I am off to uni soon and I need a secure place for all my personal files. I need to know how to set up my desktop so that I can send and retrieve files from it, from my laptop when I am at uni. Thanks Bagman
You could try to see if you can get into the beta for pocketcloud by Wyse. Install the windows companion software on your PC and you can then remotely access the files and folders you specify via the pocketcloud website. This would most likely be the simplest way. Other than, you know, Dropbox.
You could use hamachi to create a VPN between the two computers and then just map a drive like you would as if you were on the same network.
How much data are we talking about? 100's of gigs of pron or just a few documents. Is the data going to grow by much
I had this question too, and was recommended Pogoplug. From what I've experienced so far (only had it installed since yesterday) it works. You would have to set it so that it starts up when your computer starts up, but other than that there shouldn't be a problem. It lets you pick which folders to share, and it's password protected. You also get 5GB online storage for free.
I think that is what I want. I want a 1TB hard drive which I can access (via internet) anywhere. It will be used for many things mainly for important uni files which I can't afford to loose. I also need a excuse to why I still need a desktop at home.
Services like Dropbox are probably pretty secure and robust in terms of protecting your data, this is an assumption as I don't use these services. If the free service doesn't provide enough space maybe paying for extra is a cheaper option than the running costs associated with leaving your PC on at home all the time.
problem with running your desktop like FTP server is that it is idling most of the time. any odd NAS would serve you better. having said that, you could install FreeNAS on your desktop or Windows Home Server for your hosting needs. because those two have stuff like FTP out of the box, ready to be configured.
If you are doing that you might as well just leave the same OS on there and just install Filezilla or something? I don't see the need to install an entirely different OS? But yeah it will be a waste of power. Why not an encrypted external hard drive?
The problem with setting up an ftp is that you need to have a static IP address. Also you'll need to look into securing it properly. While you could set up your desktop to perform this function, it's likely there's little that you need that can't be covered with a NAS or even a router and a usb hard drive.
Dynamic DNS allows you to assign a domain name to a dynamic IP and will update the DNS record whenever the IP changes.
In the past I've managed to get a similar thing working with my router and a usb hard drive (WNR3500L) - at the minute I have a HP Microserver with WHS 2011 installed that I can log into remotely and access all my files / pictures / music etc GK
I have known friends which have had their rooms completely raided. Which is why I want my own hard drive at home which I can access. I think I will just buy my own NAS box come December. But it would very useful to know how to set up a FTP server. How difficult is it?
Not at all. FTP runs off port 21 so ensure that your firewall is set to allow access on port 21. If you are using a basic Windows install, just download and install Filezilla server on the server machine and Filezilla client on the client machine. If you go for something like Freenas, their documentation should have you covered. The same for a dedicated NAS.