Re: using bittorrent for backup of personal files
On Thu, Mar 08, 2012 at 12:24:10PM +0200, Andrei POPESCU wrote:
> On Ma, 06 mar 12, 19:18:49, Rob Owens wrote:
> > I'm considering using bittorrent to back up large files such as pictures
> > and home movies. I am the admin for several of my family members'
> > computers. The idea would be to back up my files onto their machines,
> > then eventually back their stuff up in the same manner, resulting in
> > several off-site backups for each of us.
>
> From what I know of the BitTorrent protocol it is beneficial only if the
> data needs to be transfered to more than 1 site, where the remote
> site(s) are not sharing the same internet connection, otherwise it
> doesn't bring any benefit over ftp/rsync/etc. It's not obvious from your
> message if this is the case.
>
I intend to transfer to more than 1 site. Both for the purposes of
backup, and for sharing the files with my family members in several
different households.
> > I want to keep this data private. What are my options, besides a VPN?
> > I hesitate to use a public torrent even on encrypted data, because the
> > computers of tomorrow may easily crack today's encryption using brute
> > force.
>
> I'm not sure what you consider to be a "public" torrent, but in my very
> un-informed opinion, encrypted torrents should be quite secure already,
> just don't use a public tracker or distribute the DHT key. Yes, there is
> a bit of security-by-obscurity here, but I wouldn't worry about it
> unless it was really sensitive data.
>
I'm a bit of a novice, so my terminology may be off. But by "public" I
mean a torrent that I upload to any public tracker, like
thepiratebay or something. Anyone could download my torrent, not that they
would know to look for it.
> > My data is sorted in directories by year. If I make torrents for each
> > year, most of the data will be static. But how should I handle the
> > current year's data? Can I update the torrent file without forcing a
> > re-download of all the current year's data?
>
> Not sure, but even if you create a new torrent each time you add more
> data, all clients I have tried so far will not re-download, but they
> will re-check the hash on all existing data.
>
I'll have to experiment with that. I haven't ever created my own
torrent, but I guess I could figure this one out by creating a small
torrent with dummy data, and then modifying it.
-Rob
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