What is Prvstorage?

Prvstorage is a web application, that facilitates saving your files in a private environment. You may consider it as your personal/family cloud storage.

With Prvstorage application you may easily share files and folders with other users registered on your server.

With Prvstorage application you may create links to files and foldes that can be later downloaded.

Prvstorage is not intended and it was not designed for use as a cloud storage for hundreds/thousands users but for home / small bussiness use. I'm not saying Prvstorage couldn't perform at higher level, just saying that I could not test it, therefore I don't recommand it for high traffic.

Prvstorage app must be installed on top of a web server and you'll find here a simple tutorial to setup a personal web server. At first glance you might get scared by words like web server, cloud, etc. I assure you that setting up a web server is no more complicated then installing any operating system (Windows/Linux/Unix) and some common software.

You may test Prvstorage before investing time and resources. For testing I prepared a virtual machine (ubuntu server 22.04) and a short tutorial to have a taste of what Prvstorage can do.

Privacy of personal files is a concern for everyone and service providers (cloud/storage) are doing their best to assure customers of it (privacy). Still, there's a second/third/... party involved while here I'm proposing an option which doesn't envolve anyone but yourself. Your hardware, your control, this open source application that can be verified by anyone.

Security of personal files is also a great concern for everyone. Prvstorage is built on and makes use of software well known and well mantained in terms of security but, the strong point regarding security lies in Prvstorage's purpose. It is for home / small bussiness use therefore: has limited and physically known users, admin can manage users easily, IP of the server is not publicly known so that attacks are less likely to occur. In addition, the web server may be set to permit only encrypted comunications (https://) using selfsigned SSL certificates or free SSL certificates like those provided by Internet Security Research Group (ISRG) on https://letsencrypt.org/ website.

Case study: You like to travel, see new places, you take a lot of pictures, make a lot of videos and storage on your phone gets constantly full. Your free cloud storage is full. You have no intention of buying additional storage (expensive and hooks you up for an undetermined period of time).

Solution: Firstly, get a second hand business or pro barebone PC under $100 (or even for free) with minimum specs; secondly, buy a new HDDs/SSDs (or two - one for storage one for backup); thirdly, install required software for app and Prvstorage then make some tricks with port forwarding on your home router. DONE. You have your own cloud storage. accessible like any known Internet website.

So, What you can get?

• A personal (family) cloud on your personal hardware, in a private environment, accessible on local networks and from the Internet with no AI sniffing through your files.
• Complete control on user access to your cloud.
• File sharing within local/home networks.
• File sharing among users that have access to Prvstorage.
• One-time or time-limited sharing link to whoever you want.
• Encrypted communication with SSL certificate if you opt for it.
• Your hardware, your rules (wake on lan, always on, power on restored power, remote SSH access).
• As security pros say, "best practice of protecting digital information from unauthorized access is destroing it". You can always grab an ax and protect your digital information. No cloud service provider can give you that! LOL