Offsite Backup

[jonaz]

I really like the offsite backup option that CrashPlan offers (In their free edition) where you install Crashplan on computer a in one home/business, and install Crashplan on computer b in a different home/business and set the backup on computer a to go to computer b over the Internet. Then you don't have to use expensive cloud storage. Just need to make sure computer b is on and that it has enough space. I'm currently using CrashPlan at home and backing up to my parents house just to get the backup offsite. I didn't want to pay a monthly subscription for increased cloud storage. The only thing CrashPlan doesn't really do is a bare metal backup/restore. I don't think it does volume backups/restores either. But my backups are onsite and offsite, and tested, so I'm happy. This would be a great edition to VEB.

I'm using VEB on my work machine and it is a great product so far. Very basic, easy to get going, and just works. I see a lot of feature requests in the forums and many would make this product a much better product.

[Dima P.]

How it is better than Dropbox?

[jonaz]

Here is what I have to say about dropbox.

1. Very insecure. In the past years, there have been a lot of high security risks, privacy issues, and breaches, including personal information leakage, web vulnerabilities, and shared/secret link security issues. Just do a quick Google on "Dropbox security issues 2014", and you will see a ton of security related articles. There are many articles and recommendations that Dropbox should NOT be used for business/professional use. However, Dropbox says they are "Safe and Secure". Many of these cloud storage vendors are also large targets for hacktivists to get a lot of data in a small amount of time. I tend to stay away from Dropbox for this reason. Encrypted backups would be nice for offsite destinations. Backing up to a destination such as my parents house decreases risk as the backups are encrypted, transferred through an encrypted protocol, and is not a large cloud storage target. I know many people that use Crashplan for this feature. You can even have your friends and family backup to your computer at your own house if you want for free if you have the space. And it is secure.

2. Dropbox is free up to 2GB of space. If you are doing system/volume backups, you will need a lot more space than that. Most other cloud storage vendors also limit their free plans too (15GB is the most i've seen for free - http://www.1mtb.com/top-10-best-free-on ... -services/), so you run into the same issue. These free plans are ok if you plan to just backup your files and not your system. If that is the case, then you cannot use system/volume backups, or bare metal restores, which are really cool. You can update to 1 TB for $9.99/mo or Unlimited for $15/mo for the Business package. That is $120/mo for offsite storage. And again the feature i'm talking about is free. The Crashplan feature I was talking about is completely free, because you are not storing into the cloud, you are storing this encrypted data across the Internet to another computer that you install the software on. So you get a free offsite solution.

So in my opinion, when it comes to VEB and Dropbox, it is expensive for home users (Not Free), and Insecure. The feature i'm requesting is very easy to setup, just works across the internet, is secure, and has no real storage limits.

[Homes32]

Very insecure. In the past years, there have been a lot of high security risks, privacy issues, and breaches, including personal information leakage, web vulnerabilities, and shared/secret link security issues. Just do a quick Google on "Dropbox security issues 2014", and you will see a ton of security related articles. There are many articles and recommendations that Dropbox should NOT be used for business/professional use. .......

I share jonaz's sentiment. No copies of my data go into a public "cloud" without my own encryption.

*cough*Feature Request: Password Protected Backups*cough*

[Dima P.]

Jonathan

Jona, it makes sense. Just wanted to say that the software you described might use ‘a man in the middle server’ of their own, to link your clients. I guess they do a built in encryption in the client, so that means you can’t be 100% sure that your data is safe while routing thru such servers between your clients. Does it provide the ability to use third party encryption while backing up between clients?