remote access to files

[yurihellsing]

Ok a few things have been making me think about this one being my 50GB drop box is coming to the end (got it with my S3) and in October I'm going to Japan so I've been wondering about solutions.

 

1. Clouds

did look at a owncloud but it did seem a little overly complex for what i feel is a simple task at least it's simple for me are there any good ones that are more or less setup and go in one installer?

 

2.FTP

I have had FTPs running before for sharing files with friends but that was a while ago and I've kinda forgot what client was best or even if the one i was using is still the best so I'm asking here what's the current best light FTP client out there now?

 

 

out of the two what would be best for accessing files from my phone and tablet?

[Rorgash]

if FTP is good, and you used drop box, bittorrent sync might be something that could work for you

[yurihellsing]

I tried bittorrent sync (maybe i didn't spend much time on it) but if i were to use something like that I'd like it to work like Dropbox.

 

 

also I'm looking for suggestions on FTP applications.

[IdeaStormer]

Do not use FTP! Using FTP is like using Windows 3.1 with Networking on today's internet and expecting not to get hacked up the yin yang. [Don't say you were never told this]

 

Why? Here are some very good references:

 

http://blog.jdpfu.com/2011/07/10/why-you-need-to-stop-using-ftp

 

http://mywiki.wooledge.org/FtpMustDie

 

What to use then? Well Ssh or Secure Shell, but in your case Secure Shell Server.

Windows does not come with it by default so you need a 3rd party software for that, for example : http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/tr-dojo/set-up-a-free-ssh-server-on-windows-7-with-freesshd/

 

After you get that going you still need a client, well there's several:

1. Putty, its a more low budget software with scp (secure copy) and other tools : http://www.putty.org/ only download it from the official site, never anywhere else.

2. CyberDuck, yes its a funky name but a nice free GUI program with drag and drop features to transfer files: https://cyberduck.io/?l=en

3. WinSCP, another GUI app to transfer files but a bit more basic or not as nice but still does the job : http://winscp.net/

4. There are other apps as well but make sure you get them from their official site. There's even some commericial apps that are super cool but will cost you some bucks. Like, Tectia SSH http://www.ssh.com/products/tectia-ssh this one has a nice GUI scp feature and is integrated with the SSH shell, Secure FX http://www.vandyke.com/products/index.html this company also sells a commercial SSH Server app for windows.

 

Remember only you can stop from being hacked, don't ever use FTP again, stick to SSH and SFTP, SCP.

 

Other references: http://www.openssh.com/

[Accidentx13]

SFTP is the way to go like IdeaStormer says. Ideally you could use a VPN to a storage device attached to your hm network.

If you get a Qnap or Synology NAS you will be set. They come with some sweet features to tweak.