[colug-432] Recommendations for inexpensive and secure cloud storage?

[Dan Kaiser]

Thank you, gentlemen, for all if the awesome feedback.

I agree that it does make sense to separate my data by type and desired
accessibility/security level.

I don't know exactly how much data we are talking currently. I know I
outgrew my 3TB array and bought 2x 4TB drives and then my PowerMac G5
"server" died.  Now I have data all over the place in various FS types
(HFS+, ext4, FAT32, etc.)  As I mentioned before, I was hoping to
consolidate into a single NAS running OwnCloud.  Getting everything
consolidated into a single format and drive is my first chore.

I'd say the vast majority of the data I'm looking to store is digital
media.  The largest group is likely music, weighing in at around 800 GB,
followed by my photo archive, and we're trying to migrate to digital movies
as well, so that total is growing quickly.  Only a small amount of ebooks
and personal data files bring up the rear.

I won't need super fast download speeds, as I don't plan to stream any of
the media from the services but just want access to it in order to
refill/shuffle what is stored locally on ipods/ipads/tablets/laptops.

Regarding security my concerns are twofold.  First minimizing the
likelihood of a data breach at the server level and minimizing the impact
for identity theft if any sensitive financial or personal documents were to
leak.  Secondly, I'll be relying primarily on unsecured wireless access for
nearly everything I do online for the next year, as I'll have no control or
direct access to the internet connections. Having data encrypted during
transmission is important as well for this reason.

I think the recommended solutions like SpiderOak or Wuala will help as
everything is transmitted and stored as encrypted data.  I also like the
idea of encrypting everything locally before sending on to Dropbox, Box,
JustCloud, S3, or any other service.  The only downside here is lack of
convenience, as each device accessing the data would need the ability to
decrypt after download which may be impossible at the tablet level, and
even if possible it might forever to decrypt a large file.

I also like the idea of a hosted OwnCloud instance that connects to the
various storage accounts out there, but that may a bit advanced of a
project for me to attempt right now.

I did sign up for the free (2GB) account with SpiderOak and the nice thing
there is that the application handles the encryption and decryption
seamlessly behind the scenes and it works on all platforms.

I counted at least a half dozen recommendations from the group on services
and ways to set things up.  I appreciate your help.  I'm going to continue
to research the various options and look into the best methods for local
encryption/decryption.

Thanks again,

-Dan
On Aug 19, 2014 6:10 PM, "Dan Kaiser" <dank2878 at gmail.com> wrote:

> [tldr: looking for recommendations and/or testimonials for cloud storage
> solutions)
>
> Hello everyone,
>
> In the next month or so my family will be temporarily relocating to the
> east coast while our two youngest children undergo intense medical
> treatment for the next year or so.  We will be storing everything, renting
> the house out, and living in the hospital or communal housing while there.
>  This means tight living quarters and no direct access to the internet
> router.
>
> I had been trying to set up OwnCloud as my own personal Dropbox platform
> for self-hosted, backed-up, storage for all of our media and more important
> files, but now I will need to put that plan on hold.
>
> Does anyone in this group use or recommend a hosted storage platform?  I
> want to ensure we have access to all (or at least most) of our digital
> media and other important files (read: tax and financial data, etc.) while
> we are away.  I'm planning to bring along at least one 4TB external drive,
> but I'd hate to rely on one spinning disk for a year without a
> backup/redundancy plan.
>
> I have 50 GB each in Dropbox and Box, but we'll need a good deal more than
> that.  I thought about setting up a box running Crashplan at a family
> member's house to have everything back up automatically using their
> "friend" backup solution, but there are a lot of things that could go wrong
> with that.
>
> Reviews and opinions abound on the various services (Carbonite, JustCloud,
> Amazon, Mozy, Back Blaze, etc.) so I'd like some input from folks on this
> group if there are specific services that are highly recommended.
>
> Cross-platform (Linux, Mac OS, Win7, iOS, Android) functionality is a
> must.  Most of these services offer web interfaces, but
>
> Thanks in advance for your help.
>
> Dan
>
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