Re: [PLUG] Backing up Windows to Linux

[JP Vossen via plug <plug@lists.phillylinux.org>]

On 5/28/23 08:48 PM, Walt Mankowski via plug wrote:
> On Sun, May 28, 2023 at 01:34:38PM -0400, JP Vossen via plug wrote:
> > https://tech.slashdot.org/story/23/05/28/0124209/microsoft-announces-cloud-powered-os-backup-and-restore-for-windows-11-better-arm-support
> > I want to be horrified about having this in the MS cloud, but then
> > many folks have exactly that in the Google or Apple clouds for
> > phones, though granted the risk-of-loss factors for phones are
> > higher than for PCs sitting at home.  Risks for laptops are probably
> > a lot closer to phones though...
>
> FWIW Apple has sold a LOT of phones, and many if not all of them are
> backing up and sharing data via iCloud. Syncing can often take a
> while, and sometimes you can end up with duplicated data. (These were
> both more of a problem in the early days of iCloud.) However, I've
> never heard of anyone losing data. I feel confident it would be all
> over the tech press if it was an issue.

I was assuming that 100% of iGadgets save everything to the iCloud, and that the people who own them are mostly OK with that.  Convenience over privacy or data ownership.

> Of course past performance is no guarantee of future success, and
> certainly no guarantee that MS will get it right too. But these sorts
> of systems have been rock solid.

I think it's fair to say that MS has a lot worse track record than Apple, in terms of security in general and cloud security, and leaks in particular.  MS also has a much larger surface area and more difficult problem since they don't own the hardware and have much more backwards compatibility and I'm assuming from the evidence a LOT worse code-base.  Then there's Google, which periodically locks people out of their entire account (read life) with no recourse.  Just (ironically) google for that.  You don't hear that as much about Apple or MS, probably because there is more of a paid-for relationship there.

As we on this list know, there is no such thing as "the cloud," there are only computers in someone else's data center.  We've seen the argument that the big providers have more money and resources to spend on security than mom&pop, and that's true.  They even have some really good and smart folks working on it.  And even they still can't get it right 100% of the time.  They are big targets and things break and leak.

So that's why I _want_ to be horrified, but realistically, it's really hard to do better and it's not possible to match the convenience and ease of use, at least out-of-the-box.  So I _want_ to be horrified, but I guess I'm really just disappointed and maybe a bit depressed things are not better.

Later,
JP
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