Decentralized Storage Comparison

Mirimir mirimir at riseup.net
Wed Jan 30 19:51:44 PST 2019


On 01/30/2019 09:55 AM, Punk wrote:
> On Tue, 29 Jan 2019 14:39:07 -0500
> grarpamp <grarpamp at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> 
>> https://i.redd.it/li4f40slbcd21.jpg
> 
> 
> 	so freenet is not listed there, and instead there are a bunch of shitcoins/scams like maidsafe - which has been in 'development' since forever.

Yeah, good point. Say what you want about Freenet, that rabbit just
keeps going. Content gets split into blocks. Blocks are automatically
encrypted in transit, and routed among nodes in a ~random way. Users can
also encrypt local storage and temp files.

And those are all key features of the best distributed storage systems.
What distinguishes them is mainly usability as a filesystem. Such as
FUSE, which Freenet just doesn't do. It's basically ftp.

Also, Freenet in opennet mode is such a fucking deadfall for the
clueless. It's not uncommon for people to install it, come across
extreme child porn, and then freak. And the community seems generally
hostile to the idea of obscuring IP addresses.

However, all of these distributed storage systems are similarly
vulnerable, more or less. You are potentially screwed if an adversary
can 1) peer directly with you, and get your IP address; and 2) send you
file fragments that are (even though encrypted) identifiable by hash or
whatever. If you didn't encrypt locally, they may find bad stuff (even
if only as temp files). And if you did encrypt locally, they may jail
you for contempt unless you reveal the passphrase(s).

So anyway, if you use any of these distributed storage systems, make
sure that you peer only with people you trust, and make sure that you
encrypt everything, locally and in transit. And if you must peer
promiscuously, make sure that you obscure your IP address. Use a VPN, at
least. And better, use a VPN plus Tor or I2P.


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