El 17/11/14 a las 19:05, Anton Aylward escribió:

Could an admin bypass/over-ride/reverse that?

Yes, but that will continue to be the customer problem, Lew already provided him with read-only files. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org To contact the owner, e-mail: opensuse+owner@opensuse.org

On 2014-11-18 01:28, Lew Wolfgang wrote:

Files/directories created in an NTFS filesystem are 777 and can't be changed with chmod. Chown doesn't work either.

It works with FAT. It is a Linux limitation, but I don't know exactly where. I tried with a usb stick formatted as ntfs and another as fat. The second one worked: cer@Telcontar:/media/CORSA_2> l total 52 drwx------ 4 cer users 16384 Nov 18 02:16 ./ drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 Nov 18 02:16 ../ ... -rw-r--r-- 1 cer users 0 Nov 18 02:16 p cer@Telcontar:/media/CORSA_2> chmod a-r p ; l p -rw-r--r-- 1 cer users 0 Nov 18 02:16 p cer@Telcontar:/media/CORSA_2> chmod a-w p ; l p -r--r--r-- 1 cer users 0 Nov 18 02:16 p cer@Telcontar:/media/CORSA_2> Then I removed the stick, reconnected it, and the directory was holding: cer@Telcontar:~> l /media/CORSA_2/p -r--r--r-- 1 cer users 0 Nov 18 02:16 /media/CORSA_2/p cer@Telcontar:~> cer@Telcontar:~> rm /media/CORSA_2/p rm: remove write-protected regular empty file ‘/media/CORSA_2/p’? yes cer@Telcontar:~> l /media/CORSA_2/p ls: cannot access /media/CORSA_2/p: No such file or directory cer@Telcontar:~> maybe there is some other tool that can do the trick. fuse?

But is it possible that extended attributes might work? I'll have to research this one.

acls, perhaps. -- Cheers / Saludos, Carlos E. R. (from 13.1 x86_64 "Bottle" at Telcontar)

On 11/18/2014 12:14 AM, Bernhard Voelker wrote:

Attributes may work - this is the best I could find about it: http://www.tuxera.com/community/ntfs-3g-advanced/extended-attributes/

BTW: you didn't mention how the customer is mounting the drives. If it's on Linux, too, then those attributes won't do much.

Hi Bernhard, Yes, I looked at the tuxera stuff last night and tried this: setfattr -h -v 0x00000021 -n system.ntfs_attrib_be foo This sets the read-only flag as reported by: getfattr -h -e hex -n system.ntfs_attrib_be foo This doesn't write-block on Linux, but my hope is it will work on Windows. I'll test that this morning when I get access to a straight-up Win-7 system. Regards, Lew -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org To contact the owner, e-mail: opensuse+owner@opensuse.org

On 2014-11-18 19:02, Lew Wolfgang wrote:

Greg's idea of creating an ntfs filesystem on a file didn't work either. mkfs.ntfs complained about the file not being a block-device.

losetup. -- Cheers / Saludos, Carlos E. R. (from 13.1 x86_64 "Bottle" at Telcontar)

On 11/18/2014 10:02 AM, Lew Wolfgang wrote:

On 11/18/2014 06:29 AM, Lew Wolfgang wrote:

...

On 11/18/2014 12:14 AM, Bernhard Voelker wrote:

...

Attributes may work - this is the best I could find about it: http://www.tuxera.com/community/ntfs-3g-advanced/extended-attributes/

BTW: you didn't mention how the customer is mounting the drives. If it's on Linux, too, then those attributes won't do much.

Hi Bernhard,

Yes, I looked at the tuxera stuff last night and tried this:

setfattr -h -v 0x00000021 -n system.ntfs_attrib_be foo

This sets the read-only flag as reported by:

getfattr -h -e hex -n system.ntfs_attrib_be foo

This doesn't write-block on Linux, but my hope is it will work on Windows. I'll test that this morning when I get access to a straight-up Win-7 system.

Well, this didn't work when mounting the NTFS filesystem on a Win-7 system.

Greg's idea of creating an ntfs filesystem on a file didn't work either. mkfs.ntfs complained about the file not being a block-device.

I didn't try jdd's ISO idea yet, that's next on my list.

