# SSK Drive using SyncThing
**URL:** https://forum.syncthing.net/t/ssk-drive-using-syncthing/26478
**Category:** General
**Created:** [March 26, 2026, 6:17am UTC](https://forum.syncthing.net/t/ssk-drive-using-syncthing/26478 "2026-03-26T06:17:27Z")
**Posts on this page:** 9
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@vpofstrategy](https://forum.syncthing.net/u/vpofstrategy)
#### Post date: [March 26, 2026, 6:17am UTC](https://forum.syncthing.net/t/ssk-drive-using-syncthing/26478/1 "2026-03-26T06:17:28Z")
Hello,
I’m looking to back up data to a friend’s NAS using Syncthing. I’m new to this and trying to keep things simple.
Do I need to set up a VPN between our networks, or can Syncthing handle secure connections over the internet on its own?
Any guidance or best practices would be appreciated.
I have a girlfriend, and I have no time for learning this.
Thanks!
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### Author:  [@senesto113](https://forum.syncthing.net/u/senesto113)
#### Post date: [March 26, 2026, 6:29am UTC](https://forum.syncthing.net/t/ssk-drive-using-syncthing/26478/2 "2026-03-26T06:29:25Z")
am also new to Syncthing and am using ubuntu, in my experience the default setting is quite secure so no need for vpn
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### Author:  [@marbens](https://forum.syncthing.net/u/marbens)
#### Post date: [March 26, 2026, 6:41am UTC](https://forum.syncthing.net/t/ssk-drive-using-syncthing/26478/3 "2026-03-26T06:41:13Z")
> [@vpofstrategy](#):
>
> Do I need to set up a VPN between our networks, or can Syncthing handle secure connections over the internet on its own?
All Syncthing sync connections are encrypted with TLS, authenticated with the device ID (certificate fingerprint), regardless of whether the connection is over LAN, WAN or relay.
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### Author:  [@martinleben](https://forum.syncthing.net/u/martinleben)
#### Post date: [March 26, 2026, 8:17am UTC](https://forum.syncthing.net/t/ssk-drive-using-syncthing/26478/4 "2026-03-26T08:17:56Z")
> [@vpofstrategy](#):
>
> I’m looking to back up data to a friend’s NAS using Syncthing.
Just remember that a synchronized copy is not the same as “backup”. Consider the day your NAS is hit by ransomware and the encrypted files are propagated to your friend’s NAS as well. I recommend a dedicated backup tool instead. Maybe Restic.
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### Author:  [@mraneri](https://forum.syncthing.net/u/mraneri)
#### Post date: [March 26, 2026, 9:16am UTC](https://forum.syncthing.net/t/ssk-drive-using-syncthing/26478/5 "2026-03-26T09:16:21Z")
A good backup strategy could combine the two.
I have many devices all syncing to my NAS. And then I have a single backup job daily from the NAS (via restic) to an offsite storage location. So all the devices are backed up offsite with one job.
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### Author:  [@chaos](https://forum.syncthing.net/u/chaos)
#### Post date: [March 26, 2026, 4:14pm UTC](https://forum.syncthing.net/t/ssk-drive-using-syncthing/26478/6 "2026-03-26T16:14:55Z")
You may find that sync is faster with a VPN, especially if the connection to the remote NAS is via a relay.
I use Tailscale on my Syncthing Devices and it works well for me.
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### Author:  [@mraneri](https://forum.syncthing.net/u/mraneri)
#### Post date: [March 26, 2026, 4:30pm UTC](https://forum.syncthing.net/t/ssk-drive-using-syncthing/26478/7 "2026-03-26T16:30:06Z")
I figured if you could forward a VPN port you could forward a syncthing port to avoid the relay. Don’t think routing through the VPN and double encrypting would be faster. Depending on the VPN it may not impose a penalty. But faster I don’t really see.
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### Author:  [@chaos](https://forum.syncthing.net/u/chaos)
#### Post date: [March 26, 2026, 8:41pm UTC](https://forum.syncthing.net/t/ssk-drive-using-syncthing/26478/8 "2026-03-26T20:41:37Z")
I don’t expose the Tailscale port — the agent does some really slick stuff to get direct connections through NAT. It’s faster than a relayed connection but not faster than a direct Syncthing connection.
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### Author:  [@mraneri](https://forum.syncthing.net/u/mraneri)
#### Post date: [March 26, 2026, 10:27pm UTC](https://forum.syncthing.net/t/ssk-drive-using-syncthing/26478/9 "2026-03-26T22:27:57Z")
Okay. Syncthing also does holepunching.
They may have different levels of effectiveness though. Maybe tailscale is more effective to break through the firewall.