"more secure" 3rd-party file sharing?

[Ben Scott]

On 8/25/06, Paul Lussier <p.lussier at comcast.net> wrote:
> And along these lines, you could easily set up an Apache/WebDAV server ...

  I see a future LUG presentation here!

  I'm serious.  All of that actually does sound  pretty cool.  But it
does have a few drawbacks for Bill's situation (the OP):

  Bill might not want to have to maintain accounts for all the
potential people who might be getting files sent to them.  It would
work okay (and probably be a good idea, even) if you're trading files
with a small set of people, but I got the impression that Bill's user
community for this would be "the Internet".

  I suspect he's looking more for something like YouSendIt
(http://www.yousendit.com/).  Alice uploads a file to the website, and
enters an email address with it.  The person reading the mail for that
email address then clicks a link to download the files.  No
authentication desired.

  Additionally, I still think he's just re-arranging the problem.
Now, instead of emailing the wrong files to the wrong people, the
lusers will post the wrong files to the website, or email the wrong
people the links to the website.  Drag-and-drop would only make it
easier for the lusers to fsck it up.

  "You can't comb a hairy ball smooth." -- The Jargon File

  Encrypting the transfer (a la SSL), while not completely useless,
does little to actually solve the real threats facing most of us.
ISP's sniffing traffic is usually not the issue; compromised machines
(spyware, rooot kits, etc.) and untrustworthy people are the big
problems.  An SSL tunnel doesn't help if the end point is under the
enemy's control.

"[SSL web servers] are the equivalent of heavy armored cars. The
problem is, they are being used to transfer rolls of coins and checks
written in crayon by people on park benches to merchants doing
business in cardboard boxes from beneath highway bridges. Further, the
roads are subject to random detours, anyone with a screwdriver can
control the traffic lights, and there are no police." -- Prof. Gene
"spaf" Spafford

-- Ben