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I started using Firefox Send recently, I have been really impressed with the simplicity and easy of use. I haven’t tried it, but it is open source and possible

by 40four 6y ago

I started using Firefox Send recently, I have been really impressed with the simplicity and easy of use. I haven’t tried it, but it is open source and possible to self-host if you so chose. But for the time being it remains free, and you can share up to a generous 2.5 GB if you log in with a Firefox account so I see no reason to put in the effort yet. That being said, Sharedrop seems to be a different use case, only sharing file between folks on the same network. I applaud the effort, I will certainly like to try this out soon!

tjohns 6y ago
Meanwhile, I found the 2.5 GB limit on Firefox Send really frustrating this weekend when I was trying to send 80 GB of raw video files to a friend. :) Turns out there's very few options available for really large P2P file transfers, short of hosting an FTP server.
- _ZeD_ 6y ago
  For 80gb I would send a usb pen via mail
  - modinfo 6y ago
    I regularly send 200gb with Resilio Sync, but before sending the file I split into 10gb pieces and on the other side I put them together.
- raybb 6y ago
  why not use a regular old torrent?
- llampx 6y ago
  Curious, couldn't you have used a torrent for that?
  - tjohns 6y ago
    Great question! I considered it, but I wasn't able to find a clear answer whether it was secure or not. If somebody had access to the tracker backend or were inspecting the DHT traffic, would they be able to download the files without the original .torrent file? (Most of the BitTorrent docs assume you're intending to distribute the files publicly.) Not that the data was really worth protecting — it was just GoPro videos from a recent ski trip. But still, I didn't want to share my (unedited) home movies publicly.
    - PikachuEXE 6y ago
      Maybe you can try Resilio Sync (was named BT Sync before) https://www.resilio.com/individuals/#plans https://www.resilio.com/individuals/#plans I am not sure if Free version supports limited sharing But I guess you can open a folder for your one-time use then remove it afterward
    - tleb_ 6y ago
      Did you consider encryption? Issue is that it adds one step at the start and at the end, which probably isn't negligible on 80gb of data.
    - namibj 6y ago
      Well, you could use a private tracker/one that doesn't dump it's torrent-list publicly, and mark the torrent file itself as private, so your client won't share it on the DHT. Also, encrypting is orthogonal.
      - nullc 6y ago
        Then find yourself shocked when the far end's torrent client ignores the private setting?
        namibj 6y ago
        Which doesn't really happen, because all those private invite-only trackers hand out perma-bans for that. So a good chunk of users will get really angry if a client comes with that bug. I haven't yet even found a way to make any ignore this.
- wrsh07 6y ago
  Disclosure, I work at Dropbox: but did you consider paying for a tool? Or were you mostly interested in free options?
  - tjohns 6y ago
    I tried uploading the archive to iCloud, but the server rejected it as too large. None of my other cloud storage accounts had enough free space. Paying for extra space seemed overkill, given that this was literally a one-time P2P file transfer. I really should just be able to send a file to another IP address without having to pay for storage somewhere.
    - iampims 6y ago
      This works _really_ well: https://github.com/warner/magic-wormhole https://github.com/warner/magic-wormhole
      - spappal 6y ago
        This was spotted on HN 3 weeks ago: https://github.com/schollz/croc https://github.com/schollz/croc
    - wrsh07 6y ago
      Would rsync have worked? A bit of googling gives this as the best set of answers I can find https://serverfault.com/questions/53531/copy-large-file-from-one-linux-server-to-another https://serverfault.com/questions/53531/copy-large-file-from... Sorry to keep bike shedding this!
- oh_sigh 6y ago
  OP was talking about the generous 2.5 GB limit, while you're referring to the stingy 2.5 GB limit.
  - tjohns 6y ago
    Indeed, that's why I posted. I found it to be an interesting juxtaposition. :)
    - 40four 6y ago
      Haha, well it is hosted free on their servers. I guess I thought it was nice compared to the 1gb you get free on Dropbox.
- f1refly 6y ago
  Very much related to the sister comment that recommended resilio sync, I usually tell people to install the free (but equally good) synthing when I want to transfer very large files in private. I have it running anyways, and it's not too big of a hassle to install for them. It has the added benefit that you can abort and resume the transfer at any point, which is especially useful if you're transferring from some noisy machine that you want to turn off during the night.
- namibj 6y ago
  Actually, torrents are still kinda a go-to for p2p transfers.
- cryo 6y ago
  There is a new tool around which can be used to send large files p2p with end to end encryption (I'm the developer behind it). No mobile app yet but it already works on macOS, Windows and Linux. cryo file manager https://cryonet.io https://cryonet.io
- Multicomp 6y ago
  Setup a syncthing folder share with your friend. Drop your 80gb in the folder Data syncs over p2p e2ee overnight. Friend removes the copy from their sync folder and it vanishes from yours
  - cecja 6y ago
    Yeah, if I need my mom to setup syncthing and open some ports or let her computer run over night without going to sleep to send some files. I rather send her an usb stick. If I just have tell her click on that link and after that click on ok... it's doable.
- thebiss 6y ago
  This exact use case - sharing many GB of raw movies and pictures - is solved really well by Resilio Sync. https://www.resilio.com/individuals/ https://www.resilio.com/individuals/
- mimsee 6y ago
  As it is open source you can always just run a new docker of Send, tweak the ENV variable for max file size and bobs your uncle. https://send.mirorauhala.fi/ https://send.mirorauhala.fi/

by 40four 6y ago

tjohns 6y ago

Meanwhile, I found the 2.5 GB limit on Firefox Send really frustrating this weekend when I was trying to send 80 GB of raw video files to a friend. :) Turns out there's very few options available for really large P2P file transfers, short of hosting an FTP server.

