Securely creating your own Cloud Backup Solution

There are many options available to backup content to the cloud, but I wanted something that I had complete control over.

After some digging into various tools, I discovered two android apps; Tasker and FolderSync. Tasker allows you to automate a huge array of functions within android, one of which I have setup is when I am near my home Wireless, turn on WiFI, disable 3G and Bluetooth. The reverse is true when I leave home; 3G turns on, bluetooth turns on for x period if not connected to my car Bluetooth and disabled wireless. I’m playing with the idea of sending a Wake On LAN packet to my PC when I’m near home to boot my PC to save waiting for the 20 second boot process from my SSD. Hell, that’s why I’m in I.T, I enjoy tinkering around and playing with things that people usually wouldn’t.

In the circumstance of Syncing my own files, I wanted the transfer to be secure and to ensure my files weren’t tampered with. I created a VPN from my Nexus 5 to my home router to ensure the files were secure between my mobile device and my home NAS. It’s all good and well if the connection is secure, but what if someone gained physical access to the NAS or my phone? I wanted both end points to have encryption and then transfer the encrypted data. I’ll add to this post when I have found a good solution to this, but for now it’s only configured to synchronise certain folders from my Android device to my NAS and back again.

I created a Task within Tasker to connect to my VPN every hour, wait a few seconds and then start a two way sync from FolderSync and my home NAS.

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Tasker does have a quite steep learning curve, but once you play around and discover some tutorials (which are easily found online), you’ll get up to speed quite fast. The above is my task to connect to my VPN if I’m not connected to any wireless connections and perform the sync. I allow 2 minutes connectivity for files to sync across the VPN to save on any data caps, and unlimited sync times across wireless.

FolderSync allows you to synchronise files much like a platform like DropBox would. The app is feature rich and I’ve had little to no issues getting my personal cloud set up.

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Google Play Store: Tasker

Google Play Store: FolderSync

About The Author

Timothy started his networking career in 2014, working for one of the largest telecommunication operators in Australia. He has a passion for networking and cyber security. When he's not working, he's obsessing over German Shepherd Dogs.