questions about "the helm"

[gryphon489]

Hello LTT forums,

 

i chanced across this product and had several questions that i hoped more astute techies would be able to answer :)

https://thehelm.com

 

1) this sounds good and all, enhanced privacy, but is it even worth it ? is this just a private email server with sparkles?

 

2) is there a cost effective way to do the same thing myself ? note the $300 price tag with $99 a year subscription fee

 

3) is the hardware even worth $300?

 

thanks in advance

[SansVarnic]

11 minutes ago, gryphon489 said:

1) this sounds good and all, enhanced privacy, but is it even worth it ? is this just a private email server with sparkles?

 

2) is there a cost effective way to do the same thing myself ? note the $300 price tag with $99 a year subscription fee

 

3) is the hardware even worth $300?

 

thanks in advance

I have been looking into this myself, and I can tell you that is not a "to good to be true" product. At least from my own research so far.

My dad runs our family server and I will tell you that there is a lot to the initial setup, and for the first few months there is a lot of maintenance to be done as for example ours gets attacked a lot and I mean a lot from sources in Russia and China (no bull).

 

You can build the same for close to the same amount roughly but what you are paying for in the subscription afterwards is the software upgrades, license, maintenance, and Static IP reroute that you would otherwise have to get a Static IP for your home and the only way to do that is to get a business internet connection that would effectively double you your internet bill and most IP's dont like putting Static IP's in residential areas to begin with.

 

So yes, in a lot of ways the cost is definitely worth it. If you are a die hard diy'er then its a 50/50.