Tarsnap: On-line
Backups for the
Truly Paranoid
If you’ve ever worried about your data in the cloud or
wished backups were easier to automate, the high-security,
command-line-friendly approach of Tarsnap backups might
make you rest a lot easier at night. ANDREW FABBRO
Storing backups in the cloud requires a
level of trust that not everyone is willing
to give. While the convenience and low
cost of automated, off-site backups is
very compelling, the reality of putting
personal data in the hands of complete
strangers will never sit quite right with
some people.
Enter Tarsnap—“on-line backups
for the truly paranoid”. Tarsnap is the
brainchild of Dr Colin Percival, a former
FreeBSD Security Officer. In 2006, he
began research and development on a
new solution for “encrypted, snapshotted
remote backups”, culminating in the
release of Tarsnap in 2008.
Unlike other on-line backup solutions,
Tarsnap uses an open, documented
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cryptographic design that securely
encrypts your files. Rather than trusting a
vendor’s cryptographic claims, you have
full access to the source code, which uses
open-source libraries and industry-vetted
protocols, such as RSA, AES and SHA.
