
Large File Transfers Over The Internet: Unsolved. - shawndumas
http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/file_transfer.png
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thaumaturgy
Heh. We've run into this very problem for one of our clients, who occasionally
needs to share hefty files with remote contractors. Dropbox and other
centralized services was a no-go. It needed to be idiot-proof.

We're just about done coding up a pretty nice little system that allows users
to log in and upload a file through a web interface along with a destination
email address. File gets permanently stored to their local server along with
some other details, and a copy gets temporarily sync'd up to an external
server with better bandwidth. After the sync is complete, an email is sent to
the destination, and the recipient receives a link to click on which will
immediately begin the download, with no intermediate nonsense.

Files can be downloaded only once, and only for a specific period of time
(currently hardcoded to 24 hours; configurable later). Information is recorded
when the file is downloaded, and sync'd back to their internal server. Admins
can choose to receive email notifications when files are shared, and can later
look at the originals.

It's pretty OK. I've been thinking about adding it as a what-the-hell feature
to some of our other stuff. Maybe I should.

------
jcr
“Never underestimate the bandwidth of a station wagon full of backup tapes
hurling down the highway.” - Andrew S. Tanenbaum

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raghava
In bandwidth starved places (India, Africa), such a method itself seems more
suitable. Some even found carrier pigeons to be useful for the task.
([http://www.reuters.com/article/2009/09/09/us-safrica-
pigeon-...](http://www.reuters.com/article/2009/09/09/us-safrica-pigeon-
idUSTRE5885PM20090909) )

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0x12
I made an easy to use service for this purpose, up to 100 MB upload. Within
weeks it was a hotbed of .rar files with _very_ questionable content so I shut
it down. I don't have time enough to babysit each and every upload.

Worked like a charm, killed by the jerks.

~~~
jcr
Which jerks?

The jerks stealing creations from creators? i.e. you consider intellectual
property laws to be fair and violation of these laws to be theft from the
creators.

-or-

The jerks stealing creations from the public? i.e. you consider the imaginary
property laws to be corrupt and the existence of theses laws to be theft from
the public.

Though often an unpopular opinion, these days, both sides are jerks. The idea
of a " _short-term and temporary COMPROMISE for the advancement of the useful
arts and securing the rights of the public_ " was lost a very long time ago.

~~~
0x12
The service was not intended for any copyrighted content, just as an easy way
to pass files from one person to another that are too large for an email.

So, the 'jerks' would be those uploading any kind of copyrighted content, but
_especially_ those that figured this was an easy way to create a child porn
file exchange. Apparently I'm too naive to think ahead.

~~~
jcr
> Apparently I'm too naive to think ahead.

Call it a lesson learnt, and don't feel to bad about it. After all, you are in
excellent company; forgetting to _prevent_ abuse by default can be found in
inventions like email, ftp, usenet, www, javascript and countless other
"successes" of technology.

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jesstaa
NAT is pretty much solely to blame for this issue and the main reason by ipv6
can't get here soon enough.

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pasbesoin
This was posted 6 hours earlier, with the wrapping XKCD page as opposed to the
bare PNG graphic linked here.

<https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2976780>

