Stupid question probably

[hoopes4908]

This service only syncs stuff from one computer to another, but isn't like Dropbox or GDrive or those type of services that actually store your stuff and make it accessible anywhere correct??

[GreatMarko]

That is correct, BitTorrent Sync is not a "cloud storage" solution like DropBox/SkyDrive/GDrive etc.

In order for your files to sync between devices, your devices need to be "on"

If you have an "always on" NAS or WHS for example, you can essentially create your own "cloud" with BitTorrent Sync, allowing your files to still sync when your other devices are "off"

[Automatic Coding]

This service has no central server like Dropbox or Google Drive. This works by a P2P approach where when you download a file, you then seed it to everyone else who wants it. Dropbox/Google Drive works by uploading it to a central server (Their servers) and then all the clients downloading it off them.

An advantage of a central server is that it doesn't require another one of your PCs to be on to download stuff.

An advantage of a P2P system means that your files are private (To an extent, it's a complicated word, "Private") and you're not limited by any limits the company puts on your (Bandwidth limits, max data caps, etc...)

[hoopes4908]

Ok that is what I thought, thanks guys!! I only have one PC so this is really no advantage for me to use at this time. ;-)

[GreatMarko]

Ok that is what I thought, thanks guys!! I only have one PC so this is really no advantage for me to use at this time. ;-)

Indeed - BitTorrent Sync will have no function on a single PC!

Do keep it in mind though if you ever do get a second computer, or need to share large files with friends.. and if you've got a mobile device, there are going to be BitTorrent Sync mobile apps coming too!

[Automatic Coding]

Ok that is what I thought, thanks guys!! I only have one PC so this is really no advantage for me to use at this time. ;-)

You may want to look into buying a VPS if you just want to back up files, I know Dropbox (Last time I checked, which was ~ a year ago when a family member bought a 1 year Dropbox account) costs $100 per year for 100GB. E.G $1/GB for a year. You can PROBABLY buy a basic VPS with 100GB HDD data for $100/year, not really looked into it but yeah. The more space you use the cheaper it'll be compared to dropbox (Because of the base cost of the VPS, HDD space is pretty cheap), I believe, although, not looked into pricing, it's just my guess. Anyway, I use two NAS drives (Based in different countries), both with >5TB empty space, so, I'm good.

EDIT:- Just thought I'd state that 3TB drives are ~$50/TB for good quality drives and as low as ~ $35/TB for low-end ones (E.G. 'Green' drives, with low read/write/warranty). Even if you were to do raid 1 (Which I wouldn't recommend, I'd recommend raid 4/5 for this kind of thing) it would cost you $70-$100/TB for life with a NAS drive. If you were going to raid 4/5 them, it'd be more like $40-55/TB, although, the exact values depend on how many drives you buy (The more you buy, the less it costs/TB, closer to $35-$50)

[perennate]

> You can PROBABLY buy a basic VPS with 100GB HDD data for $100/year, not really looked into it but yeah.

http://buyvm.net has a 250 GB VPS for $7.00 per month, that's $84.00 a year. I'm actually pretty surprised this is cheaper than DropBox, considering you can do other things with a VPS (it only has one core and 256 MB RAM, but still usable for, say, web hosting).

[Automatic Coding]

> You can PROBABLY buy a basic VPS with 100GB HDD data for $100/year, not really looked into it but yeah.

http://buyvm.net has a 250 GB VPS for $7.00 per month, that's $84.00 a year. I'm actually pretty surprised this is cheaper than DropBox, considering you can do other things with a VPS (it only has one core and 256 MB RAM, but still usable for, say, web hosting).

My point, and, Dropbox (Like every other company) charge extra to gain this magical thing called profit. Technically, you're still being over charged by that VPS, why? They're making profit. Host your own VPS (Dedi), your own ISP, your own everything. Mwuaha--, or, if you're not that craze-filled, just buy a VPS, it's cheaper than dropbox.

