When we think of Synology we think of NAS solutions, but there are many other services offered by this platform, and today I will talk about two that are especially interesting.
The first is ideal for creating, saving and recovering passwords securely, a free solution that helps us always have the passwords generated in the different services we use on a daily basis at hand, thus avoiding the use of easy or duplicate passwords, easy to to hack.
The second is C2 Backup, a necessary solution so that the information that matters most to us is always safe in the cloud, easy to recover at any time.
C2 Password
We start with C2 Password, and to get to know it in detail, there is nothing like a step-by-step during the creation of an account and a short presentation video.
presentation video
account creation
The first thing we must do is enter this link, where in addition to the description of the service and the video that I left you before, we have the option to create an account in the “First steps” button.
We register by creating a Synology account, it is also possible to use our data from Google or Apple.
By putting our email we will receive a code to create the account correctly.
We chose the plan, the use of up to 10,000 items stored in the C2 store being free, with synchronization between devices included. There is an option of 4.99 euros per year that allows you to share elements with 5 users and have an emergency access function.
It is time to define the unique key, a key that we cannot forget, since Synology will not store it at any time, it only depends on us.
Once defined, a recovery code will be generated that we must store safely in case we ever forget our main key.
Now we have access to the platform where the passwords will be stored. In Synology they recommend having the browser extension installed, so that the autocomplete works on login pages, the generation of passwords and more.
In the home panel we can start adding accounts, both passwords and bank details and other sensitive information.
Each option will lead to a specific form, different depending on the information we want to store in our C2 Password.
We can store everything with labels and define some as favorites, to facilitate quick access from the panel.
We can also import a CSV file with all the information we have saved on other platforms, Chrome, 1Password, Bitwarden and others).
It is safe?
C2 Password is designed to ensure that only we have access to our data, which is encrypted locally during storage. On top of that, they use end-to-end encryption to keep data as secure as possible from anyone looking to gain access.
To prevent users from having to remember multiple encrypted passwords, the C2 Services have developed and implemented a single encryption key, known as the C2 Encryption Key (C2 Key). This encryption key is used by all C2 services (except C2 Storage).
The C2 key is not stored in any way on the Synology C2 server, therefore the only person who knows it is the one who has access to the Synology C2 account. Also, since this C2 Key will be used to decrypt all of your stored encrypted data, they suggest making it a strong key, easy to remember, and one that meets the C2 Key requirements we looked at earlier.
If we lose the C2 key, Synology C2 will not be able to recover the encrypted data. Therefore, it is critical that we keep the C2 key as secure as possible.
C2 Backup
The second service I want to introduce is C2 Backup, the ideal place to backup all your Windows and Mac devices to the cloud.
C2 Backup also offers a variety of recovery options, including downloading specific files or folders or restoring the entire device using C2 Backup’s recovery wizard.
Let’s watch the video first:
presentation video
As you can see, it is possible to make backup copies, define specific moments of copies, restore entire copies… without limits.
First steps
C2 Backup can be tested for free, but before starting the test you have to choose a storage plan. You will not be charged until after 30 days of the trial.
They have an option for individuals that protects all the data on the computer with backup copies of the entire device. This means that all applications, system settings and even external drives are well protected with C2 Backup.
This option allows incremental backups, computers can be backed up faster, since files that have not changed are not overwritten.
The business plan allows you to save unlimited Computers. We can make backup copies of as many PCs and physical servers in our organization as we wish.
It’s ideal for centralizing backup management through a single console, protecting all personal computers, physical servers, Microsoft Exchange emails, and OneDrive files.
It is safe?
Since the main goal of C2 Backup is to keep our backup data completely safe on the C2 server, they have made sure that decryption can only be done by the user.
To do this, their system was designed in such a way that regular backups are automatically encrypted and must be decrypted with our C2 key each time we need to recover the data. This is done through the use of asymmetric encryption.
To increase performance times and encrypt backups as efficiently as possible, they also feature symmetric encryption, resulting in a hybrid cryptosystem.
C2 Backup uses three layers of encryption keys: the C2 key set, the service key, and the randomly generated data key. All backup data is encrypted using Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) in counter mode (CTR) using a randomly generated 256-bit data key.
As you can see, two services that are worth learning about, both for individual use and within companies.