Okay, the concept of an NTFS filesystem living inside of an ISO filesystem makes me dizzy. So as a lark I created an ISO file: mkisofs -o test.iso <test-hierarchy> This mounted fine loopback. I then dd'ed it to a 1-TB disk: dd if=test.iso of=/dev/sdg and the disk then mounted fine as in: mount /dev/sdg /mnt and it is read-only!!! Alas, Windows-7 can't see anything on the disk. The only choice the device manager shows is to "format" the offending hardware. I wonder if there's some magical incantation or spell that will allow Windows to mount an ISO filesystem that doesn't appear on an optical device? Regards, Lew -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org To contact the owner, e-mail: opensuse+owner@opensuse.org

On 2014-11-18 20:38, jdd wrote:

Le 18/11/2014 20:23, Lew Wolfgang a écrit :

to be mounted it needs a file system, I don't see any mkfs step in your description?

Yes, there is, but one that Windows doesn't understand because it is not expecting it. The "mkisofs" early in the process. Linux is way more flexible. -- Cheers / Saludos, Carlos E. R. (from 13.1 x86_64 "Bottle" at Telcontar)

On 2014-11-18 21:01, jdd wrote:

Le 18/11/2014 20:54, Carlos E. R. a écrit :

...

On 2014-11-18 20:38, jdd wrote:

...

Le 18/11/2014 20:23, Lew Wolfgang a écrit :

...

to be mounted it needs a file system, I don't see any mkfs step in your description?

Yes, there is, but one that Windows doesn't understand because it is not expecting it. The "mkisofs" early in the process. Linux is way more flexible.

oh yes, but it only copy the test hyerarchy in the iso, if this is an linux file system, windows cat read it.

I think you misunderstand. You create an iso image file on Linux somewhere. Then you dd that image file to some other raw device, via dd to dev/sdg. This "dd" creates a filesystem on sdg, same as if you'd run mkfs.iso on sdg directly. Only that "mkfs.iso" does not exist, because of the particularities of the iso "filesystem". Compare with: mkfs.ext4 somefile.img dd if=somefile.img of=/dev/sdg which is basically equivalent to: mkfs.ext4 /dev/sdg So the procedure Lew used effectively formatted his /dev/sdg as a DVD. Only that Windows doesn't handle it, or not directly. It might via acetoneiso or whatever. If it doesn't, the procedure would be something like: mkisofs -o test.iso <test-hierarchy> mkfs.ntfs /dev/sdg mount /dev/sdg /mnt/somewhere cp test.iso /mnt/somewhere/test.iso -- Cheers / Saludos, Carlos E. R. (from 13.1 x86_64 "Bottle" at Telcontar)

On 2014-11-18 22:52, Lew Wolfgang wrote:

On 11/18/2014 12:28 PM, Carlos E. R. wrote:

And so I tried this, with the exception of putting the NTFS filesystem on /dev/sdg1. (mkfs.ntfs complained about building a filesystem on the whole disk)

Ah, yes, I thought so.

Everything worked perfectly on the Linux side, but not on Win-7. Windows was able to mount the NTFS filesystem and it saw the test.iso file, but the only thing it would allow us to do was to burn something to what it thought was a cd-burner called test.iso. Windows is really dumb! I'm going to have to research this further on the Windows side.

I told you already a list of software that does the trick on Windows. I'm not going to post it again. Something about a solvent. Read! >:-) Also, I suggested that you can mark the files as read-only using a virtualized Windows on your site. Linux will not see/respect that, but Windows will. -- Cheers / Saludos, Carlos E. R. (from 13.1 x86_64 "Bottle" at Telcontar)

On 2014-11-18 23:23, Lew Wolfgang wrote:

On 11/18/2014 02:05 PM, Carlos E. R. wrote:

Thanks for the pointers, Carlos! The customer in this case is rather picky about non-Microsoft software, which is why I was trying to do it without any dependencies on their end. I did a quick search for the "solvent" package this morning and it looked like it was for the Linux environment. I'll look further this evening. Other matters are pressing...

