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Encrypted Fileserver with Bittorrent Web Interface

mistermark writes "I built a fully encrypted (samba) fileserver with a web interface for managing torrent downloads on it. All I used is OpenBSD 3.6 and its package collection, except for the TorrentFlux-interface (which you need to install separately). Anyway, it can be built using binary packages only. I included a rough HOWTO on how to make one of these yourself."

26 of 266 comments (clear)

  1. Nice by slashalive · · Score: 5, Funny

    Now you can seed your secret corporate documents!

  2. why? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Pertend I'm stupid, why would I want this?

    1. Re:why? by big_groo · · Score: 5, Funny
      Pertend I'm stupid...

      No need.

    2. Re:why? by jurt1235 · · Score: 3, Informative

      Simple: You have random users which make backups to your machine but don't want anybody else to be able to read these backups.

      --

      My wife's sketchblog Blob[p]: Gastrono-me
    3. Re:why? by caluml · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Yeah, I can't work this out either. The problem with torrents is not storing them safely, or downloading them safely. It's that when you start downloading a file using torrents, your IP address is known by the tracker which gives away the fact you're a downloader.
      Sure, store them on an AES-256 encrypted filesystem, sure, use SSL for the transfer. But it doesn't help the fact that the downloaders/uploaders are known.

  3. slashdotted by crazyray · · Score: 4, Funny

    from the "about" page: Professional co-location was/is out of the question simply because of the costs and I did/do have bigger plans than to be able to host this kind of thing at home. To be honest, if this thing grows any bigger I'll be moving the whole shebang to a datacenter after all... Prices have dropped quite a bit since about two years ago and now. But, until then, all this comes from my server at a friends house where he has an amazing 10mbit up&down.

    Well, I guess he USED to be your friend, until you slashdotted his internet connection....

  4. Also encrypted my machine by jurt1235 · · Score: 5, Funny

    It now looks like a toaster.

    --

    My wife's sketchblog Blob[p]: Gastrono-me
  5. Note to law enforcement. Dont reboot. by Bazman · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I'm guessing the encryption password needs to be re-entered on reboot (before mounting the FS, it seems). So if the feds bust in and kick you off your warez box, as long as they dont switch it off, they've got your 0-day filez in the plain. Just dd it all across the network.

    And oh yeah, with SMB as your network file system, is the traffic securely encrypted? Weakest link, and all that...

    Baz

    PS yes, I know you're only doing legal stuff :)

  6. Re:Piracy how-tos? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ummm, are you a moron? Just because it says "torrent" does NOT mean piracy. There are many legitimate uses for bittorrent and many legitimate reason to want to encrypt files....put them together and what do you get? RTFA next time you fucking mpaa monkey.

  7. Re:Piracy how-tos? by Rakshasa+Taisab · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Much is illegal and depending on your ethical belifs much more may be immoral. But do not assume one is a superset/subset of the other. Most you can propably say about it is that they intersect.

    --
    - These characters were randomly selected.
  8. Big fan... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 3, Funny

    Can anyone identify the size of the fan being used on that server? I'm used to seeing 60mm and 80mm fans but not one that big. (Although when I had an AMD K-5 computer back in 1997, I would open up the case during the summer and use a 20" floor fan to keep it cool.) I think have the front end open like defeats the purpose of cooling down that many hard drives.

  9. I did this once... by k4_pacific · · Score: 4, Funny

    I built a fully encrypted system once. Even the source was encrypted. Sadly, I lost the key and it was all for naught...

    --
    Unknown host pong.
    1. Re:I did this once... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      I want to write a freeware opensource encryption program. I will advertise only that it will encrypt the contents of "My Documents" so that nobody can decrypt it.

      After that my program will print a message about the commercial version having support for decryption and where to send $25.00 via Pay Pal.

  10. Defeats the purpose... by Doodhwala · · Score: 4, Insightful

    So, what exactly does this accomplish? When you use Bittorrent, the protocol both downloads and uploads data at the same time (look up the tit-for-tat policy followed by BT to ensure fairness). If you were in the US, all the RIAA needs to do to sue you is download a single chunk of data from you. They don't need to break your door down and cart the computer away. So, the encryption is moot anyway.

  11. Blizzard by Alcimedes · · Score: 4, Funny

    Shit, you better call up Blizzard quick. They've been using this warez technology to distribute their game patches. Who knew all torrents were illegal!

    Douche bag.

  12. Obstruction of justice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    If the cops bust you, and you have an encrypted hard drive and you don't hand over the password, you will be charged with obstruction of justice. The maximum sentence of obstruction of justice is the same as the crime you are trying to avoid. So it really doesn't help you avoid anything.

    http://www.ohiobar.org/pub/lycu/index.asp?articlei d=138

    1. Re:Obstruction of justice by Albinofrenchy · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Password? Encrypted? Officer, those files aren't encrypted, they are just randomly generated files I made... On a more serious note, it would be a nice safety feature if that when a certain wrong password was typed in, it would show an unencrypted version of something completely legal.

      --
      "A man is but the product of his thoughts what he thinks, he becomes." -Mahatma Gandhi
  13. Be very, very careful when using EFS!!! by Futurepower(R) · · Score: 5, Informative


    Be very, very careful when using the Windows XP built-in file encryption, called EFS (Encryping File System).

