Proof that software as service/cloud based, will never work for long term ...

[PlainName]

They are incremental snapshots of block devices, files are invisible to it period.

Makes no difference - the important aspect is 'incremental' (but actually diff is preferred here). If you have two destinations and choose inc/diffs, do they interfere with each other? That is, can one know the difference between what it's backed up and what's changed even when the other has gone in there and reset whatever change flag is used?

[SiliconWizard]

So far I've stuck with rsync and partclone. rsync for file-level backups, partclone for full-partition backups.

On Windows, I used Acronis True Image, for partition-level, incremental backups, which worked reasonably well. Didn't like the latest versions too much though, which tended to be slower while adding a lot of "phoning home" crap.

[PlainName]

Used to use True Image a long time ago but steered away when I had problems restoring data. Maybe it's got better since, but typically stuff doesn't get a second chance to lose things for me.

[SilverSolder]

The only reliable way I know is to keep a virtual machine (VM) for each project. 

Not installer kits, not sources, not docker, only full, standalone VMs.  Those VMs are built from a typical Linux image, with all the needed software and build tools installed, never to be connected online, never to be updated, and I never use software that can not work offline.  This is still possible for hobby projects.

It takes about 4-10GB for each VM, but the HDD storage is cheap enough, and I don't have that many projects anyway.  The total disk space can be reduced a lot if using a file system with deduplication.

For work, use whatever method the company specifies.

That's pretty much what I do as well.   This approach needs more hardware and storage, but it is worth it overall.

[SilverSolder]

It takes about 4-10GB for each VM, but the HDD storage is cheap enough

It ain't once you multiply by the number of backups.

However, the way I partly get around this, which I'm sure is or should  be common practice, is to have a common base VM and then create clones of that for the real (virtual!) working stuff. The clone could be a few hundred MB if there are few differences to the base.

Yes, I have set up synced VMs between different servers just by syncing the diffs, not the base VM itself.  Very efficient.

[SiliconWizard]

I'm evaluating restic - so far good impression. https://restic.net/
It's pretty fast. The first backup run of 25GiB over 300k+ files took about 1 min. I'll do some more testing and see if I stick with it.

[RoGeorge]

In terms of speed, this is from console output yesterday, happened to made a backup with Borg.

Duration: 14 minutes 33.41 seconds
Number of files: 503950
Utilization of max. archive size: 0%
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                       Original size      Compressed size    Deduplicated size
This archive:   622.11 GB         296.43 GB                   4.39 GB
All archives:        2.42 TB              1.13 TB               219.73 GB

                       Unique chunks         Total chunks
Chunk index:            412643              2542887
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The NAS has a slow 100Mbps LAN and writes even slower, at about 5MB/s.  Backup deduplicated and compressed (--compression=zstd, chosen after a few tests regarding compression size and speed).

[madires]

Microsoft totally screwed up their cloud token validation and selling it as mitigating a China-based threat actor targeting customer email who exploited a token validation issue: https://msrc.microsoft.com/blog/2023/07/microsoft-mitigates-china-based-threat-actor-storm-0558-targeting-of-customer-email/

The actor used an acquired MSA key to forge tokens to access OWA and Outlook.com. MSA (consumer) keys and Azure AD (enterprise) keys are issued and managed from separate systems and should only be valid for their respective systems. The actor exploited a token validation issue to impersonate Azure AD users and gain access to enterprise mail.

[SiliconWizard]

Anyone trusting MS for their data is a fool IMHO.

[madires]

More about Microsoft's latest 0-days (downplayed as token validation issue):
- Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo's emails hacked in Microsoft cyber breach (https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/commerce-secretary-gina-raimondos-emails-hacked-microsoft-cyber/story?id=101201179)
- Microsoft takes pains to obscure role in 0-days that caused email breach (https://arstechnica.com/security/2023/07/microsoft-takes-pains-to-obscure-role-in-0-days-that-caused-email-breach/)
- Analysis of Storm-0558 techniques for unauthorized email access (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2023/07/14/analysis-of-storm-0558-techniques-for-unauthorized-email-access/)

TL;DR: It's so bad that MS tries really hard to downplay the 0-days.

[coppice]

Microsoft totally screwed up their cloud token validation and selling it as mitigating a China-based threat actor targeting customer email who exploited a token validation issue: https://msrc.microsoft.com/blog/2023/07/microsoft-mitigates-china-based-threat-actor-storm-0558-targeting-of-customer-email/

Microsoft usually only puts token effort into the things they do.