Oh! I got the name wrong from my notes. It is this one: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daemon_Tools He can pay for it if he wishes ;-) But again, I would simply mark the files read-only on my end. The client can still unmark them, but that is an intentional action, not accidental. Your iso image can be accidentally deleted, too. -- Cheers / Saludos, Carlos E. R. (from 13.1 x86_64 "Bottle" at Telcontar)

well, new test. took a 16Gb usb flash key. copied there an ubuntu iso (ubuntu, because they isos are much simpler than our). copied like a file, not as device (with dolphin) plug it into my windows 8 machine right clic on the iso file, "mount" and a new disk is created with the iso content. and it is read only. not to say one can't remove the file itself... and the first mount is pretty long. no need of any extra software (and AFAIK it's also true for windows 7) jdd -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org To contact the owner, e-mail: opensuse+owner@opensuse.org

Lew, et al -- ...and then Lew Wolfgang said... % ... % It seems that Microsoft recognized the need to mount an ISO and has % created the " Virtual CD-ROM Control Panel", which is apparently available Yep. % for all Windows versions back to XP. Alas, it's reported to not work, especially FWIW, although it was cumbersome, it did work for me under XP Pro pretty well. I haven't tried it 7 or 8, though. % on 64-bit installs. Yet another reason to eschew Windows, as if we needed one! Heh. Indeed! Meanwhile, I have this vision of a RasbPi or similar in a disk enclosure implementing a smart controller in front of the 2T disks (RAIDed or not) to prevent writes without the super-secret password. Pity it probably isn't cost-effective -- but, as noted already, if the guy is this stubborn then he'll probably afford custom work, too. But the switch-on-the-side case, especially with the switch disabled no longer available, is probably a better choice. But I still can't help but be crazy curious about this customer's mindset. Seriously, dude?!? Perhaps I should tell him about my wish for a fast & fun car that gets great mileage, whose parts never wear out, and in which I can't get tickets! :-) % % Regards, % Lew HAND :-D -- David T-G See http://justpickone.org/davidtg/email/ See http://justpickone.org/davidtg/tofu.txt -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org To contact the owner, e-mail: opensuse+owner@opensuse.org

On 2014-11-18 23:35, jdd wrote:

Le 18/11/2014 21:28, Carlos E. R. a écrit :

there is no "iso" file system

Of course there is. With peculiarities. Look at the man page on mkisofs(1): genisoimage - create ISO9660/Joliet/HFS filesystem with optional Rock Ridge attributes filsystem. :-)

...

So the procedure Lew used effectively formatted his /dev/sdg as a DVD.

not sure it creates an udf file system (this is the file system used on dvd), because windows should open it (as a disk), but one can format the iso file as ntfs if necessary

udf is a different thing, and you do not need to create dvds with udf, they can be plain iso.

and the iso have to be written with dd or better cderecord, not as file

Not really. cdrecord is used because of limitations of the dvd/cd writer. Otherwise, you could just use cp, if the hardware allows it. And for a HD, it does. -- Cheers / Saludos, Carlos E. R. (from 13.1 x86_64 "Bottle" at Telcontar)

Le 19/11/2014 08:35, jdd a écrit :

I think it should be able to read any dvd iso without other tool -

probably right for dvd images, but do not accept ntfs image with iso extension. That don't mean that it can't open them, but of course not with iso driver :-). but... if the media is writable, the files will be... so may be this is a dead end. If the OP read this, is it possible to know, at least approx, what is the size of the total data, and the max size of individual files? the summary, as far as I can understand is that there is no such thing of "unbreakable" data disk. hard disk drive, specially ssd, are very sturdy and solid devices, but I don't know of any way to grant the files to be read only. setting a device between the disk and the computer on client side is too easy to be ommitted, dvds or BDs are read only (but 50Gb is the max size), but are easily destroyed and written ones are not very reliable (opposing to printed ones). The only effective way I can see to share securely large data is network access through secure vpn, with fiberglass links, data being kept safe on vendor side jdd -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org To contact the owner, e-mail: opensuse+owner@opensuse.org

On 11/19/2014 12:47 AM, jdd wrote:

Le 19/11/2014 08:35, jdd a écrit :

...

I think it should be able to read any dvd iso without other tool -

probably right for dvd images, but do not accept ntfs image with iso extension. That don't mean that it can't open them, but of course not with iso driver :-).

but...

if the media is writable, the files will be... so may be this is a dead end.

If the OP read this, is it possible to know, at least approx, what is the size of the total data, and the max size of individual files?

the summary, as far as I can understand is that there is no such thing of "unbreakable" data disk.

hard disk drive, specially ssd, are very sturdy and solid devices, but I don't know of any way to grant the files to be read only. setting a device between the disk and the computer on client side is too easy to be ommitted, dvds or BDs are read only (but 50Gb is the max size), but are easily destroyed and written ones are not very reliable (opposing to printed ones).

