arkOS: your "private" cloud

La Raspberry Pi It meant a revolution in the technological market since it allows to acquire a micro-computer, the size of a credit card, at a very low cost (between 25 and 35 dollars). The uses that have been given to the Raspberry Pi are the most diverse: multimedia center, game console, private server for file or mail storage, VPN server, etc.

Ark OS It is a GNU / Linux distribution designed to be used, in principle, on the Raspberry Pi. Although it is based on Arch Linux, it is not necessary to be an advanced user to use it, since most of its functions are managed through Genesis, a very easy-to-use graphical application that allows you to manage the different "services" available in ArkOS.

The privacy dilemma

The Internet was born as a network, that is, a decentralized association of devices. What we are seeing in recent years, however, is the reverse process. Through the emergence of "the cloud" (storage of your files on an external server, etc.) and "software as a service" (web applications such as Google Docs, Gmail, etc.), we are increasingly undergoing a process of centralization of the information and the monopoly of our data in few hands. Only then can the NSA do what it does.

This means that the most serious problem is not that the NSA or the X government spy on us. Generally, people get irritated by this type of situation and denounce governments for their "abuses". The truth is that these "abuses" are also carried out by the companies themselves, not just by governments. But that is another story. The point is that the most serious thing about this situation is the centralization of information in a few hands; the hands of companies, mostly American. Only then is it possible for the NSA to spy on us ... or at least that makes it much easier.

This growing centralization goes against the very fabric of the Internet. It is for that reason that there are so many problems in protecting our privacy: the Internet was not designed with that problem in mind. An exemplary case of what I am saying is the «don't track me»That the Mozilla Foundation has tried to promote. Not only were few companies that joined, but it was an opt-out policy (that is, by default they track you, and you choose to leave) and not opt-in (by default they DO NOT track you and you choose consciously be tracked). The point is that an opt-in policy to eliminate tracking would be impossible, as the Internet was not designed with privacy protection in mind.

The solution?

What if instead resist the attacks of governments and companies to violate our privacy, do we take actions that really solve the problem? What if instead of depending more and more on Google or Microsoft, we can have our own server at home? In short, the Raspberry Pi has a low cost and low power consumption. On the software side, we have GNU / Linux and a plethora of free tools that can be used to provide whatever service we need (mail, file storage, etc.). You just need to put all that together and build an interface that makes the operation easy and intuitive enough so that people can use the system in a massive way, and that is not something reduced to a few geeks. This is precisely what Jacob Cook thought, a 23-year-old kid, who decided to create ArkOS.

Ark OS

The promise: all your files, emails and others stored in YOUR home, under YOUR control, with the security policies that YOU decide, but available from anywhere.

Genesis

Genesis is defined by Cook as "your gateway to the decentralized web."

From Genesis, you can easily install plugins and applications, upload or download files, manage your cloud, update your system, and much more. You can also monitor the status of the system and receive alerts when a problem occurs. Genesis even allows you to backup your information and store it in case you make a mistake. Some of the "services" available in ArkOS include: file storage and synchronization via Owncloud, XMPP chat, calendar, emails, etc.

Genesis tries to combine the best of similar panels like WebMin or the FreeNAS web interface. It can be accessed from any browser, through a computer connected to the local network where our arkOS server is located.

El Genesis source code it is available on Github.

Download ArkOS