philthy

I've been testing out a few different platforms (FreeNAS, UNRAID, etc) and haven't quite figured out which way I want to go just yet. I would like to eventually have remote access and share with a few friends/family. I've read many times that the most secure recommended way would be to use a VPN. OpenVPN looks pretty reasonable and easy enough to setup. Unfortunately, I don't want to share internet protocols, I only want to have my shares accessible. Is this an option in the software, or is there a better way to get this done? Thank you for any help! Its appreciated

After perusing ebay, I've noticed a lot of (what appears to me) decently spec'd rack servers/NAS. Usually around $300-400 you can get something decent, albeit a little old but still good enough for personal use. I don't know much about server components though, Is there anything you would recommend looking out for? Or something that would be worth it with some budget upgrades? Thanks for any help!