Secure Transfer of Photos on the Net

Anouilh

This is probably a thread for the Tech forum, but since I don't understand much of what is written there I would be grateful if photographers could share tips for quick and secure transfer of large files.

I know of people who embed tracking code in photos, which probably is not necessary in my case. However, I started a photo blog as the easiest option for making photos accessible. I now need to find a reliable system. Yousendit was suggested, but it gave and internal error message and asked for me to try again later.

Also it is important that the system does not shrink the image, as happened when I tried to send a photo to a member of this Forum some time back.

Tallon

If your taking about uploading and someone else downwloading then yousendti or rapidshare would be perfect.

If you want to direct transfer in real-time there are loads of options. the easiest being MSN messenger, when your in a conversation with somone you can open a shared folder, just keep lashing your photos in there and it will sync with the other persons shared folder, even if you go offline it will start to re-sync once back online

Tallon

Alternativly, create a private Pix.ie, viewable by friends only and make your recipients a 'friend'

pix.ie keeps your original sizes

Anouilh

Many thanks, Tallon. I've just tried Rapidshare and it's very user friendly and in understadable English. Also, the Pix.ie idea is ideal for sharing numerous photos with friends.

kayos

You could try microsoft mesh. Handy for a number of things sysncing files between your different PC's and also being able to grant access to some folders to other users accounts (Live ID required). Even has a handy web front end on it as well as a client install or even windows mobile install.

You get about 5gig of space with your account.

CabanSail

Are you sending files for them to print? If so then I can understand sending the high res files. If it's just for them to look at on a screen that resize them for screen & save a lot of time & bandwidth.

DaireQuinlan

what do you mean by 'secure' ? If you mean just reasonably private then the best bet is probably just some file sharing site. If you mean actually 'secure' then its a whole different kettle of fish. Fastest way to do it off the top of my head would be to send them end to end via gmail, and make sure both you and the recipient have HTTPS turned on (its an option for gmail to have all communications secured). I don't think pix.ie or flickr or rapidshare actually allow upload/download via HTTPS.

Another alternative would be to encrypt the files themselves and send them over an unencrypted link, and find some alternative way of communicating the key/passcode to the recipient.

In general more secure = more PITA. Most secure method would be to burn them to a CD and bring them over personally

AnCatDubh

The secure aspect is an technical thing really and there will be many independent solutions. One such system is Truecrypt which is FULL INDUSTRIAL STRENGTH ENCRYPTION. It is open source and free. It creates a secure container (like a zip file only really secure) and you place your files into it - your transfer the container over standard web facilities like downloads or email. It appears to your system like a drive letter. It's doable if you need that level of security but do you really need such levels of security?

Your photo editing software should be able to embed a copyright notice into the exif information which is good to do but remember if we are being paranoid then someone can just as easily remove it from the exif info.

Nforce

DaireQuinlan wrote: »

I don't think pix.ie or flickr or rapidshare actually allow upload/download via HTTPS.

You could,of course,compress them beforehand into a smaller password protected file eg by using winrar or 7zip. Once protected and compressed upload them to rapidshare and forward the file address to your intended recipients.

Anouilh

No paraonoia involved, apart from the fact that I've never succeeded in getting a large file from A to B without total confusion. I've been asked to send it in a format that will be at least 300 dpi 300 dpi at 10" tall. The dpi is not puzzling but the 10" does not ring any bells. Also, I tend to save files in JPEG, but for printing is Tiff the norm? I could send a barrage of questions to my contact, but it struck me we could all learn about house style by sharing some tips here.

(All the suggestions so far are invaluable. Thanks to all.)

DaireQuinlan

Nforce wrote: »

You could,of course,compress them beforehand into a smaller password protected file eg by using winrar or 7zip. Once protected and compressed upload them to rapidshare and forward the file address to your intended recipients.

that would be reasonably secure. 7zip at least uses AES-256 which is relatively well regarded. I'd worry about the quality of the password though. Once you get your hands on the file I'd say it'd succumb to a dictionary or brute force attack quite quickly. I have no faith in users selecting a decent password. Nothing compares to a properly constructed 1024 bit key.

