Great answer from Rodent if you want to set up user-based security.
--Please note though that your files will not be encrypted. and your files will be accessible: if someone uses your PC while you are signed into the DNS323, if the DNS323 is compromised by a hacker (your PC gets a virus that drops a rootkit on your system), or if the drive(s) are removed from the DNS323 unit.
If you don't want to mess with user privileges, you could simply put an encrypted container on your DNS323. This is the accepted manner of storing your data privately and securely.
If you are unfamiliar with encrypted containers -- it is very much like writing data to a rewritable CD.
--basically you create a file which you mount (right click on) and after typing a password/passphrase it opens up as a folder (or virtual hard drive). you can then read/write/add to/delete/whatever... when you are done, you unmount it (right click, unmount). it's really much easier than it sounds.
--check out truecrypt http://www.truecrypt.org (free open-source) or
--google with keywords: open-source encryption container, or
--or search sourceforge.net with keywords: encrypt container
Encrypted containers protect data extremely well. Do not lose your password!
You might find a combination of user permissions and encryption to suit you best:
- read only access to family pix and vids to prevent someone accidentally deleting them,
- read/write access to the family calendar, basic family docs (notes to the babysitter, what to do in case of emergency,...), music (\music\mom, \music\dad, music\kid1, music\moms-ipod, whatever...)
- encrypted container for taxes, investments, bank statements, legal stuff,...
There is only one other thing I would like to add; You probably do
NOT want raid1. I think you want "standard" which means you have two separate hard drives. let me explain: Many people make the mistake of thinking that raid1 protects them more than it really does;
- raid1 will provide continuity ONLY if one of your two hard drives fail -- meaning if one drive physically fails, the other drive will seamlessly take over
- if data is corrupted it will be corrupted on both drives
--+this is why you will hear people repeatedly say 'raid is not backup.' which is a concept that confuses quite a few people.
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I think what you want to do is set the drives up as 'standard' and tell hard drive #2 to connect to hard drive#1 every night and run a backup.
- if either hard drive fails, you will lose a maximum of one day of work; today's hard drives are configured with SMART (which predicts and warns you of a hard drive failure before it totally fails), and if you setup your DNS323 bios to email you on event of SMART event, you will have plenty of warning
- if you accidentally delete a file you can pop over to volume 2 and copy it back (on raid1, once you delete a file, it's gone from BOTH drives)
- DNS323 can be setup so that it will automatically connect via ftp and copy files; so once this is done and tested, it'll do this on schedule without user intervention
- you can far more dynamically upgrade a hard drive with 'standard.' Say, for example, you have two 500gb drives. by changing the second (vol2) drive to a 1500gb drive you can now not only back up your vol1 drive, but you can also run a backup program on your family PCs so they back up \my documents\to vol2 as well. With raid1 you'd need to add drives in pairs.
Good luck, let us know what you end up doing and how it turns out!
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Topic: Setting up private folders (Read 15464 times)