[Box Backup] Disable encryption

Chris Wilson chris at qwirx.com
Tue Sep 27 09:39:45 BST 2011


Hi Mathias,

On Tue, 30 Aug 2011, Mathias Kub wrote:

> I would like to use boxbackup in a small LAN. I already have a 
> full-crypted server where backups are stored now and (in the current 
> situation) I don't see any sense in double-crypting (I know that 
> boxbackup encrypts data on the client and not the server, but in the 
> current scenario - imo - I don't need it).
>
> I really like the features boxbackup offers, e.g. that it automatically 
> backups data when it notices changes.
>
> Is there any possibility to disable the usage of encryption completely?

It's not possible at the moment. The original author was dead against it. 
I can see the value of disabling it for operating system files that might 
be shared between machines, and of supporting multiple keys for shared 
data-sharing accounts, but it's not high on my priority list.

If your fully-crypted server gets broken into (which is not much harder 
than a non-encrypted server) then all your backups (all your valuable 
data) can be stolen unless they're separately encrypted using a key that 
the server doesn't have.

If your backup server is on the same LAN as the clients, then you have no 
protection against a building fire or burglary.

I recommend you don't disable encryption just because you don't feel like 
it or think it's wasteful, but only if you absolutely must for some 
reason, e.g. CPU power on the clients.

Cheers, Chris.
-- 
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\  __/ / ,__(_)_  | Chris Wilson <chris+sig at qwirx.com> Cambs UK |
/ (_/ ,\/ _/ /_ \ | Security/C/C++/Java/Ruby/Perl/SQL Developer |
\__/_/_/_//_/___/ | We are GNU : free your mind & your software |



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