-edit- Although, actually forgot the problem of communicating the password to the recipient. No secure way of doing that short of meeting them in person again or sending them over a HTTPS channel via gmail or something and trusting that your certificate store hasn't been compromised -edit-

AnCatDubh

a 10" square print at 300dpi will mean that you want a 3000 X 3000 pixel image. Should be as simple as that.

JPG is a lossy format while TIFF is a loss less format. If editing then TIFF is better because you don't lose detail with each save. Then when finished editing save back to JPG.

JPG should be fine for your friend to print from.

Nforce

DaireQuinlan wrote: »

that would be reasonably secure. 7zip at least uses AES-256 which is relatively well regarded. I'd worry about the quality of the password though. Once you get your hands on the file I'd say it'd succumb to a dictionary or brute force attack quite quickly. I have no faith in users selecting a decent password. Nothing compares to a properly constructed 1024 bit key.

-edit- Although, actually forgot the problem of communicating the password to the recipient. No secure way of doing that short of meeting them in person again or sending them over a HTTPS channel via gmail or something and trusting that your certificate store hasn't been compromised -edit-

Ah here...just what sort of files are we talking about that need that sort of protection.....pics of an Irish built super secret stealth aircraft perchance?:D:p:)

Nforce

AnCatDubh wrote: »

a 10" square print at 300dpi will mean that you want a 3000 X 3000 pixel image. Should be as simple as that.

JPG is a lossy format while TIFF is a loss less format. If editing then TIFF is better because you don't lose detail with each save. Then when finished editing save back to JPG.

JPG should be fine for your friend to print from.

Jpeg will also be a LOT smaller in size (bytes) than an equivilant tiff file.

Anouilh

Thanks again for such clear help.

Totally off topic, but I found a useful giveawaoftheday while looking for a program to add a nice (and invisible) watermark to photos.

http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/

My Audio Studio might be handy for adding a commentary to a photo.

Truecrypt + SSHFS = very safe
Truecrpyt + Email = less safe, but still very safe

Truecrypt + DVD + Courier = safest way, unless the government are after you.

MagicMarker

I'm confused, are you transferring pictures or government secrets? Why the need for such security?

DaireQuinlan

MagicMarker wrote: »

I'm confused, are you transferring pictures or government secrets? Why the need for such security?

well why not ? No point in half measures

Anouilh

DaireQuinlan wrote: »

well why not ? No point in half measures

Security does not imply secrecy. People lock their cars and houses. It's not cloak and dagger territory.

I last tried sending large files a few years ago and found it really time consuming. Things are much improved.

This is how yousendit works

http://www.yousendit.com/cms/how

Anything that cuts down on clutter and mixed messages is welcome, I think.

DaireQuinlan

Anouilh wrote: »

Security does not imply secrecy. People lock their cars and houses. It's not cloak and dagger territory.

In comms terms a 'secure transfer' necessitates secrecy. By 'secure' you mean you are trying to prevent anyone other than the intended recipient from being able to access the unsecured data (be it plaintext, or unencrypted image or what have you).

There's a related problem of verification or authentication which involves asserting that particular content originates from you and no-one else, this doesn't necessarily require secrecy (you can for example sign a hash of the image and embed it into the image or something similar).

Anouilh

CabanSail wrote: »

Are you sending files for them to print? If so then I can understand sending the high res files. If it's just for them to look at on a screen that resize them for screen & save a lot of time & bandwidth.

You are right to think about res and size, Cabansail. I rarely send high res files, but having discovered Rapidshare and Yousendit (the latter works perfectly for me now) I can send images to friends that they can print as cards that do not look bleached when printed. Up to now, I kept everything within the parameters of what was possible here, max 600 by 800.

There is a Flickr group called Yousendit which compares and contrasts different systems in detail, for anybody who would like to learn more.