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Show HN: SlikSafe – A decentralized, end-to-end encrypted alternative to Dropbox

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Re: Show HN: SlikSafe – A decentralized, end-to-end encrypted alternative to Dropbox

#71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Syncthing doesn't do smart sync. The library of stuff I want available is larger than can fit on my phone.

Syncthing has ignore files which can be used to selectively not sync certain files or folders per device. I'm not familiar with Dropbox's smart sync, so if it's like a transparent on-demand sync then no, Syncthing doesn't have that. Maybe it's possible to implement that as an extra app though, without even touching Syncthing. Android seems to have some concept of virtual file systems provided by apps so perhaps one c…

That isn't a usable UI on Android.

In Dropbox, if I want a file I haven't synced yet, I just browse to it and open it. I can also mark folders as available offline.

Re: Show HN: SlikSafe – A decentralized, end-to-end encrypted alternative to Dropbox

#72

An e2e Dropbox alternative would be great. Though for it to actually count as a Dropbox alternative (to me) it would need: 1) a Linux app 2) an Android app 3) on-demand syncing, aka "smart sync"

Nextcloud does this, you need to install an extension (they call it "app") [1] to enable e2e encryption. It offers all features you require. [1] https://apps.nextcloud.com/apps/end_to_end_encryption

Nextcloud syncing is terrible because it's based on WebDAV. It's slow, especially with lots of files. And it's not reliable.

Re: Show HN: SlikSafe – A decentralized, end-to-end encrypted alternative to Dropbox

#73
post #42

I haven't really understood how the "decentralized" comes into place. My notion of decentralization is the existence of multiple instances managed by unrelated people, such that the service keeps going if one actor falls down. From what I see here, the decentralization lies in the fact that the central service stores the data across multiple servers. So it's not technically speaking a lie, but i would say it is a bit…

Isn't git decentralized?

Re: Show HN: SlikSafe – A decentralized, end-to-end encrypted alternative to Dropbox

#74
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you prevent yourselves from serving a version of the web app that sends the user’s seed phrase to yourself? (A malicious employee could do such a thing, or you could be legally obligated to do so in order to continue operating in certain jurisdictions.)

How is this problem specific to web apps? How do you prevent yourself from serving a compromised iOS/Android/Mac/Windows app? Same answer.

The problem with web apps is that the user doesn't really have any control over updates. With a regular app you can verify a version and stick to it. The web version can change at any point with no notice.

Additionally, a regular app can be signed by a key from the developers that you can verify. With a web app you don't even know if it comes from the developers or if you're being MITM-ed because someone managed to get a SSL certificate for your domain. The certificate isn't the only angle of attack either, your CDN or hosting provider might be hacked. Yes the CDN that hosts the regular app can also be hacked, but that will only work against brand new users, because existing users can already know the signing key and the hacked binary won't have the correct signature.

Re: Show HN: SlikSafe – A decentralized, end-to-end encrypted alternative to Dropbox

#76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nextcloud does this, you need to install an extension (they call it "app") [1] to enable e2e encryption. It offers all features you require. [1] https://apps.nextcloud.com/apps/end_to_end_encryption

Nextcloud syncing is terrible because it's based on WebDAV. It's slow, especially with lots of files. And it's not reliable.

Speed leaves something to be desired but I have not had problems with reliability. I've used it - and Owncloud before that - for almost 10 years without losing any files. Which problems are you seeing?

Re: Show HN: SlikSafe – A decentralized, end-to-end encrypted alternative to Dropbox

#77
post #42

I haven't really understood how the "decentralized" comes into place. My notion of decentralization is the existence of multiple instances managed by unrelated people, such that the service keeps going if one actor falls down. From what I see here, the decentralization lies in the fact that the central service stores the data across multiple servers. So it's not technically speaking a lie, but i would say it is a bit…

Isn't git decentralized?

In theory, but who uses something other than either Github or Gitlab?

Obviously I know some people do, but I've yet to work on a project that doesn't just stick with the one.

Re: Show HN: SlikSafe – A decentralized, end-to-end encrypted alternative to Dropbox

#78

The website and demo look cool, I like your clean and simple design. The supposed whitepaper however doesn't go into any details at all. It says in addition to Storj the files are also stored directly on "the blockchain". What blockchain? It's not even named. There are no technical details on the encryption process or anything else either. I'd love to like this because imo decentralized private storage is an importan…

[deleted]

Re: Show HN: SlikSafe – A decentralized, end-to-end encrypted alternative to Dropbox

#79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

BTW this has now been renamed to Resilio Sync. I still use Resilio but am looking for an alternative since development seems pretty dead at this point (no updates for months).

syncthing

I’ve used syncthing for years now to keep a bunch of large folders with millions of files synced between multiple computers running windows, linux and macos. Works really well and it is light on system resources.
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