Interested in securely backing up your home folder to your iPod or other drive? Here's how with rsync and an encrypted Disk Image

1. Secure iPod Backup

2. Ingredients
• Mac OS X Tiger or above
• An iPod capable of disk mode (or similar
external drive)
• Rsync
• Automator

3. Stage 1 - Disk Image
1. Open Disk Utility
2. Click New Image
3. Settings: Custom Size, 128-bit encryption,
sparse bundle disk image
4. Name and Save

4. Stage 2 - rsync
• TextEdit - New Text file.
• Copy in the Script
• Save as “BackupToEncrypt.sh” on your drive
under a “Scripts” folder
• Test

5. rsync
rsync vaE --progress --delete --
exclude=Folder --exclude=*.dmg ~/ /
Volumes/VolumeName/ >>/Library/Logs/
iPodrsync.log
-vaE = Verbose, archive mode, preserve Excludability
--progress = shows progress (allow for logging)
--delete = removes files no longer in source
--exclude= skip file types or folders

6. Stage 3 - Automator
1. Open Automator. Choose Custom
2. Drag in
I. Ask for Confirmation
II. Run Shell Script
III. Show Growl Notification (optional)
3. Add entries for start window,
path to shell script, and Growl
notification

7. Stage 4 - Captain’s Log
1. Open Console (Applications → Utilities)
2. Browse ~/Library/Logs - iPodrsync.log
3. Check the output!

8. Questions?
• Where can I get the script?
http://bit.ly/rsync
• Does it need to be an iPod?
No, any external drive will do. (No FAT drives allowed!)
• What’s Growl?
A system-wide notification system available from http://growl.info
• More Info?
http://dombarnes.com/2007/11/howto-secure-backup-to-an-ipod/
• This keynote?
Will be online shortly...

9. Thanks!