2

I have some important files that I would like to backup to the cloud. These files include work related things (such as resume and job contracts) and the password safe for Keepass. Sometimes I need these on different devices, for example I need the password safe to be able to log into a website on my laptop. I have been using the Dropbox app and saving all these files to a folder it syncs.

I have two problems with Dropbox 1) it randomly starts even though I set it not to. It's really important for me to control when the app starts and syncs 2) The latest version seems to cause instability issues with my Windows 10 computer. Also I've grown a bit skeptical what large companies such as Microsoft do with personal data so I don't really want to use something like One Drive (Dropbox was nice as it was the only product they had which clearly limits the scope of my data they have).

I don't care if it's not SUPER secure, as I manually encrypt really important things before syncing them anyway. What alternatives are there to Dropbox? I have red Alternatives to Google Drive with emphasis on privacy and user experience? but many of the answers are outdated as the company no longer exists!

3 Answers 3

1

This comes down to personal preferences. Due to your wish to secure your data, I am going to suggest you invest in OwnCloud (I have no experience with NextCloud so I cannot recommend).

There are a few reasons I suggest running OwnCloud over other 'secure' services (SpiderOak and Mega as two alternatives), and they are (not limited to):

If you are worried about the security involved, take the following exert:

For storing data encrypted on ownCloud, you need to have the ownCloud Encryption app enabled. It will then encrypt all your data with a strong, randomly generated key, which is then protected with your log-in password.

Documentation on enabling this is here. Further general documentation is as follows:

Further documentation for security: Prevent brute force attacks against OwnCloud.

If you are going down the route of OwnCloud, I'd suggest implementing a Raspberry Pi. Documentation on configuring it can be found as follows:


If you do not want to house the server yourself, there are a number of alternate solutions at your disposal. For example, using 7Zip in unison with Google Chrome:

# Script Variables
$Usr = $env:USERNAME
$GC = "C:\$Usr\Google Drive"


# User Variables
$PwD = Read-Host -AsSecureString "Enter Encryption Password"
$Files = Read-Host "Enter UNC Path"


7z.exe a -r -tzip -mx5 "$GC\$Usr-Arc.zip" $Files

(Just check the syntax, the abovementioned could be wrong)

Of course, there are other tools you can use in unison with Google Drive:


Related Questions

The following questions are loosely related to your question:

0

Since you are using Windows 10 and you're encrypting important files I'd still recommend OneDrive since the sync client is already installed on every Win10 machine.

Microsoft recently published a useful new resource about how they are (not) using the data of their customers: Microsoft Trust Center

If that's not an option you probably should look into self-hosted services like Seafile or ownCloud.

-1

AJC Sync will let you sync to different cloud locations such as Dropbox or Onedrive and you can have manual control if you want or do it on a schedule. You can see exactly what will happen to your files and have complete control. Also there is the option to encrypt files during that process so if the cloud was hacked your files would not be readable.

Its better than the auto cloud sync programs because you have complete control and can backup different folders to different locations rather than having just one folder on your computer synced with the cloud.

It also has built in diff so you can see what has changed in the files etc. See AJC Sync

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.