EDIT:- Just sayin' BitSync developers, if people do start buying VPSes, people would love to have "Encrypted nodes" /whistle.... implement it

EDIT2:-

5,1) bitTorrent
5,1,1) Use of any bitTorrent software is restricted to non-US IPs. Any service found to be torrenting from a US-based IP address will be assigned a random non-US IP, and the client will not be eligible for any further US IP assignments.]

I thought I'd note that down.

[perennate]

EDIT2:-

5,1) bitTorrent
5,1,1) Use of any bitTorrent software is restricted to non-US IPs. Any service found to be torrenting from a US-based IP address will be assigned a random non-US IP, and the client will not be eligible for any further US IP assignments.]

I thought I'd note that down.

Hm, there was a comment on LowEndTalk (a forum frequented by many VPS providers, as well as users) about this: http://www.lowendtal...#Comment_259575

You have an interesting point, I submitted a ticket to BuyVM (I have one VPS, non-storage, with them) and will see what they say.

[Automatic Coding]

Hm, there was a comment on LowEndTalk (a forum frequented by many VPS providers, as well as users) about this: http://www.lowendtal...#Comment_259575

You have an interesting point, I submitted a ticket to BuyVM (I have one VPS, non-storage, with them) and will see what they say.

Well, even if they tell you "Sorry, rules are rules", US IP or not, who really cares? They're saying you can torrent, just not with a US IP and they'll deal with everything for you.

Only time I'd care is if I was also hosting a public server on it and I didn't want people to think it was going to a be a high latency Indian CS:S server.

[perennate]

Ah, you're right, I guess it doesn't matter. Still, interesting to see what other providers that _do_ ban P2P or BitTorrent-related software (although it seems like there aren't a lot of them that flat out ban) will do with Sync.

[GreatMarko]

Still, interesting to see what other providers that _do_ ban P2P or BitTorrent-related software (although it seems like there aren't a lot of them that flat out ban) will do with Sync.

For an ISP to "ban" bittorrent related software, they'd either have to block specific ports (quite difficult given that you can change the port BitTorrent Sync "listens" on), or they'd have to block tracker specific URLS/IP's - which wouldn't completely break BitTorrent Sync, as you'd still be able to sync over a lan which requires no communication with any external servers anyway.

To be honest, if ISP's were intent on blocking BitTorrent Sync, it would show just how uneducated they are! BitTorrent Sync is not the same as downloading/sharing torrents, and P2P technology itself isn't illegal! BitTorrent Sync is a private synchronization utility first and foremost, allowing you to keep your own files synchronized between your devices.

[phktgmis]

I have so many great uses for bittorrent sync, I love it.

For example a VPS server I rent to run minecraft on for my friends, I use bittorrent sync as a simple 2 way sync of the backup directory to/from my home PC.

And soon I'll set it up on the VPS I use as a web host so I can quickly update the website by just editing the file on my home PC. Oh! and mirroring to multiple servers. This is just great!

---

Now, to the topic of this thread...

I want to use it to keep it synched between a folder on my work PC and my home PC. I'm not so sure I can because of the network where I work. It is against IT policy for anyone to be allowed to use peer to peer software. They have network monitors and scanners that look for traffic that appears suspiciously like virus activity or peer to peer software. I know they seek out bittorrent traffic and the antivirus software is configured to disallow programs from running that look like bittorrent software. Some employees have been busted for torrenting, probably both from the antivirus detecting common bittorrent client names and from the network traffic being detected. The network monitor disables the port of the offending computer if they detect such traffic and notifys the employee's manager for disciplinary reasons.

I use a proxy for all my at-work web surfing so they can't spy on me in that way because all they can see is an SSH encrypted stream to my VPS server.

Since to my knowledge bittorrent sync uses bittorrent technology, how much does its traffic look like torrent network traffic? I wonder if it would trigger the network monitor to become suspicious? And if they probed the one TCP and one UDP btsync port that I would have open, what information would it give out?

[Automatic Coding]

I have so many great uses for bittorrent sync, I love it.

For example a VPS server I rent to run minecraft on for my friends, I use bittorrent sync as a simple 2 way sync of the backup directory to/from my home PC.

And soon I'll set it up on the VPS I use as a web host so I can quickly update the website by just editing the file on my home PC. Oh! and mirroring to multiple servers. This is just great!

