                Well, FTP's are easy....if it's not encrypted, as Pedersen said, it's pure open text over the line. All someone would need is a sniffer to watch the output from your IP address.

                I've found quite a few FTP sites (when BitTorrent was still starting) for file sharing - most of them were actually servers on University sites that had been ..hijacked? taken over? ....

                You could use remote access software to get to your files from another computer. Such as TightVNC or Dameware or GoToMyPC. If that storage box doesn't have an OS on it, it woudl be considered networked drives from your main pc.

                ROUTER<..........MAIN PC
                Storage

                So it'd be a Z: drive or something.

                Use software that uses encryption to get to the PC to get into the Storage box....
                and pull from there.

                I'd rather not use FTP just due to the ease of watching passwords...

                Cutenoob
                In my heart, in my soul, I'm a woman for rock & roll.
                She's as fast as slugs on barbituates.

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                • #9
                  Well, you can make it harder for folks to "sniff" your FTP traffic by picking a listen port # that not normal.

                  Just set up passwords for uploading limit that account to very little space. Let guest download. Set up your admin user name and password and never use it while connected to the internet. As long as you never use the admin username and password while connected to other people computers (internet), it shouldn't be able to be sniffed.
                  I've lost my mind ages ago. If you find it, please hide it.

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                  • #10
                    Don't use VNC or remote desktop access stuff to share your files. Use FTP, that's what it is for. If someone has a sniffer, using a non-standard port won't do any good.
                    "Always stand near the door." -- Doctor Who

                    Kuya's Kitchen -- Cooking, Cooking Gadgets, and Food Related Blather from a Transplanted Foodie

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