The only effective way I can see to share securely large data is network access through secure vpn, with fiberglass links, data being kept safe on vendor side

The requirement is for approximately 800 files in one directory with the file-sizes up to 3.3-GB. Total size is about 1.9-TB. The file-names don't comply with the 8.3 format and many of them have 4-character extents. I agree with your points, jdd, but as we know, expectations are frequently incompatible with reality. Regards, Lew Regards, Lew -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org To contact the owner, e-mail: opensuse+owner@opensuse.org

On 2014-11-19 08:35, jdd wrote:

Le 19/11/2014 00:37, Carlos E. R. a écrit :

...

filsystem. :-)

well, right, but you have to add the relevant part "ISO9660/Joliet/HFS..."

ISO is International Standard Office and I guess most file systems are registered by ISO :-)

Ok, right, but ISO in the context of this thread is just an abreviation of the full name ISO9660.

shows than most modern system do *not* fit with ISO9660, if you don't add joliet or rockridge, this may be why the OP did not succeed reading it's disk. UDF is necessary if large file are on the tree.

No, windows would first see the cd, and then say it could not understand it. No, the problem is that you need an extra program to do such things. I thought it was acetone iso, but it is daemon tools, and probably others.

...

Not really. cdrecord is used because of limitations of the dvd/cd writer. Otherwise, you could just use cp, if the hardware allows it. And for a HD, it does.

I never tried cp for direct writing on block device, but it may work

On block device it certainly does. On cd/dvd writer, it might on some. I haven't tested it myself. I think it works on units labeled "dvd ram", but it is a waste. On windows it does work.

what I can say for sure is that windows can open any block device with good file system. For example, it can open an usb key with 13.2, bootable one, said "hybrid image", but windows 8 do not read more than the EFI folder :-)

Because the efi folder is fat :-) -- Cheers / Saludos, Carlos E. R. (from 13.1 x86_64 "Bottle" at Telcontar)

On 11/18/2014 08:23 PM, Lew Wolfgang wrote:

Okay, the concept of an NTFS filesystem living inside of an ISO filesystem makes me dizzy. So as a lark I created an ISO file:

mkisofs -o test.iso <test-hierarchy>

This mounted fine loopback.

I then dd'ed it to a 1-TB disk:

dd if=test.iso of=/dev/sdg

and the disk then mounted fine as in:

mount /dev/sdg /mnt

and it is read-only!!!

Alas, Windows-7 can't see anything on the disk. The only choice the device manager shows is to "format" the offending hardware.

Doesn't Windows always require a partition table? Have a nice day, Berny -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org To contact the owner, e-mail: opensuse+owner@opensuse.org

On Tue, Nov 18, 2014 at 1:02 PM, Lew Wolfgang wrote:

On 11/18/2014 06:29 AM, Lew Wolfgang wrote:

...

On 11/18/2014 12:14 AM, Bernhard Voelker wrote:

...

Attributes may work - this is the best I could find about it: http://www.tuxera.com/community/ntfs-3g-advanced/extended-attributes/

BTW: you didn't mention how the customer is mounting the drives. If it's on Linux, too, then those attributes won't do much.

Hi Bernhard,

Yes, I looked at the tuxera stuff last night and tried this:

setfattr -h -v 0x00000021 -n system.ntfs_attrib_be foo

This sets the read-only flag as reported by:

getfattr -h -e hex -n system.ntfs_attrib_be foo

This doesn't write-block on Linux, but my hope is it will work on Windows. I'll test that this morning when I get access to a straight-up Win-7 system.

Well, this didn't work when mounting the NTFS filesystem on a Win-7 system.

Greg's idea of creating an ntfs filesystem on a file didn't work either. mkfs.ntfs complained about the file not being a block-device.

mkfs.ntfs --quick --force big-file Greg -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org To contact the owner, e-mail: opensuse+owner@opensuse.org

On Tue, Nov 18, 2014 at 5:21 PM, Cristian Rodríguez wrote:

El 18/11/14 a las 05:14, Bernhard Voelker escribió:

...

ACL support doesn't seem to be compiled into:

$ /usr/bin/ntfs-3g --help 2>&1 | sed -n 2,3p ntfs-3g 2014.2.15 external FUSE 29 - Third Generation NTFS Driver Configuration type 1, XATTRS are on, POSIX ACLS are off

Fixed in request id 262239.

