It is not easy to sync the own files/mails/contacts/calendars/etc. in order to keep them private (not via a public cloud) and to create regular backups. Furthermore, every solution must be easy to use (at least for my wife ;)) and reliable.
Following is my approach for keeping my files in sync and private. What are yours?
This is my current setup for me and my family:
It achieves the following goals, mainly to keep my data private:
- Sync of all private files to the ownCloud (without Dropbox)
- Sync of all private contacts to the ownCloud (without Apple/Google)
- Mails accessible via online webmail (instead of offline Outlook or Thunderbird)
- Backups of all data, either by me or by my web hosting service
- Confidentiality via encryption (HTTPS, SMTPS, IMAPS)
The following goals are still unsolved for me:
- Calendar: Hopefully the ownCloud app will be better one day.
- Notes: I currently sync my notes to the Exchange server of my business phone. This works for the moment but is not ideal. Maybe I could use text-files via ownCloud instead? I don’t want to install another software but want to use the built-in notes app.
- Firefox Bookmarks: Currently I am using Firefox Sync (which works quite good). However, it is kind of a public cloud.
What are your setups? Please comment for every better solution or whatever.
Featured image: “Sync” by Dave Wild is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.