6 replies to this topic

[SurB86]

Symform is a new way to backup your data on cloud. Just contribute and get free storage space in return! Symform spreads its data around the hard drives of other Symform users and offers you up to 200GB of cloud storage space at no cost at all.

The idea of storing your files on other people's PCs may sound a little insecure, the reality is very different. Your data is encrypted locally, then shredded into fragments and spread around the network, which makes it more secure than a regular online backup service.

There's always the possibility that an individual PC will fail, or be turned off, or the owner might have just uninstalled the client, but that's not a problem. Symform generates so many extra "parity fragments" that it would take 33 device failures before you'd run into any issues.

Give it a a try!

The program's screenshot:

[Darren 54]

Backing up your files on others PC... now thats interesting!

[vlasta]

The basic idea is good, though not original (~ freenet). I have no doubts that P2P cloud storage will eventually prevail, but only if it is an as open source solution. I am not trusting my data or contributing storage space and bandwidth to a closed service run by a private party...

[The Silent Warrior]

So it's like using BitTorrent but for backing-up data instead of sharing it...amazing!

[pcHuntqwerty]

Nice idea! I have two questions.

Will I have to keep Symform running all the time?
What will happen to my data when I'll uninstall the program?

[Sabih Ahmed]

Hmm, sounds interesting. But on the other hand it makes a darker picture in mind when it comes to reliability and security. How could one trust that their data is stored safely on someone else network / device? It might get outages or disaster? What will be the backup plan, then?