GoodSync supports the ability to backup and encrypt data to a destination folder using AES256 encryption. During job run, GoodSync takes any unencrypted data from a specified source folder and replicates this data to a destination in encrypted form. This function is available in one-way backup jobs.
To perform encryption, set the encryption password to the destination folder.
For example, if the destination folder is on the right side, go to Job options > Right Side, and click Encrypt File Bodies, then provide the desired encryption password. When the job runs, it will backup and encrypt the data to the target folder.
To perform decryption, ensure that the password is set to the source folder containing the encrypted contents. When the job runs, it will backup and decrypt the data to the target folder.
If the job is a left-to-right backup, and the left folder is the source containing encrypted contents, set the password in the Left Side tab.
If the job is a right-to-left backup, and the right folder is the source containing encrypted contents, set the password in the Right Side tab.
The following use case details the steps for encrypting and decrypting data between a local and remote computer. This example will use two Windows machines, but the same may be accomplished on Mac, Linux, NAS, or any supported cloud service of your choosing. For details regarding supported services, click here.
Encryption example
First, set the target Windows machine to listen with GoodSync Connect.
To set a target Windows device to listen for connections from a source computer, open the GoodSync application on the target device. If a job has never been configured, simply enter a name for a job (e.g. “test”) and press "Ok".
Navigate to Tools > GoodSync Connect Setup.
Select the “Yes” radio button.
If you have an existing GoodSync Connect account, you may choose the “Use my existing GoodSync Connect Account” option. If you do not have a GoodSync Connect account, you may create a new account for free.
You may also manage your GoodSync Connect account(s) here:
https://www.goodsync.com/gs-connect
If you would like to allow access to any network shares on the network from connecting devices, you may also provide the Windows password.
Click “Apply” to register this GoodSync Connect account to this device.
Once the target machine has been set to listen for connections, navigate to the source server and create the backup job. Ensure that "Backup" is selected for the job type.
Choose the source location for your job. This example will use the local folder “NotEncrypted”.
Here we can see that the files in this folder are not encrypted. Once the job runs, these files will be encrypted and replicated to the destination.
Next, choose the destination location for this job to receive the encrypted files/folders from the source. This example will use GoodSync Connect to replicate to a remote machine.
The “Encrypted” folder will be used as the destination location.
Once the source and destination have been chosen, navigate to the Right Side tab and click on “Encrypt File Bodies and Names”. Provide a password that will be used as a key for the AES256 encryption algorithm. Remember this password as it will be needed for future decryption.
After the encryption password is specified, we may run the job. 1) Click on Analyze and GoodSync will list the contents that will be encrypted and replicated to the destination. 2) Click on Sync when you are ready to apply the encryption and backup these contents.
On the destination machine we can now see that the Encrypted folder has received the encrypted contents from the source machine.
To decrypt the encrypted files, we will clone the existing EncryptionTest job and rename it to DecryptionTest.
Change the source folder to a location of your choosing that will receive the decrypted contents. This example will use the empty folder “Decrypted”.
*It is recommended for this folder to be empty. If the folder is not empty and Propagate Deletions is set under General > Propagate Deletions, all existing contents in this folder will be deleted.
Next, go to options and navigate to the General tab.
Change the backup direction by clicking on the “Job Type” drop down and changing the flow to “Backup Right to Left (1-way)”. Because the right folder is now our source, we do not need to set the encryption/decryption password to the other side.
When you are ready to run the job, 1) click on Analyze and GoodSync will list the contents that will be decrypted and replicated to the new folder. 2) Click on Sync when you are ready to apply the decryption and restore these contents.
All contents have now been successfully decrypted.