_ZeD_ 6y ago
For 80gb I would send a usb pen via mail
- modinfo 6y ago
  I regularly send 200gb with Resilio Sync, but before sending the file I split into 10gb pieces and on the other side I put them together.
raybb 6y ago
why not use a regular old torrent?
llampx 6y ago
Curious, couldn't you have used a torrent for that?
- tjohns 6y ago
  Great question! I considered it, but I wasn't able to find a clear answer whether it was secure or not. If somebody had access to the tracker backend or were inspecting the DHT traffic, would they be able to download the files without the original .torrent file? (Most of the BitTorrent docs assume you're intending to distribute the files publicly.) Not that the data was really worth protecting — it was just GoPro videos from a recent ski trip. But still, I didn't want to share my (unedited) home movies publicly.
  - PikachuEXE 6y ago
    Maybe you can try Resilio Sync (was named BT Sync before) https://www.resilio.com/individuals/#plans https://www.resilio.com/individuals/#plans I am not sure if Free version supports limited sharing But I guess you can open a folder for your one-time use then remove it afterward
  - tleb_ 6y ago
    Did you consider encryption? Issue is that it adds one step at the start and at the end, which probably isn't negligible on 80gb of data.
  - namibj 6y ago
    Well, you could use a private tracker/one that doesn't dump it's torrent-list publicly, and mark the torrent file itself as private, so your client won't share it on the DHT. Also, encrypting is orthogonal.
    - nullc 6y ago
      Then find yourself shocked when the far end's torrent client ignores the private setting?
      - namibj 6y ago
        Which doesn't really happen, because all those private invite-only trackers hand out perma-bans for that. So a good chunk of users will get really angry if a client comes with that bug. I haven't yet even found a way to make any ignore this.
wrsh07 6y ago
Disclosure, I work at Dropbox: but did you consider paying for a tool? Or were you mostly interested in free options?
- tjohns 6y ago
  I tried uploading the archive to iCloud, but the server rejected it as too large. None of my other cloud storage accounts had enough free space. Paying for extra space seemed overkill, given that this was literally a one-time P2P file transfer. I really should just be able to send a file to another IP address without having to pay for storage somewhere.
  - iampims 6y ago
    This works _really_ well: https://github.com/warner/magic-wormhole https://github.com/warner/magic-wormhole
    - spappal 6y ago
      This was spotted on HN 3 weeks ago: https://github.com/schollz/croc https://github.com/schollz/croc
  - wrsh07 6y ago
    Would rsync have worked? A bit of googling gives this as the best set of answers I can find https://serverfault.com/questions/53531/copy-large-file-from-one-linux-server-to-another https://serverfault.com/questions/53531/copy-large-file-from... Sorry to keep bike shedding this!
oh_sigh 6y ago
OP was talking about the generous 2.5 GB limit, while you're referring to the stingy 2.5 GB limit.
- tjohns 6y ago
  Indeed, that's why I posted. I found it to be an interesting juxtaposition. :)
  - 40four 6y ago
    Haha, well it is hosted free on their servers. I guess I thought it was nice compared to the 1gb you get free on Dropbox.
f1refly 6y ago
Very much related to the sister comment that recommended resilio sync, I usually tell people to install the free (but equally good) synthing when I want to transfer very large files in private. I have it running anyways, and it's not too big of a hassle to install for them. It has the added benefit that you can abort and resume the transfer at any point, which is especially useful if you're transferring from some noisy machine that you want to turn off during the night.
namibj 6y ago
Actually, torrents are still kinda a go-to for p2p transfers.
cryo 6y ago
There is a new tool around which can be used to send large files p2p with end to end encryption (I'm the developer behind it). No mobile app yet but it already works on macOS, Windows and Linux. cryo file manager https://cryonet.io https://cryonet.io
Multicomp 6y ago
Setup a syncthing folder share with your friend. Drop your 80gb in the folder Data syncs over p2p e2ee overnight. Friend removes the copy from their sync folder and it vanishes from yours
- cecja 6y ago
  Yeah, if I need my mom to setup syncthing and open some ports or let her computer run over night without going to sleep to send some files. I rather send her an usb stick. If I just have tell her click on that link and after that click on ok... it's doable.
thebiss 6y ago
This exact use case - sharing many GB of raw movies and pictures - is solved really well by Resilio Sync. https://www.resilio.com/individuals/ https://www.resilio.com/individuals/
mimsee 6y ago
As it is open source you can always just run a new docker of Send, tweak the ENV variable for max file size and bobs your uncle. https://send.mirorauhala.fi/ https://send.mirorauhala.fi/