Various sync questions

Started by laz, September 03, 2009, 04:25:16 AM

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laz

Hello !

I plan to buy Espionage to protect my datas.

Since I have two Macbooks that need to be in sync for some folders, I have several questions :

 1. is there a way to sync folders on two Macs bi-directionaly ?  For example if I unlock folders on both machines and then perform a usual third-party sync ?
 2. is it possible to simply copy an encrypted folder as it by hand (for a complete backup for example) ?
 3. what about MobileMe ?  how does Espionage deal with it ?  I mean, I saw I should use the "Espionage built-in backups", but can you explain further ?

Thank you for your help,
Regards.

greg

#1
Quote1. is there a way to sync folders on two Macs bi-directionaly ? For example if I unlock folders on both machines and then perform a usual third-party sync ?

You are correct that to sync the two folders must be in the same state on both machines, however most sync applications do not work with symbolic links, which is what you'll have when the folders are unlocked (see here for more info on how Espionage works).

Therefore it's best to sync the folders while they are both *locked*, but when you do this you must make sure that it is a uni-directional sync, not bi-directional, and that both folders are disabled. There's a tip in the tips forum with an example of using ChronoSync to sync.

Quote2. is it possible to simply copy an encrypted folder as it by hand (for a complete backup for example) ?

Yes, but the folder must be disabled before you do that. Otherwise you'll trigger the password prompt. You can disable the folder in Espionage by unchecking the "Enabled" checkbox and saving changes.

Quote3. what about MobileMe ? how does Espionage deal with it ? I mean, I saw I should use the "Espionage built-in backups", but can you explain further ?

Espionage doesn't really support MobileMe. It takes certain precautions though with relation to MobileMe Sync and say, if you have your Mail folder or Address Book encrypted. If you're using MobileMe to sync your email/contacts and are using Espionage to encrypt them, then for best results it's recommended that you set all of those folders to "autounlock at login" and enable your screensaver/sleep password in the Security System preferences.

If you have a more specific question regarding MobileMe, let us know!

Cheers,
Greg, Tao Effect
Follow @espionageapp@twitter.com or @espionage@mstdn.io for news and updates!

laz

#2
First, thanks for your quick answer !

1. I really need to do this bi-directional : do you know if ChronoSync supports symbolic links ?

2. Is it possible to script this (disable folder, copy it, enable folder back) ?  I mean to be able to run backups automatically.

Regards.

greg

#3
Quote from: "laz"First, thanks for your quick answer !

1. I really need to do this bi-directional : do you know if ChronoSync supports symbolic links ?

No I'm not sure as we don't have a registered copy of ChronoSync to play with (and we're focusing on rewriting parts of Espionage's helper right now).  If you try to do a bidirectional sync though, it is very important that you do this while both folders are unlocked and not locked, as doing it while they are locked/disabled could completely corrupt your encrypted folders.

Quote2. Is it possible to script this (disable folder, copy it, enable folder back) ?  I mean to be able to run backups automatically.

Not at the moment but we are looking into supporting this soon.  The changes that we're currently making to the helper should make it easier for us to add full scripting support to it so stay tuned.

Best regards,
Greg, Tao Effect
Follow @espionageapp@twitter.com or @espionage@mstdn.io for news and updates!