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FreedomBox

freedombox.org

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Re: FreedomBox

#21

Post by kcolford »

w0m wrote: post #18
canadaduane wrote: post #17

I love this idea, but my two "deal breaker" worries are: (a) data backup, and (b) security. I hate that this is the case, but when comparing a "box-at-home" vs. a "corporate-run service", the corporate-run service is less likely to lose my data and more likely to apply security patches and updates ASAP. Even with 0days and all of the "hackers stole millions of users' data" posts, think the point remains strong; altho…

re: (b) Security Security through delegation vs security through obscurity imo here, follow simple things like use non-standard ports and your changes of getting hacked are likely shockingly low even if your behind on patches.

nmap, a standard pen tool, already sees through port mapping and other convenient obscurity tricks, there's just nothing like actually keeping your system up to date

Re: FreedomBox

#22

Post by vinceguidry »

Yay, another distro. /s

Seriously though, software isn't the issue here, hardware is. Anybody with the skills can slap Linux on an old computer and turn it into a server. It's packaging it up into something you can sell to the non-technical that's the real win.

I wish free software advocates would take more lessons from Jobs instead of blindly idealizing Woz.

Re: FreedomBox

#23

Post by ReAzem »

vinceguidry wrote: post #22

Yay, another distro. /s Seriously though, software isn't the issue here, hardware is. Anybody with the skills can slap Linux on an old computer and turn it into a server. It's packaging it up into something you can sell to the non-technical that's the real win. I wish free software advocates would take more lessons from Jobs instead of blindly idealizing Woz.

FreemdomBox is a Debian package. It isn't another distro.

They are focusing on exactly what you are saying, putting together a UI that non-technicals can use.

Re: FreedomBox

#24

Post by Flip-per »

blacksmith_tb wrote: post #11

I keep an eye on the project, though I haven't tried setting one up so far. I have to say it's a little sad to see that the Contribute link in the site footer throws a 403 (I'd report that to them, but so does the Contact link...)

Both links work for me; They go to debian wiki pages (which could be confusing), is that what you mean?

Re: FreedomBox

#25

Post by forapurpose »

As is well known, few people will take the trouble to deploy this at home, especially non-technical users. Why not provide one-click (or two- or three-click) deployment to hosting, either a VPS or cloud like Amazon? Data could be encrypted end-to-end so that the hosting provider can't access it, at least in some cases (server-side searches become tricky). 'Create our own private Instagram, iTunes, and more for $x/month, with just a few clicks!'

I know that sacrifices some end-user control philosophically, but in reality it would greatly increase it for those in the great majority who currently have none.

Re: FreedomBox

#26

Post by kdlo3929 »

vinceguidry wrote: post #22

Yay, another distro. /s Seriously though, software isn't the issue here, hardware is. Anybody with the skills can slap Linux on an old computer and turn it into a server. It's packaging it up into something you can sell to the non-technical that's the real win. I wish free software advocates would take more lessons from Jobs instead of blindly idealizing Woz.

[dead]

Re: FreedomBox

#27

Post by TheMagicHorsey »

Google or Amazon should offer something like this as a paid-for service on AWS or Google Cloud. That way I wouldn't have to worry about my network connection at home going down.

What a suitable privacy agreement this could work online--and I'd be okay trusting a contractual agreement to keep my data safe.

Re: FreedomBox

#28

Post by ocdtrekkie »

kcolford wrote: post #21
w0m wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

re: (b) Security Security through delegation vs security through obscurity imo here, follow simple things like use non-standard ports and your changes of getting hacked are likely shockingly low even if your behind on patches.

nmap, a standard pen tool, already sees through port mapping and other convenient obscurity tricks, there's just nothing like actually keeping your system up to date

I don't disagree with regards to "nothing like actually keeping your system up to date", but in terms of defense-in-depth, non-standard ports are not a bad idea. IIRC, people who have monitored the volume of attempts to connect on a open standard port and a nonstandard port are different by orders of magnitude. It won't help you much in stopping a dedicated human attacker, but it'll probably drastically reduce the number of automated attempts to attack your network device.

Re: FreedomBox

#29

Post by guiomie »

I was hoping the bluebox on the main page was something you could buy and plug in your wall and have it running the software. Kinda like an appliance.

Re: FreedomBox

#30

Post by qznc »

aylmao wrote: post #12
fuball63 wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am technical and I struggle to find a use for my home server. The most common uses I always find are: - Media server: I primarily use streaming services or physical media - File sharing: I rarely ever share files between computers, and if I need to, I just scp them on my home network. - Web hosting: box is too small/old to reliably do this, plus I have cloud hosting already I do use it for private SVN and have plan…

I think the key would be to embed it to some existing appliance; like a router, game console, or other "always-on" and connected device. I don't see the home server being the prime selling point. Everyone needs a router, so if you created a router that was dead simple to configure and use, had some cool extra features, integrated well with your home gadgets ("Alexa, turn off the WiFi", "Alexa, setup a guest wifi netw…

The router I got from my ISP already has quite some stuff built in. For example, I can enable DynDNS, plug in a drive via USB providing a SMB network drive, and enable a secondary guest WiFi.
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