The SR is in Filesystems now: https://build.opensuse.org/package/show/filesystems/ntfs-3g_ntfsprogs You just need to give some time to publish, then you can try out that version. I gather the goal is to set the ACLs in openSUSE and then the client's Windows machines will honor it? If so, I wish you luck. I find NTFS ACLs extremely hard to work with. My issue is typically with the SIDs, so let me know if you get this to actually work. I'm not at all sure that having ACL support for NTFS in openSUSE is a step forward, but I sent Cristian's SR on to factory on the assumption it won't break anything for people who don't want to worry with NTFS ACLs. Greg -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org To contact the owner, e-mail: opensuse+owner@opensuse.org

On 11/17/2014 02:02 PM, Anton Aylward wrote:

I think he is mis-stating his problem.

You say he has the bad habit of not making copies of his data. That's his real problem. And its HIS problem, not yours.

What he_needs_ is EITHER to have you ALSO supply impermeable copies (at an extra charge, of course) OR archive all his data so he doesn't have to back it up (at an extra charge, of course) OR to change his habits (but then you don't get to charge him extra)

Yes, this is certainly the customer's issue. But you know how it is with customers... But how does one make impermeable copies of 12-TB of data, within the constraints? Regards, Lew -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org To contact the owner, e-mail: opensuse+owner@opensuse.org

On 11/17/2014 04:39 PM, John Andersen wrote:

On 11/17/2014 04:31 PM, Lew Wolfgang wrote:

...

But how does one make impermeable copies of 12-TB of data, within the constraints? That's a boat load of data. How would they find anything in that pile of disks you are sending them?

Why not set up an immediate load of the transport disks to a samba server where you can control over-write (and backup) at the Linux level, and keep it out of the reach of any windows deletion tool?

Would it not be possible to send this data directly (electronically) without relying on spinning rust?

Hi John, Again, customer requirements limit my options. Thanks for the suggestions! Regards, Lew -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org To contact the owner, e-mail: opensuse+owner@opensuse.org

On 11/17/2014 07:51 PM, Lew Wolfgang wrote:

customer requirements limit my options.

*sigh* You need to make it clear to the customer that there is nothing that meets those requirements so he'd better be flexible about it. BTDT. "Education" is part of the job of dealing with customers. -- A: Yes. > Q: Are you sure? >> A: Because it reverses the logical flow of conversation. >>> Q: Why is top posting frowned upon? -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org To contact the owner, e-mail: opensuse+owner@opensuse.org

On 11/17/2014 07:31 PM, Lew Wolfgang wrote:

But how does one make impermeable copies of 12-TB of data, within the constraints?

With great difficulty ... As in a boatload of DVDs. Q: How much does a Blueray disk hold? -- A: Yes. > Q: Are you sure? >> A: Because it reverses the logical flow of conversation. >>> Q: Why is top posting frowned upon? -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org To contact the owner, e-mail: opensuse+owner@opensuse.org

On 2014-11-18 02:19, Cristian Rodríguez wrote:

El 17/11/14 a las 22:04, Anton Aylward escribió:

...

Q: How much does a Blueray disk hold?

at most 128 GB..so you also need quite a few of those to fit the date..

Years ago, there were automated floppy loaders. You put a stack of empty floppies, and the thing took each one, formatted, copied your files or program, plus serial code, then ejected the copy to another stack. Sometimes failed units to a different stack. Maybe there are similar units for dvd/bluerays. I'm surprised that nobody makes hard disks with a read-only jumper :-? -- Cheers / Saludos, Carlos E. R. (from 13.1 x86_64 "Bottle" at Telcontar)

On 2014-11-18 09:45, jdd wrote:

Le 17/11/2014 23:22, Greg Freemyer a écrit :

...

Create a single large file that almost fills up your main filesystem:

pretty good hint!

may be create simply an iso file (aka like a dvd/blmu-Ray, can be of any size), read only and make the file also read only.

don't know if windows will read it

Yes. But you need a program to do it. I don't have the name handy, but it is gratis, I think.

may be write the iso file directly to the disk with dd, making a very big read only disk

You also need mount the disk in Windows on your premises at least once, in order to change the RO attribute which can not be set in Linux. That's another method: Have a virtualized small Windows with the purpose of changing the file attributes to RO, considering that Linux can't do it. And another is using FAT instead of NTFS, because we can change the RO attribute in Linux (the 'w') flag. -- Cheers / Saludos, Carlos E. R. (from 13.1 x86_64 "Bottle" at Telcontar)

On 2014-11-18 14:51, Patrick Shanahan wrote:

* Carlos E. R. <> [11-18-14 08:43]:

...