---

Now, to the topic of this thread...

I want to use it to keep it synched between a folder on my work PC and my home PC. I'm not so sure I can because of the network where I work. It is against IT policy for anyone to be allowed to use peer to peer software. They have network monitors and scanners that look for traffic that appears suspiciously like virus activity or peer to peer software. I know they seek out bittorrent traffic and the antivirus software is configured to disallow programs from running that look like bittorrent software. Some employees have been busted for torrenting, probably both from the antivirus detecting common bittorrent client names and from the network traffic being detected. The network monitor disables the port of the offending computer if they detect such traffic and notifys the employee's manager for disciplinary reasons.

I use a proxy for all my at-work web surfing so they can't spy on me in that way because all they can see is an SSH encrypted stream to my VPS server.

Since to my knowledge bittorrent sync uses bittorrent technology, how much does its traffic look like torrent network traffic? I wonder if it would trigger the network monitor to become suspicious? And if they probed the one TCP and one UDP btsync port that I would have open, what information would it give out?

Couldn't you just disable all tracker/lan scan/etc.. options and open a SSH tunnel to your target and state:-

127.0.0.1:sshTunnelPort

As the 'Known IP'? Considering you've already got a SSH tunnel open and they're not complaining, unless they scan from the point of view of the computer then I really doubt they'll catch you. However, if they're listening from programs installed on the PC in question, I have no idea about the protocol.

[perennate]

For an ISP to "ban" bittorrent related software, they'd either have to block specific ports (quite difficult given that you can change the port BitTorrent Sync "listens" on), or they'd have to block tracker specific URLS/IP's - which wouldn't completely break BitTorrent Sync, as you'd still be able to sync over a lan which requires no communication with any external servers anyway.

To be honest, if ISP's were intent on blocking BitTorrent Sync, it would show just how uneducated they are! BitTorrent Sync is not the same as downloading/sharing torrents, and P2P technology itself isn't illegal! BitTorrent Sync is a private synchronization utility first and foremost, allowing you to keep your own files synchronized between your devices.

We were talking about VPS or other hosting providers, not ISP's, so none of what you wrote applies. Some hosting providers don't permit BitTorrent on their servers; they rarely have strict blocking that prevents certain ports, but they do have monitoring, and if they catch you violating their acceptable use policy then they'll terminate your service.

It's a reasonable thing to ban completely, if the hosting provider doesn't want to deal with abuse complaints to the people who do download illegal content (which is usually the majority of uses of BitTorrent on VPS).

[phktgmis]

Couldn't you just disable all tracker/lan scan/etc.. options and open a SSH tunnel to your target and state:-

127.0.0.1:sshTunnelPort

As the 'Known IP'? Considering you've already got a SSH tunnel open and they're not complaining, unless they scan from the point of view of the computer then I really doubt they'll catch you. However, if they're listening from programs installed on the PC in question, I have no idea about the protocol.

My SSH / tunnel only forwards TCP packets, but it is my understanding that btsync can be configured to work that way.

That does sound like good advice, I think I will try putting it on a Linux machine so IT has no access to what is installed on the machine, firewalling it, and turning off "relay server" "tracker" "search LAN" "DHT" (already disabled by default), and adding predefined hosts so that it goes through the SSH tunnel.

I'll report back if this works for me.

[Automatic Coding]

My SSH / tunnel only forwards TCP packets, but it is my understanding that btsync can be configured to work that way.

That does sound like good advice, I think I will try putting it on a Linux machine so IT has no access to what is installed on the machine, firewalling it, and turning off "relay server" "tracker" "search LAN" "DHT" (already disabled by default), and adding predefined hosts so that it goes through the SSH tunnel.

I'll report back if this works for me.

That was me being an idiot again, anyway, although I've never done it, googling "UDP over TCP" seems to return:-

http://stackoverflow...r-tcp-udptunnel

Although, I bet there's a better way of doing it, I just don't know what (I've never needed to tunnel UDP packets).

[phktgmis]

UDPtunnel sounds doable but a complicated solution. Maybe if I was super determined.

Or set up openVPN on both ends.