    EFS is very poorly documented. The encryption is tied to your user password in a way that is apparently not documented. EFS depends on being part of a Windows 2003 Server domain in a way that is not clearly documented; if you are using Windows XP on a stand alone computer, there are situations in which you will lose your files forever.

    Microsoft technical support agrees with what I just said, and provides no help or fixes.

    The official Microsoft forums contain the complaints of many people who have lost their files due to problems with EFS. One man said he lost 11 years of research.

    People complain about Microsoft every day on Slashdot, but I've never seen a discussion by anyone who seemed to realize how bad Microsoft truly is.

    1. Re:Be very, very careful when using EFS!!! by Ph33r+th3+g(O)at · · Score: 3, Informative

      And don't forget that as a member of a domain, a GPO can cause an EFS key to be escrowed with the admininstrators. So if you're thinking this will hide your MP3z at work from the domain admins or SMS sweeps, no go. (Of course, if the filesystem is mounted during an SMS enumeration/collection sweep, it doesn't matter what encryption you're using.)

      --
      I too have felt the cold finger of injustice.
    2. Re:Be very, very careful when using EFS!!! by Universal+Indicator · · Score: 5, Insightful

      11 years of research without a single backup? Sounds like the person was asking for it!

    3. Re:Be very, very careful when using EFS!!! by LnxAddct · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Perhaps he was encrypting his backups because of the nature of the research.
      Regards,
      Steve

    4. Re:Be very, very careful when using EFS!!! by Dibblah · · Score: 3, Informative

      Not documented, huh?

      http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb; EN-US;q290260

      Summary: Rejoin your original domain and change your password to your original password.

      People complain about Microsoft every day on Slashdot, but I've never seen a discussion by anyone who seemed to realize that if all you wannabe Windows Administrators left the "market", the world would be a better place for everyone.

  14. Differentl laws in that country make this useful! by orionware · · Score: 3, Insightful

    At first I thought, "wtf good is that?!". I figured it was for the ultra paranoid. Then I realized. He lives in a country where the law has to actually have physical proof of you breaking the law. Here in the US I don't think they feds need to kick in the door and find your mp3s being fed to the world to actually charge you. They just strongarm your ISP for your info.

    The theory in his country being if they can't find anything on your drive, then they can't prove shit.

    Must be nice...

    --


    Karma means nothing to me, so suck it...
  15. Re:Obstruction of justice --misleading wording. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    You use the phrase "don't hand over" but this is an oversimplification of a complicated legal issue.
    Let's take two examples.
    Example One
    You say: "Fuck you dirty rat coppers, I have the key and I spit at your entire justice system which I haven nothing but contempt for. I have the key and I refuse to give it to you. Go to hell."
    Well, in that case I think you might be right.
    But let's try another instance of "don't hand over" that has different implications.
    Example Two
    You say: "Key? What key? You mean the key to the house? Oh, the computer. It doesn't need a key. Oh, you mean an encrypted file key? How's that work now? I'm not sure about all that really. Maybe you should ask my lawyer.
    I think the second one is hardly going to be grounds for obstruction because by the time you and your lawyer talk it out for a few hours you'll come up with a good one.
    Ronald Reagan pulled that crap under oath in front of the Senate for Iran Contra and he was snickering he thought it was so funny that fucking asshole. And they didn't find that old bastard in contempt.

  16. Website Fried by QBasicer · · Score: 5, Funny

    In other news, MySQL is out of memory, and if you click the little help link it provides, it takes you to the best 404 page i've seen. (Click here for direct link)

    --
    x86, oh yes, I'm pro.
  17. You act sure, but you say, "I believe." by Futurepower(R) · · Score: 3, Informative


    You said, "This is another example of mod-by-agreement. Anyway, EFS is documented perfectly well."

    Correction: This is another example of someone on Slashdot acting sure when he knows nothing about the issue, and didn't even read the document at his first link in his Google Search: Microsoft Windows XP - Data Recovery and Data Recovery Agents, which says:

    "The default design for the EFS recovery policy is different in Windows XP Professional than it was in Windows 2000 Professional. Stand-alone computers [using Windows XP] do not have a default DRA, but Microsoft strongly recommends that all environments have at least one designated DRA.

    "In a Windows 2000 environment, if an administrator attempts to configure an EFS recovery policy with no recovery agent certificates, EFS is automatically disabled. In a Windows XP Professional environment, the same action enables users to encrypt files without a DRA. In a mixed environment an empty EFS recovery policy turns off EFS on Windows 2000 computers, but only eliminates the requirement for a DRA on Windows XP Professional computers."

    This information means that you can lose your files in Windows XP in a way that you could not lose them in Windows 2000. Microsoft made this change, but provided no on-screen warning.

    The Microsoft document quoted above says, "Stand-alone computers do not have a default DRA,..."

    It should say, Stand-alone computers CANNOT have a DRA that allows decryption of files from a different computer with the same user name and password.

    As I mentioned, this was verified by Microsoft Tecnhical Support representatives, as was the information in my parent post.

    You said above, "I believe the process can be started with a simple cipher /r." This is a VERY serious matter. People lose their files!!! You should not be posting comments in which you take a seemingly sure position, but that sureness is based on "belief".