Backup

[sidd]

This site hosts an invaluable collection of links, commentary and original research. I would hate for it to disappear. So I ask if archival sites like the web archive have reasonably complete copies in event of disaster?

I dont know traffic volumes or disk usage for this site, but if disk is no more than a terabyte or so i might be willing to run a static mirror.

sidd

[Neven]

DungeonMaster recently told me, after the Forum had been down for a while (due to a false positive hack), that regular back-ups are being made. I occasionally try to make one as well, but it doesn't always work.

[sidd]

Would you ask him if he could use  remote static backup ?

sidd

[A-Team]

sidd, thx for open up this discussion. It seems like there are two issues, restoring the whole forum structure enchilada if something should happen (100 year flood event, equipment failure or theft, encryption ransom hack, ...) and daily backup of new posts. It's not clear to me why 2013 to August 2017 need regular backup, once should do it unless people are going back to old old posts and modifying or deleting which changes seems very low priority to backup.

On daily automated backup of new posts to AWS, is it a one time set-up issue or the expense? The latter ought to be minimal.

Related to mirroring is google search and traffic attraction. Search was still experiencing difficulties last time I checked (in keeping graphics together with their text). Seems like it does better with the images than key words.

[DungeonMaster]

We have hourly static backups of the whole server on a remote machine. And we have a hourly dump of the database (300mb) every hour, plus 30 days - on main server and on the remote server. I think we also have a daily backup on a 3rd server on a 2nd hosting company, I have to check that one.
All servers in Europe in nice companies - no way I would put those data on an US company with all the cops and spies around (my day job is IT security and privacy).

I'll be glad to answer any other question.

[DungeonMaster]

This site hosts an invaluable collection of links, commentary and original research. I would hate for it to disappear.

So would I!!!

[sidd]

Excellent. I commend the choice of non USA location and thanks for all your work.

On another note, may i direct your attention to the "login broken" thread please ?

sidd

[sidd]

Our host Neven wrote in another thread:

"With the illegal surveillance by American intelligence agencies becoming more and more formalized - with no general outcry whatsoever -, I wonder if blogging about AGW and espousing my views on the causes of it on this Forum were wise things to do."

I was thinking about this, and here is a possibility to help protect users and admins on this forum who want to leave fewer trails.

Do the hosting companies used by this forum allow Tor ?  Ifso,  set up a Tor onion site. That way, people can login thru Tor, make surveillance much more difficult.

What does this have to do with Backup ? Just that if a government, whether of the USA or elsewhere, were to prevail on European governments to shut down this site, the Forum could just move to the onion site, whose location can be much better concealed ...

sidd

[Neven]

I heard it said that when you use VPN or Tor or some such, you are immediately flagged as suspect.

[Pmt111500]

I heard it said that when you use VPN or Tor or some such, you are immediately flagged as suspect.

And the same goes for Linux-users who have modified their settings, those who are in possession non-standard encryption software, those who are members of labor unions, and in fact everybody they can't find dirt of. Jaywalking doesn't count as everyone does that. Their job is to suspect the other 99% for the illuminati  .

[sidd]

There are about a few million people using Tor at any time. They can see you enter the Tor network, but they cannot track where you go, unless you make an error or the recipient of the communication makes an error. So you get on a list going in, but at this point we are all on a list.

They flag all nonstandard (mostly other than https) encryption. So every sysadmin in the world using ssh is on a list.

You can be even more careful, use directional antennas to login to open wifi from half a mile away to fuzz geolocation, handroll your own VPN and the like. But Tor by itsel is a useful first step.

sidd

[Neven]

It's getting worse really fast. I never use social media because I just don't like them (suck away brain power even faster than just the Internet does), but now I get to add the Orwellian aspect to it. I find it frightening, especially when I see how many people on a Forum such as this one uncritically spread establishment narratives.



I just see myself somewhere in the future announcing the Arctic has gone ice-free because concentrated wealth needs to expand at exponential rates, and then be denounced as a Russian/Chinese troll, with TypePad erasing my account and the server hosting the ASIF being confiscated. This is seriously the direction we're heading in. It's amazing to see totalitarian measures come about thanks to vociferous support by the masses.

I'm posting this stuff here, so that maybe no one notices we're no longer talking about back-up. 

[sidd]

" ...  the server hosting the ASIF being confiscated."

Thats's why i suggested a Tor onion site. If they cannot geolocate  the server(s) they cannot confiscate them.

sidd

[sidd]

Re: posts seem to have been scrubbed from the forum

I see a problem. Lets say a malicious actor took over my account and scrubbed all my posts. Or the same happened to AbruptSLR. Or ...

Can you recover from backup after the victim informs you ? I very often use this forum to look for references i have forgotten or don't have handy. Many times i have posted them myself. Would be a pity if they all went poof.

sidd

[Neven]

Yes, regular back-ups are being made, so it should be possible to restore comments.

[DungeonMaster]

About restoring posts from one user: we'd have to reload a "good" backup on a second server, extract posts, copy the current server, update all related posts to test - then, try to figure out why the damn procedure didn't work out, shout Eureka, apply. Then apply confidently on the real production server where it will not work on first nor second try.
Piece of cake 
Now we just have to wait 10 minutes before we get the opportunity to put this theory at test!

[DungeonMaster]

About the server being "hereby closed" by the US: no way this can happen, there is not ONE criminal topic here (I'm a tech guy AND a lawyer). I'd rather erase the forum than having anything illegal to French law. Our tribunals and government are quite good at being slow, which leaves plenty of time; and we're not too bad at resisting fascism either.

[HapHazard]

then, try to figure out why the damn procedure didn't work out, shout Eureka, apply. Then apply confidently on the real production server where it will not work on first nor second try.
Piece of cake 

This right here is proof that this is indeed a true sysadmin. lol!