On 2014-11-18 09:45, jdd wrote:

...

...

don't know if windows will read it

Yes. But you need a program to do it. I don't have the name handy, but it is gratis, I think.

run mc inside cygwin xterm window, can read/display iso's.

Well, the idea is to do it natively in Windows ;-) There is a program, which I can't remember the name now, which "mounts" the iso, and you can access it with the explorer, if I remember it right. Ok, found some names: ultraiso, acetoneiso, daemons tools. -- Cheers / Saludos, Carlos E. R. (from 13.1 x86_64 "Bottle" at Telcontar)

Le 18/11/2014 14:51, Patrick Shanahan a écrit :

run mc inside cygwin xterm window, can read/display iso's.

not for random client :-)) jdd -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org To contact the owner, e-mail: opensuse+owner@opensuse.org

On 11/17/2014 03:07 PM, John Andersen wrote:

On 11/17/2014 01:34 PM, Lew Wolfgang wrote:

...

There are also external forensic analysis write-block boxes that can be used, but I don't think the customer wants to go that far. That isn't all that far to go these days..... $60 USD. http://www.satadrives.com/forensic-usb-3-0-ide-sata-adapter-with-write-prote... Downside is that it is USB, which slows transfer. Oh, wait, a cheaper source

...

http://www.cooldrives.com/index.php/usb-3-0-to-ide-sata-adapter-with-write-p...

The problem is, a 2TB drive is a very attractive thing, and someone needing to backup something in a hurry is likely to grab one and attach it somewhere without any blocker interface box, and you are in the same problem.

There is probably no way to prevent a determined person from violating his boss's directions not to over-write the disk.

This idea may have merit. Certainly anyone with physical custody of a device "owns" it, but it does remove the accidental "fat finger" file delete factor. Greg: have you used these? Do they really block write access? Regards, Lew -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org To contact the owner, e-mail: opensuse+owner@opensuse.org

On 11/17/2014 06:14 PM, Greg Freemyer wrote:

On November 17, 2014 7:57:45 PM EST, Lew Wolfgang wrote:

...

On 11/17/2014 03:07 PM, John Andersen wrote:

...

On 11/17/2014 01:34 PM, Lew Wolfgang wrote:

...

There are also external forensic analysis write-block boxes that can be used, but I don't think the customer wants to go that far. That isn't all that far to go these days..... $60 USD. http://www.satadrives.com/forensic-usb-3-0-ide-sata-adapter-with-write-prote... Downside is that it is USB, which slows transfer. Oh, wait, a cheaper source

http://www.cooldrives.com/index.php/usb-3-0-to-ide-sata-adapter-with-write-p...

...

The problem is, a 2TB drive is a very attractive thing, and someone needing to backup something in a hurry is likely to grab one and attach it somewhere without any blocker interface box, and you are in the same problem.

There is probably no way to prevent a determined person from violating his boss's directions not to over-write the disk.

This idea may have merit. Certainly anyone with physical custody of a device "owns" it, but it does remove the accidental "fat finger" file delete factor. Greg: have you used these? Do they really block write access?

Yes, they block writes. They also do enable smartctl queries which some of the higher end units block. I like having smartctl work even in the presence of a write blocker.

I have used them with opensuse with no problem, but I do NOT mount the drive at all. I just access the drive via dd.

I've had a little problem using them with Windows where I try to do the equivalent of "mount -r", but Windows doesn't really comprehend a read only drive.

Have you said what OS your client is using?

Hi Greg, Windows 7, unfortunately. I was concerned about how Windows would treat a read-only drive that's not a CD/DVD/BlueRay. Regards, Lew -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org To contact the owner, e-mail: opensuse+owner@opensuse.org

On 2014-11-18 03:14, Greg Freemyer wrote:

On November 17, 2014 7:57:45 PM EST, Lew Wolfgang <> wrote:

...

This idea may have merit. Certainly anyone with physical custody of a device "owns" it, but it does remove the accidental "fat finger" file delete factor. Greg: have you used these? Do they really block write access?

Yes, they block writes. They also do enable smartctl queries which some of the higher end units block. I like having smartctl work even in the presence of a write blocker.

What about the ATA security set? Without the password, you can not use the disk. But it blocks reads, too. -- Cheers / Saludos, Carlos E. R. (from 13.1 x86_64 "Bottle" at Telcontar)