[madires]

When your e-bike is too smart and the manufacturer is almost busted:

  VanMoof ebike mess highlights a risk with all pricey smart hardware (https://9to5mac.com/2023/07/14/vanmoof-ebike-mess/)

Luckily, a competitor offers a solution.

[Kim Christensen]

When your e-bike is too smart and the manufacturer is almost busted:

That's just dumb. Not "smart" at all. Why not make it 100% bluetooth, or at least give the option of lower "security" without the rolling code. Maybe it's not that way in Europe, but where I live it's quite feasible that you get out of cell tower range on bike trails. Then you stop for lunch and poof, you're walking back. 

[coppice]

When your e-bike is too smart and the manufacturer is almost busted:

  VanMoof ebike mess highlights a risk with all pricey smart hardware (https://9to5mac.com/2023/07/14/vanmoof-ebike-mess/)

Luckily, a competitor offers a solution.

For so many of these things the lifetime of the warranty is much less important than the lifetime of the vendor.

[TimFox]

In a late Warner-Brothers "Roadrunner" cartoon,  the coyote purchased a bat-man flying suit from Acme products that was "guaranteed for the life of the purchaser".

[coppice]

In a late Warner-Brothers "Roadrunner" cartoon,  the coyote purchased a bat-man flying suit from Acme products that was "guaranteed for the life of the purchaser".

cf the old joke: "Its guaranteed for life and it has broken" "Well, that's the end of its life. Guarantee nulled"

[SiliconWizard]

Fun stuff. Likewise, imagine a car guaranteed for the lifetime of the purchaser.

[TimFox]

Incentives!

[SL4P]

The way the internet and cloud services have evolved - is a fragile house of cards.
You have your purchase, connected via your service provider to the carrier to transport your data ton a essentially unknown remote carrier and provider - to the product seller, who may or may not just all the required assets on their own hardware - then the reverse of this to send your processed replies back to you.

At no point on the route do you have any control or security of your own data.
It sort of works until now, but what happens when it all falls in a heap for an hour, day, week, month, forever.
Not the whole system, just one part being managed from a college dorm in Romania   

[SiliconWizard]

The way the internet and cloud servicesmodern societies have evolved - is a fragile house of cards.

Just unplug the cord and see the whole thing collapse in no time flat.

[RoGeorge]

...
At no point on the route do you have any control or security of your own data.
It sort of works until now, but what happens when it all falls in a heap for an hour, day, week, month, forever.
Not the whole system, just one part being managed from a college dorm in Romania

I would be more worried for what happens when it all falls in a college dorm in Australia.
'Cause Australia being upside down, it will fall down under Earth, lost in outer space. 

[SiliconWizard]

The reason Australians do not fall into space is because the Earth is a fast-spinning disc and objects get stuck to the underneath surface thanks to the Coandă effect.
 

Note: actually I'm currently developing a new theory for gravity in which it would all boil down to fluid mechanics. The universe would be full of some so-called "dark fluid" and gravity would be an effect of fluid mechanics. I'm smelling the Nobel prize.

[madires]

Another update on Microsoft's stolen cloud key:
- Stolen Microsoft Key: The Impact Is Higher Than Expected (https://heimdalsecurity.com/blog/stolen-microsoft-key-the-impact-is-higher-than-expected/)

Based on several reports we can assume that all cloud services were affected, also 3rd party services with a 'Sign in with Microsoft' button. Instead of helping users to detect compromised accounts and possibly installed backdoors Microsoft is still downplaying things and prolonging the disaster this way.

[Nominal Animal]

Note: actually I'm currently developing a new theory for gravity in which it would all boil down to fluid mechanics. The universe would be full of some so-called "dark fluid" and gravity would be an effect of fluid mechanics. I'm smelling the Nobel prize.

Me too!  You need to set up a web page called The Fluid Universe, and explain why the dark fluid must not be called 'ether', though.

[RoGeorge]

Note: actually I'm currently developing a new theory for gravity in which it would all boil down to fluid mechanics. The universe would be full of some so-called "dark fluid" and gravity would be an effect of fluid mechanics. I'm smelling the Nobel prize.

Me too!  You need to set up a web page called The Fluid Universe, and explain why the dark fluid must not be called 'ether', though.

Same here!  Mine is about matter (as in mass) emanating space, which space is seen as a fluid (a "compressible" one).  That will remove the need for dark matter (a little more complicated to deal with the dark energy, that one might still be needed).  Such theory would explain the rotation speed anomaly in the skirt of galaxies, explain inflating universe as new space coming into existence, the red shift, and so on.  Would bring enough nagging even without reintroducing the old Aether.  Any name suggestions for a new (compressible) Aether?